Civita - worth the hassle?
 

We are planning a week in Rome and Florence, with a daytrip to Siena. I've heard a lot about Civita di Bagnoregio from various sources and think it would be a great place to visit. But I am concerned that it might be too much out of the way. We'll be taking trains everywhere, which makes it more inconvenient. I have read that to get there, you take the train to Orvieto, then a bus to Bagnoregio, then walk up to Civita.

Can anyone give me a realistic estimate of how much time this is going to take? If we were to leave Florence in the morning, would we be able to do this and then get to Rome by late afternoon?

Thanks!

Hi Fakemark,

You can check train schedules at trenitalia.com. Offhand, I would guess Florence to Orvieto would be about 2 hours or less. The drive in a car from Orvieto to Civita di Bagnoreggio takes about 30 minutes.

We loved visiting Civita and found it a very good 1/2 day outing from Orvieto. My friends thanked me especially for putting it on our itinerary.

I would not pass by Orvieto just to go to Civita. You should plan time to see both. An overnight in Orvieto would be ideal.

Buon viaggio!

Thanks, Dayle,

I was hoping to do it en route from Florence to Rome. And I won't have a car, so we'll have to take the bus from Orvieto.

It's good to hear that you thought it was worth the time. I'm definitely leaning towards including it . . .

Civita is a fun outing from Orvieto but I don't think it's worth a substantial detour, especially bypassing Orvieto and its incredible cathedral. If you must stop between Florence and Rome, I would pause in Orvieto.

fakemark

I looked into it and the bus schedule is wretched. Unless you have a car, I suggest you forget it and instead enjoy Orvieto, which is a snap by train.

Thanks for everybody's input.

Sue_xx_yy, can you let me know the info you found? A link would be ok, too.

We did Civita as a day trip from Oriveto, but would suggest only if you have a car. I think it would be too hard via bus. Beautiful little walled hilltown. We had it all to ourselves in late October-no one around except one local sitting on a bench, and a cat. We went into a little cave with a wood fire and the man made the best bruschetta ever! Enjoyed that very much with a glass of wine.

YES, YES, YES!!! I did this a few years ago. I came up from Rome on the train, purposely spent the night in Orvieto just to see Civita. Caught an early a.m. bus in Orvieto - a snap - walked up to Civita, spent a few hours there, only saw 4 other people there, and caught the bus back to Orvieto, and then train up to Siena for a few days. Totally doable and so worth it. One of my more memorable experiences - if I could do it, you can too.

It is definitely worth it. We met several people who went to see it by bus from Orvieto. The Rick Steves Italy book has a chapter on Civita and complete directions on how to get there and what to do there. Check the following web sites.

www.civitadibagnoregio.it

http://www.ricksteves.com
and enter civita on the search function

It is definitely worth it. We met several people who went to see it by bus from Orvieto. The Rick Steves Italy book has a chapter on Civita and complete directions on how to get there and what to do there. Check the following web sites.
http://www.ricksteves.com
and enter civita on the search function

This one is actually from Civita.

www.civitadibagnoregio.it

This is a very interesting website full of photos and information. To see a bus schedule to/from Orvieto on this website,

go to 'civita bed and breakfast' and then go to 'where we are.'

Thanks for all the help. I think I will try to go to Civita, despite the hassle. We'll leave Florence early, get to Orvieto, and spend the first half of the day in Civita.

Does anyone know how to find the bus schedules? I thought this might be the bus company (http://www.cotralspa.it/home_page.asp) but I couldn't make heads or tails of the site using Babelfish.