Orvieto and Florence
 

I will be spending two weeks in Rome with my mother volunteering for an Earthwatch trip in September. We plan to fly in to Rome Thursday morning and then rent a car and explore until we meet the team in Rome on Sunday night.

My current thought is to rent a car at the airport and head for Orvieto for the night. We would then wander up to Florence for the next two nights and then drop the car back at the airport and take the train in to Rome on Sunday. We are both experienced overseas and big city drivers so I am not worried about the driving but we would like to park once and walk in each location.

Any suggestions on places to stay in each place and scenic driving routes would be greatly appreciated.

With only 3 days, and wanting to see two places that can easily take longer than that to see, why don't you just do it by train. Driving in Tuscany is fun and easy but what makes it most worthwhile is stopping in small towns that are not easily accessible by public transportation. You really don't have time for that. A car for only three days can be expensive and a hassel. It seems it would be easier to just take the train to Orvieto and then another to Florence and concentrate on those two cities.

If you do opt for the car, there is easy parking in Orvieto. There is a large free lot in the lower town which is right next to a funicular which takes you up to the old town. There is also a lot at the top of the hill, but it's smaller. It's a 10-15 minute walk to the Duomo from there (which is also where the funicular will take you) or you can take one of the little city buses. I don't know about parking in Florence as I went in and out on the train, but driving in Florence looked like it would be a major pain in the ass. I definitly wouldn't drive in Rome (and I drive in Manhattan so I'm not afraid of city driving) but you wisely aren't planning on doing that.

I'm trying to understand why you would want the hassle of a car. The train from Rome to Orvieto is one hour and I would guess from Orvieto to Florence won't be much more than that. Auto rental must be several hundred dollars and now you have to get through difficult traffic at best and then find a place to park, etc. To each his own I guess but with your itinerary and with my experience of twelve trips to Italy in the past six years its a no brainer.

I agree with DRJ for a couple of reasons. You only have part of the day Thursday, all day Friday and Saturday and part of the day on Sunday to explore. I'd take the train from Rome to Orvieto and spend Thursday night there. Late on Friday, I'd take the train to Florence and spend Friday and Saturday nights there, returning to Rome by train on Sunday. Car rental for less than a week will be very expensive on a per/day basis and train travel is so easy in Italy. It really is a no-brainer. :-)

Hi Sailor,

One more vote against the car.

Train schedules are at www.trenitalia.com

I strongly suggest lunch or dinner in the garden at I Sette Consoli
Pzza Sant?Angelo 1A
phone/fax 011 39 0763 343911

One of the best restaurants in Italy. Fixedprice lunch is about 40E pp.