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Arrival, information and accommodation
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First impressions of Orvieto from afar tend to be the ones that linger; its position is almost as remarkable and famous as its cathedral. The town, rising 300m sheer from the valley floor, sits on a tabletop plug of volcanic lava, one of four such remnants in the vicinity. Without a doubt, the best approach is by car through the hills to the southwest
. It starts to look fairly average again from the dismal town around the train station, but hit the twisting three-kilometre road up to the old centre and you begin to get a sense of its drama and one-off weirdness. If you arrive by train the
#1 bus
makes the regular trip from the station to Piazza XXIX Marzo (buy two tickets at the platform bar - one for the return leg). Local bus tickets are also valid for the newly restored nineteenth-century
funicular
from the station forecourt to Piazza Cahen - a far nicer way of getting into the old town than the bus. Inter-town buses take you directly to Piazza Cahen, Piazza XXIX Marzo, or Piazza della Repubblica, depending on the service.
The
tourist office
is at Piazza del Duomo 24 (Mon-Fri 8am-2pm & 4-7pm, Sat & Sun 10am-1pm & 3.30-6.30pm; tel 0763.341.772,
info@iat.orvieto.tr.it
), with a room- finding service and plenty of maps and information. Check your
email
at
Caffe Montanucci
, Corso Cavour 23 (tel 0763.341.261; L12,000/€6.20 per hr; 8am-midnight, closed Wed). Most of the town's nightlife and budget
rooms
are in Orvieto Scalo, the unlovely district around the station. The best low-cost central
hotels
are: the two-star
Duomo
, Via Vicolo di Maurizio 7 (tel 0763.341.887; L90,000-120,000/€46.48-61.98), in a comfortable restructured medieval building, round the corner from the cathedral; the pleasantly dated
Posta
, Via Signorelli 18 (tel 0763.341.909; L90,000-120,000/€46.48-61.98), two minutes from the duomo and offering a wide range of single and double rooms with and without private bathrooms; and the pleasant, three-star
Italia
, Piazza del Popolo 13 (tel 0763.342.065; L120,000-150,000/€61.98-77.47), the biggest central place (45 rooms) and thus likely to have space in an emergency. A little further from the centre, and therefore quieter, but still within easy walking distance of everything, are the good-value and well-appointed
Corso
, Corso Cavour 343 (tel 0763.342.020; L120,000-150,000/€61.98-77.47) and the slightly larger
Valentino
, Via Angelo da Orvieto 30-32 (tel 0743.342.464; L120,000-150,000/€61.98-77.47). The nearest
campsite
, the
Orvieto
, is 10km away on Lago di Corbora (bus to Baschi/Civitella); it's a three-star job with a swimming pool, and open all year, but rather out of the way (tel 0744.950.240). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Italy,
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