Day or overnight trip advice for Italy

[Melody]

My sister and I are travelling to Rome in November and want to take at least on day trip (possibly overnight) to somewhere outside the city. Any suggestions? We were considering Naples or Florence, because either city is just a short train trip away, but want to be sure its worth the trip!

Would LOVE to go to Sicily, but doubt we'll have the time......

Suggestions welcomed!!
Thanks.

[Kim]

I would say yes to Florence and no to Naples - I found Naples chaotic, dirty and a bit scary to be honest!

Florence is gorgeous and only about 1.5 hours away, which is reasonable.

I'm sure Ging will be here soon to recommend Florence as well, it's her favorite place! ;D

Kim

[Melody]

hey, thanks Kim. Any suggestions on the "must see's" in Florence?

Since we'll only be there a day I'd rather skip the 'ok' stuff & go right to the must see stuff!

thanks.
Melody

[LHR02]

Well....I am still in 'gammy mode' right now so don't have the time to answer much....except to say...ONE DAY in Florence! Noooooooo!!!!! It is my favorite city bar none, but unless you just want 3-4 hours on the train and a quick walk about to barely glimpse one beautiful town then don't bother. There is much to see and do in Rome and for one day your time will be much better spent there. Can not believe I am telling anyone to ever forgo Florence...but that I am. Gotta run...will explain more later.

[Cil]

Can't imagine taking the train to Florence for the day.

Possible day trips out of Rome:

Pompeii (it can be done)

Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli (a refreshing retreat from the city)

Villa d'Este Gardens in Tivoli

Ostia Antica (ancient Roman port, various excavations)

[Melody]

Cil,

Thanks for the suggestions. My sis & I would REALLY like to see something other than 'city'... that's why I'm really not sure about Florence. I really like the idea of getting out into the countryside. With that in mind, any suggestions? I have absolutely NO idea what's out there & available, or worth our time. We're both wine drinkers, so vineyard visits & wine tasting would be cool if you know of anything!
thanks!!
Mel

[Cil]

Well, you could take a quickie trip up to Orvieto in the Umbria region, and sample their white wine. Further on is Todi, a tiny medieval town with a couple lovely restaurants.

How much time do you have? How long is your trip?
We loved the little hill towns of Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino, but they might be out of your reach.

[Melody]

Cil, we only have 5 nights, 6 days in Rome and have to head back to the US. My sister's a mom with 2 kids under 3 yrs & that's all the time she could get the hubby to agree to!

We would really love to take at least one full day & get out of the city. We're both wine drinkers and would love to do a vinyard tour. There are a couple tours that take you out to Cortona, but I know nothing about the city... so I have no idea if its even worth it!!

We won't have a car, but are willing to travel by train if we could find someplace cool!!

Thanks for the info!!
Melody

[Cil]

I went to Cortona thinking it would be touristy, and it was a little bit, but I have to say I really loved that hill town.

I'm not sure how far it is from Rome, maybe a couple hours?

I am sure you could get there by bus or train, but it would be quite a day, I think I would rather spend the night. It would be a very nice overnight trip.

[Kim]

Found this:

The closest station to Cortona is Terontola, and from this little village one can get a bus or a taxi to Cortona (12 km).

To use the train you have to catch a Roma-Firenze train (Rome to Florence line). But you have to be careful, since most trains do not have intermediate stops, and just go straight to Florence. You want a train which stops in Terontola (for most of these trains you do not need to pay an accessory fee, just the basic fare).

After all main train arrival a bus goes from Terontola to Cortona, so that should be no problem.

From another site:

Cortona can be easily reached either by car or by train, being served by the Autostrada del Sole (Valdichiana exit), State Road SS 71 and the Milan-Florence-Rome railway.

By train

Direct train Milan-Firenze-Roma (see time tables for Rome-Cortona and Milan-Cortona connections:

Terontola-Cortona railway station (194 km from Rome, 122 km from Florence)

Camucia-Cortona railway station


The Terontola station is 11 km from Cortona and the Camucia station is 5 km from Cortona. There is a bus service to Cortona from both stations.

[Melody]

Thanks for the info guys! sounds like Cortona is the place to go... we found a 12 hour bus tour that will take us out there, tour us through a vinyard and then take us to the city itself. I've looked to see if I could find pics of Cortona, not much on the net. However what I did see was beautiful!

Any suggestions on what to do/see while we're there?

[Kim]

Here's the Rough Guide to Italys eating section for Cortona:

"Choice of the restaurants is La Loggetta, overlooking Piazza della Repubblica (0575 630 575, closed Mondays), where a memorable meal will cost around 25 Euro (this is a 2001 book though); check out too the characterful and sometimes boisterous Tino on Piazza Garibaldi (0575 630 500, closed Tues.). Grotta di San Francesco, Piazzetta Baldelli 3 (0575 630 271 closed Tues) is less self-concious than either, almost as good and less expensive. Fufluns, Via Ghibellina 3, prides itself on a long list of pizzas, focaccia and cheeseburgers. Caffe La Saletta, Via Nazionale 28 has good local wines and inexpensive crepes. US-style Route 66, Via Nazionale 78 (closed Mon) churns out food and beers until 3am.

If you're around in late July, check out posters advertising Umbria Jazz, which seeps over into Cortona for a concert or two of top-line names. The main annual party is the gutbusting Sagra della Bistecca in mid-August, devoted to lauding and barbecuing - the succulent flesh of the Valdichianna's beef herds".

[Cil]

There is a lot of art to see in Cortona.
A church there has one of Fra Angelico's Annunciata and it is well worth seeing. The color blue used in this painting became known as Angelico blue.
But you know, just walking through the main piazza, sitting there watching the world go by, was awfully good entertainment.
www.cortona.net/EN/main/

[Melody]

THANK YOU ALL for your input. My sis & I have decided to do Cortona. Thanks Cil for the website link! This little town sounds exactly like what we're looking for!

[Kim]

I can't wait to hear all about it, Melody - and pictures too, would love to see them.

We didn't get to Cortona when we were in Italy but I'd love to get there the next time around.

Now you have to get busy with your Ebay selling to save up your pennies! ;D Isn't that funny how you ended up here? Gotta love it.

Kim