No matter if you go for its renowned cities or for its one of a kind countryside, Italy is one of those rare places that wherever you go, you will be constantly busy... but in a good way!
Consider Orvieto: This picturesque medieval town is 60 miles north of Rome and you can opt to visit as a day trip or make a morning train stop on your way to Florence. Orvieto is a hill town in Umbria, located atop huge tuff cliffs that served as fortifications during the Middle Ages.
You can catch a train to see some of its major towns, but if you want to truly experience the Tuscan countryside and relish its landscape and quaint villages, your best bet is to drive. Since we did not have a car, we booked a day tour with Alessandro Cammilli Private Tours. Alessandro is a local guide who has grown up in Florence and knows Tuscany like the back of his hand.
The city of Pisa is located one hour train ride from Florence and its major attraction is its famous Leaning Tower. The tower is very popular with visitors, where many take a day from their stay in Florence to explore the site.
We consider ourselves to be the furthest from experts in this area, but after spending 16 days of non-stop traveling and using numerous trains in order to tour the country, I have compiled our fail safe guide to train traveling in Italy. This should present you with a small introduction to the Italian Rail System, which may seem complicated at first, but after you take your 10th train you will start feeling much more at ease.
Pompeii was an ancient Roman town, famous for being buried by almost 20 feet of ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The ancient town, along with others nearby such as Ercolano (Herculaneum), were devastated and remarkably preserved by ash for centuries. Tourists flock, especially to Pompeii, earning to see these towns as they once were.