You can't go to Orvieto without a look around the underground caves. There's 1200 cellar caves under the city but only a couple are public. It'll only take 45 minutes to take a guided tour to see them and get some geological history of the the area as well. Pick up your ticket for 6 Euros in the tourist info centre in the Duomo Piazza. We were lucky to pitch up 5 up minutes before the 4.15pm tour. Pigeon pie for dinner anyone?
This is a fascinating tour underneath the city of Orvieto. The Etruscan civilisation kick started this wonderful labyrinth of caves, then it was continued during the Mediaeval and Renaissance period. They ran out of room above ground, hence creating more space underneath. This space was used for various types of industry.The tour lasted around one hour. Tickets can be purchased from Piazza Duomo 23 and the tour leaves just outside their door. Cost was 6euros and 5euros for reduced rate. There is a tour in English, which we did. The guide we had was very passionate about the history of Orvieto and answered many questions thrown his way.Their brochure times are tours everyday at 11am, 12.15, 16.00 and 17.15, however, their website states, "during periods of greater tourist attendance, every 15 minutes."Other than English and Italian, according to their website, they conduct tours in, French, German, Spanish and Russian.For more information check their website www.orvietounderground.itIf you are in Orvieto this is well worth your time.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Orvieto is a great day trip from Rome, but one should not go there without taking this tour. Be sure to get reservations when you get to Orvieto as the tour is limited to approximately 30 people for each tour. This was very interesting and at 6 euro for about an hour tour, its something not to be missed.
You should not miss seeing the Orvieto Underground. We took a one hour guided tour of the Etruscan underground caves and paths that are over 2500 years old, and were dug deep into the tuffaceous rock, a volcanic limestone rock. The Etruscans had dug an intricate web of caves and numerous wells, so they were able to defend Orvieto for a long time. Under the city are 1200 caves of which we saw 2 of them. (About 600 of the caves currently have private homes over them and the homeowners utilize the space as wine cellars.) Tours are offered in many languages and we took an English-speaking tour. The tour itself is an easy walk and all you need are comfortable shoes. Tickets can be purchased in Piazza Duomo, near the Tourism Office. Highly recommend!!
The tour takes a little bit more than an hour and is really interesting. Our guide was really well-prepared and told a lot about ancient Etruscans. It is very easy to buy the tour. The leaflets of the company are spread all around the city. If you don't find one, simply go to the magnificent Cathedral and you'll find tourist office in front of Museo Duomo. The tour is really very cheap, it cost only 5 euros for me. (I am a University student, so I'm not sure about the price of the ticket for those who do not have ISIC card.)
Fascinating experience. The underground tour, which was held in English, was excellent, a guide was very professional and tell us a lot of unknown facts about Etruscan and medieval Orvieto. You can imagine that the city is ever big underground and above. Therefore it is often called “vertical town”. It was certainly worth our money and time.
We visited Orvieto Underground on a blistering hot Summer day, so the cool subterranean exploration felt extra good. These caves are architectural marvels dug hundreds of feet below the city. While originally serving as sources of fresh water, they have subsequently served as storerooms, wine cellars, homes for domesticated homing pigeons (the origin of the term "pigeon hole" is readily apparent here), and WW II bomb shelters. The English-language guide did a good job of explaining all.
Good tour guide lead us into the manmade caves under Orvietto. Mostly tour of dovecotes, could have been more interesting if it lead into other areas of the cave system. Worth doing though
This tour is not really grand or exciting, but it's a fascinating glimpse at the underground living that took place beneath Orvieto. We enjoyed learning about the Etruscan people and were impressed by the history of the place. We were the only two people on the English-speaking tour, but that was all right. The views from the walk to the start of the tour are just beautiful, as are some of the glimpses you get from openings inside. Our tour guide was friendly and interesting. Overall, it's worth doing.
We went to Orvieto for a day trip from Rome in October and enjoyed rather empty streets (although the streets around the main Cathedral were still pretty busy with tourists. We found out about this tour at the Information office and got the tickets for the tour at about 2 p.m. The guide was really nice and although the tour is rather short (I would say it is more like 40-45 minutes rather than an hour but since the price is under 10 Euros, it does make a good deal) it was worth it. And since it was starting to rain, it turned out to be a perfect idea instead of just looking for a shelter. Make sure to get some Ruffino Orvieto wine (you can always enjoy the tasting first)!