Himanshi

We are thinking of driving instead of taking train to Florence and making stops through the trip to better use the travel day. We are thinking of stopping at Orvieto & Sienna and then reaching Florence by night. Is there any other side stop that you all can recommend?

annhig

Himanshi,

unfortunately the train from Orvieto to Siena takes about 2 hours with a change of trains, so it doesn't seem very practical for a travel day.

however, depending on how long you are intending to spend in Florence and/or Rome, you could do Siena by bus on a day trip while you're in Florence and Orvieto by train whilst in Rome.

plus the railway station in Siena is a little out of the centre so the bus from florence is better.

you could do Rome - Orvieto - Florence but it'd be a push - just over an hour from Rome to Orvieto, plus another 30 mins to use the funicular and then the bus to get to the town. at least an hour just to see the cathedral - so now you're at 12 noon and it's time for lunch.

then it's 2 hours minimum [depending on whether you've got a direct train or one where you'll have to change] on the train to Florence SMN.

for timetables see www.trenitalia.it

Ackislander

What would you hope to do? You really won't have much time. You could go to the central plaza in Siena and to the Cathedrals in both places, but Orvieto needs half a day, and Siena needs a whole day.

In both places, you have to park outside the city. In Siena, you walk in, in Orvieto, you take a funicular to the top. This takes time. In each case, you would be leaving all your luggage in a rental car in a parking lot known to be used by tourists.

nytraveler

You don;t have the time to do all that in one day.

We are big beievers in road trips and have done several in that area. But what you aer trying to do just won;t leave time to see anything. And then, based on where your hotel is in Florence, you may end up in a pedstrian zone,

jamikins

I think you need to come to terms with the fact that you can't see everything in the short time you are there. Accept that and focus on maximising the time you have to see a reasonable amount of things and that Italy isn't going anywhere...you can go back to see the things you have missed...

Himanshi

All right- we will only do Sienna!!! Thanks

asps

Do only Orvieto. It is much easier as it is on the direct road and railway links between Rome and Florence. Siena is a detour, slower driving and much much slower trains.

mamcalice

How about if you visit Orvieto and turn in your car there and train to Florence. Depending on how long you will be in Florence, you may have time for a day trip (by bus) to Siena.

Himanshi

Thanks Mamcalice - I think i will follow your recommendation.

rineurope

I would have to agree that all these cities - at minimum need 1-2 days on their own, but if we're cramming:

For a little off-country experience, I suppose I would leave Rome on SS2, stop at Viterbo - a beautiful walled city - then head north towards Orvieto, changing to SR71 at Montefiascone. This is a "back way" into Orvieto, and as we often rode a motorino in Italy, this was our route of choice (and we LOVED our frequent visits to Viterbo). There's an INCREDIBLE bakery just off the main square where the market is!

On this route, you are going by Civita di Bagnoregio, but I'm not sure you'd have time to stop... then get to Orvieto.

If it's the end of your day, dump the rental car in Orvieto and ride the "slow" train to Florence.... OR.....keep the rental car and drive up the A1 to the PRADA OUTLET storejust off the A1 in Montevarchi! Yes, this is a place my wife knows all TOO well (see: http://tinyurl.com/Lo-Spaccio)

Then you drop the rental car at the Florence Airport and taxi into town.

Frankly, even this IS TOO much for one day. So I'd do the route, stopping in Viterbo and SPENDING the night in Orvieto... then see more of Orvieto in the morning, go shopping, and drop the car in Florence! (what a great excuse to stay in Orvieto - the ton at night is almost incomparable to your day-time experience)

You'll find the SS2 and the SS222 (if you go that far north in a car) great rides. The SS222 is regarded as one of the most scenic route through Chianti country. We've often cut over from the Prada Outlet westward just to catch the SS222 and go through Greve.

Like the others, I'd say "piano, piano" which all my Italian friends constantly prompted me with. It took a couple of years for us to mold into this way of life... It means "slowly, slowly..." and that's the best way to "see" and "experience" Italy.

annhig

rineurope - that looks like a great route which could probably take several days if one took the time to look at everything on the way.