Hello, my husband and I are travelling from Florence back to Rome by train and would like to stop somewhere for the day. Any suggestions on easy/fun places? We've heard Pisa??? We'll be departing Florence in the morning and need to be back in Rome by mid-evening. Travelling next week!! Any tips/suggestions will be great. Thanks!

Pisa is not between FLorence and Rome. It's north of Florence. Orvieto is en route and worth visiting.

Hi S,

Another vote for stopping off in Orvieto.

Do bear in mind that if you want to stop in Orvieto, you cannot take a Eurostar train (which goes noon-stop in 1.5 hours to Roma Termini) and have to take an Interregional train that takes 3.5 hours from Florence to Rome.
It takes 2 hours 15 minutes to get to Orvieto.

Add yet one more vote for Orvieto, even if you have to take the slow train. It's worth it. Go see the Duomo (be SURE to go inside and see the side chapel), go to the archaeological museum across the street, have a nice lunch, sip a grappa on the piazza while looking at the Duomo.

KC

There's also an 'underground orvieto' tour which is qute interesting.

Definitely Orvieto!

I third or fourth Orvieto. Good food, great duomo, fun small museum, great underground tour as mentioned, super ceramics and then there's the funicular railway up and down to the train. Great way into Orvieto!
Oh! I forgot--killer gelato, and very adorable wooden sculptures from the shop of Michelangeli which has been there since 1798 or so! His work and that of his descendents is all over town. They do these wonderful layered pieces building up shapes. Not much into their dolls, but the others are cool. http://www.michelangeli.it/
Check it out!

Anyway, it's wonderful to wander about; it was a site used by director Henry King for Prince of Foxes, with Tyrone Power and Orson Welles as Cesare Borgia. If you rent it, look out for the 12-sided bell tower of the Sant'Andrea church. It's a black & white cinemascope picture--not many of those made! But big fun, Welles chews up the scenery!