drchris

I am getting ready to book some group tours in Rome during the third week of May, and one is a 3.5 hour tour of the Colosseum/Forum/Palatine Hill at either 8:30 or 1:30. I know that weather is unpredictable, but is it likely to be hot enough in the afternoon to make the 1:30 time less desirable? (We live in a hot climate, so I would be thinking of at least mid 80's -90's as hot.) Or would it be significantly more crowded in the afternoon? The morning tour is currently only available on Saturday, and we have penciled in a day trip to Orvieto from Rome on Saturday since there is a market there in the morning. We could switch Orvieto to Thursday, Friday, or Sunday if we would be better off doing the morning tour of the Colosseum. Are any of these days in Orvieto likely to be more or less crowded?

Also, Rick Steves suggests taking the bus from Orvieto to Civita and Bagnoregio (although I think I read there is no bus service on Sunday). Are these worth creating a long and perhaps too busy day or would we be better advised to spend more time in Orvieto?

I look forward to those who can share their experiences. Thanks!

michele_d

We took the 8:30 am Colosseum Tour. It was less crowded and cooler than the afternoon tour. Unless of course it is your very first day there. You might be a bit jet lagged.

Regarding Orvieto. We took the train to Orvieto and spent most of the day there. We also loved Civita de Bagnoregio. There is not a lot to do there except walk around but it is a lovely little town. The bus will drop you and then you will walk the rest of the way across the bridge and up the hill to the town.

If you can leave Rome really early to walk around Orvieto for a bit and then spend a couple hours for the daytrip to Civita then I would do it. A very unique experience IMO.

bvlenci

I think Orvieto merits a whole day, and, to be honest, Civita di Bagnoregio didn't impress me very much. It advertises itself as "the town that's dying", and it's found a very profitable deathbed. It might have interested me twenty souvenir shops ago.

bvlenci

I think Orvieto would have fewer tourists on a weekday, but I'm not sure of that.

bvlenci

Excuse the multiple posts! I keep thinking of other points.

In Orvieto, apart from the very beautiful Duomo, which is a rare example of the Italian Gothic style, you shouldn't miss the Pozzo di San Patrizio (Well of St. Patrick), which has a fascinating double helix staircase that takes you down to the bottom and up again without passing anyone going in the other direction. This was designed so that mules could bring water to the top without being distracted by meeting others of their own species.

Also, the tour of the underground city is supposed to be very interesting; it visits various tunnels and cantine carved over the centuries out of the soft tufa rock that underlies the city. I've never taken this tour; it wasn't available when we were last in Orvieto, now almost 20 years ago. There are also lots of shops selling the local style of ceramic ware, and good restaurants, although I can't advise on those since my experience isn't recent.

All in all, it would be a shame to short-change Orvieto.

mama_mia

I would not count on doing Civita da Bagnoregio as an add-on to your day trip to Orvieto. The buses to Civita are not that frequent and it is a fairly long ride (45 minutes or so). To me, the landscape of the area and approach to the town are interesting, but the town itself is too small to keep you there very long.

Orvieto, on the other hand, has quite a bit to offer. The duomo's facade has beautiful mosaics that catch the afternoon light. The interior has a fresco by Luca Signorelli, whose work is supposed to have influenced Michelangelo.

As bvlenci notes, there are museums and the underground tour. Last time we were in Orvieto, we went to the archeological museum next to the duomo. Along with many Etruscan artifacts, they had two rooms with funerary banquet scenes that had been removed from Etruscan tombs. One of the workers there explained the meaning of the scenes to us--very interesting.

So--a full day to Orvieto is my recommendation.

As far as the Forum/Colosseum tour goes, I would suggest morning. If you hit a hot day, you might appreciate an earlier start. There is little cover in the Forum.

drchris

All helpful information! Thanks so much!

kybourbon

I've never encountered Orvieto overwhelmed with tourists really (stayed there multiple times). The piazza around the Duomo might have quite a few people, but just wander off to other parts.

I would sign up for the underground tour in advance if it interests you. There are only a certain number of English tours per day and space is somewhat limited.

http://www.orvietounderground.it/index.php/en/

You can schedule a wine tasting run by the wine consortium. This is in the back of Orvieto, away from where the funicular arrives. You don't see many tourists back there unless they are staying overnight at one of the B&B's.

http://www.ilpalazzodelgusto.it/it/p...ustazione.html

It's near Piazza Ranieri and convent San Lodovico. You can take a bus from the top funicular stop (I think A goes to the Duomo and left side of Orvieto, B goes the other side of Orvieto and to the back). You can also walk.

http://www.ilpalazzodelgusto.it/it/dove_siamo.html

There's also the Etruscan tombs, but they are a bit of a trek down and back up and not much information given. Perhaps there are tours (I didn't see any), otherwise you would need to read up on them.

There are lots of streets off the main drags where you won't encounter very many people at all.

As for Civita, I don't think you have time.