Orvieto and Civita in one day

What are the COTRAL bus times between Orvieto and Bagnoregio?

About ten departures a day from Orvieto station on weekdays, eight on Saturdays and none on Sundays and holidays; the ride takes 30 to 50 minutes.

The buses leave from the stop by Orvieto railway station (COTRAL calls it Stazione FS, on Piazza Matteotti) and end in Bagnoregio at the stops by the F.lli Agosti school. Some runs go direct and some wind through the villages, which is why journey times vary from under half an hour to over an hour. Buy the ticket before you board, at the station bar or tobacconist, or else in the COTRAL app.

These are school-year times. A few runs exist mainly for students, and timetables change in summer, so check your exact date in the planner the day before. From the bus stop, ask the driver for the way to Civita: it is a walk through Bagnoregio to the belvedere and the ticket office, or the local shuttle. Our getting there guide covers that last stretch.

What does a day of Orvieto and Civita look like by public transport?

Civita in the morning, Orvieto in the afternoon: it puts you on the bridge before the coach groups and in Orvieto when the cathedral is open.

The morning works better for Civita for three reasons. The early buses are the reliable ones, the coach tours from Rome only reach Civita from mid-morning, and the return options thin out after 14:40. Orvieto, by contrast, stays easy in the afternoon: the station shuttle runs often and trains to Rome leave until late.

The timetable below uses weekday times. On a Saturday, take the 08:00 or 09:10 out and the 13:00 back. If you would rather sleep in, the 13:14 out and the 16:00 back also work, at the cost of Orvieto. Two hours in Civita is enough to cross the bridge, walk every lane and sit at the far belvedere.

Is the Orvieto funicular running in 2026?

No. It has been closed since 9 June 2026 and a shuttle bus replaces it between the station and Piazza Cahen; no reopening date has been set.

The funicular normally lifts you from the station to the old town in a few minutes. It stopped on 9 June 2026 for its annual inspection, and the checks turned up issues with safety components. On 27 July the comune said the repair method was agreed but needed ministerial approvals and functional tests before any reopening date could be given. At the end of September it was still closed.

In the meantime Busitalia runs a shuttle bus from Piazza Matteotti, outside the station, to Piazza Cahen, at the same frequency as the funicular. From Piazza Cahen it is a short walk or a local minibus to the cathedral. Allow an extra ten minutes each way compared with the funicular, and a little more if you are carrying luggage.

What does the Orvieto cathedral cost and when is it open?

€8 with the audio guide, open 9:30 to 19:00 in October and 9:30 to 17:00 from November to February, with short Sunday hours.

The Duomo's ticket covers the cathedral, the Emilio Greco museum and the areas under it, with an audio guide, for €8; adding the Faina Etruscan museum makes it €11. Under-11s and residents of the diocese go in free, per the cathedral's visit page.

Sundays are the trap. On Sundays and holidays visits are limited to 10:00 to 11:00 and 13:00 to 16:30 from November to February, and to 17:30 from March to October. The cathedral is closed all day on 1 January 2027. If you have time left, St Patrick's Well, the 16th-century shaft with two spiral ramps of 248 steps each, is close to Piazza Cahen and sells its own ticket. For a sit-down end to the day, the tufa cellar tasting under Piazza del Duomo takes an hour and pours three wines.

An hour in a cellar cut into the tuff under Orvieto's cathedral square, with three wines and local food.

★ 4.6 · 1 hour · from $34

Check dates → Tour details

When is a tour better than the bus?

On Sundays and holidays, when there is no bus, and whenever you start from Rome and do not want to manage three connections.

The bus day is cheap, and it is fragile. Miss the 13:00 back and the next weekday bus is at 14:00; miss the Saturday 14:40 and you wait until 17:25. On Sundays and holidays the only options are a car, a taxi from Orvieto agreed both ways, or a tour.

From Rome, the Civita and Orvieto day trip does exactly this pairing by coach, with a guide in Civita, a farmhouse lunch and free time in Orvieto, for about $107. Guests report it is a long 12-hour day and that Orvieto gets less time than they wanted. A private driver covers Civita, Orvieto and St Patrick's Well on your own timing, priced per group and without entry tickets. Compare all three in our Civita from Rome guide.

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