sam ludu

Any tips on sites to see, museums to visit, places to eat, spots to rest, and things to avoid in Verona and/or Orvieto? I have places to stay (Columba d’Or in Verona & the Hotel Virgilio in Orvieto). Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

marija

In Orvieto we enjoyed a tour of the underground city. It leaves from the main tourist office. Lunch at the Trattoria Etruscana was great. The duomo in Orvieto is also extraordinary.

marija

From Orvieto you can easily reach Civita de Bagnoregio which is a tiny picturesque town reachable only by a footbridge. Rick Steves describes it in his book on Italy.

Anne

Sam, <BR>The Castle Vechio has a wonderful collection of Venetian art (although I never did get to see it, even thought we were staying right across the street from it. Depending on the season, the Teatro Romano has theater and dance concerts in the summer and of course the Arena has opera. It's a great city for runners as you can run along the water. <BR>Have fun, <BR>Anne

Susan

Sam, For Orvieto.... <BR> <BR>Be sure to plan to visit the Chapel of the Madonna of San Brizio, within the Cathedral in Orvieto. When I went, you had to buy tickets for the Chapel, and there were some limitations on times it was open. The frescoes by Luca Signorelli are so vivid, I can close my eyes and still see the details. <BR> <BR>The Museo Civico is across from the Cathedral and has a great, small Etruscan collection. Worth the time, especially because I got my best photos of the Cathedral and the panorama of the piazzas from the upper windows in this building. <BR> <BR>The Pozzo di San Patrizio (St. Patrick's Well) is a double spiral staircase that leads down to a water source used for defense purposes in this tufa sited city. Amazing, but does require you to walk down and up the 200 stairs if you want to get the full effect. <BR> <BR>Orvieto had my favorite ceramics - I'm sorry I didn't splurge more. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip. Susan

Paul J

Hi Sam: <BR>In Verona, just sitting at a sidewalk cafe,along the street near the *Arena*, and having a beer (or coffee)can be a delightful experience. People watching is great and a nice way to take a break. We really enjoyed Verona....Paul J

Paulo

There's plenty to see in Verona. The sites I repute a must are the Roman Arena, the San Zeno Maggiore church, the Castelvecchio (including the picture gallery) and Ponte Scalligero, the Arche Scaligere and two Piazze (delle Erbe and dei Signori). If you have enough time, you may go for other sites like the Sant'Anastasia church, the Duomo, the Roman Theatre and the Archaeological museum, Castel San Pietro, San Fermo Maggiore, Giusti gardens and others, like the touristy Julliet's house and Julliet's tomb. <BR> <BR>The best restaurant in Verona is the quite expensive il Desco (via dietro San Sebastiano 7, tel. 045/595358). We like to have a fixed price menu lunch at the VeronAntica restaurant (via Sottoriva 10, close to the river, tel. 045/8004124), to sit down in one of the cafes of piazza Bra mid afternoon, and to dine in the medieval atmosphere of the 12 Apostoli restaurant, oldest in town (Vicolo Corticella San Marco 3, near the Piazza delle Erbe, tel. 045/596999). <BR> <BR>Paulo

the turnip

I second the advice to see Civita de Bagnoregio. It was a wonderful experience. While in Orvieto you simply MUST eat at Antiquo Bucherro (sp?). You can dine alfresco in a cute little cobblestone courtyard. Be sure to ask for Suhliman as your waiter and don't dare miss the pureed vegetable soup. The restaurant is not overly fancy but the food was excellent and service very friendly. The deserts there were good but just a block away was even better gelato. If you put your back to the front of the restaurant go left then take a right and the gelato store will be just half a block down on your right side. It has a green awning and scrumptous gelato. Try the pear flavor!!! Mmmmmmm. <BR> <BR>Also the BIGI Orvieto Classico wine was superb. I managed to lug back a dozen bottles and wish I'd been able to carry more. <BR> <BR>*sigh* I wish I was back there now. <BR> <BR>If I can be of any help please let me know.