Umbria - Italy - page 200

A Helpful Museum Card
If you're planning on seeing most of Orvieto's central sights, save some cash by
purchasing the Carta Orvieto Unica: The tourist office and participating museums
sell this comprehensive ticket for € 13. It covers admission to the Cappella, Torre
Del Moro, the Museo Claudio Faina, the city's Orvieto Underground tour, and a
round-trip funicular ride. It also gives small discounts at some restaurants and
shops. The museums alone cost € 17.

chefs. Seasonal dance, theater, and academic conferences breathe life into a city
that has seen its share of both figurative and literal ups and downs.
LAY OF THE LAND
The best way to reach Orvieto is either by car, a convenient stop on the Rome-
Florence autostrada, or by train, about midway on the rail line connecting the two
cities.
Orvieto is 150km (90 miles) south of Florence, 120km (75 miles) north of
Rome on the A1 autostrada. You can park in pay-lots near the town center, in
underground lots connected to the city center by escalator and elevator, or park
for free by the train station below the city, and take the cheap funicular cable car
to the top.
Trains stop almost hourly on the Florence-Rome line, and take 1 3 ⁄ 4 hours from
Florence, or 80 minutes from Rome.
Once you reach the city, you can obtain sightseeing and lodging information
at the tourist office (Piazza Duomo, 14, across from the Duomo; % 0763-
341772; www.umbria2000.it; Mon-Fri 8:30am-1:50pm and 4-7pm; Sat
10am-1pm and 3:30-7pm, Sun 10am-noon and 4-6pm).
ACCOMMODATIONS, BOTH STANDARD & NOT
The facilities maintained for tourists in Orvieto are among the best in Umbria.

€ Along with Villa Merced (see below), the cheapest option is the Hotel Posta
(Via Luca Signorelli, 18; % /fax [phone]; www.orvietohotels.it; no credit
cards), which offers small but decent rooms with new beds, thick walls, and a
friendly but frantic staff (they're overworked). The shared bathrooms are clean;
those connected to rooms are small but workable. Rates range from € 26 for a sin-
gle without a bathroom to

€

56 for a double with bathroom in high season. The
old building is a little decrepit, but in a personable sort of way; the central “gar-
den” doubles as a storage area, contributing to the “squatting in a noble's villa”
feeling of the place. There's no air-conditioning, but the thick walls keep the
rooms pretty cool in summer.

€ - €€ My favorite choice here is a monastery stay, but one with a twist--a
monastery with its own tennis courts, soccer field, private parking spaces, rooms
with private bathroom facilities, and none of the elaborate curfews and rules that