Orvieto: a golden cathedral on a tuff crag.

Orvieto rises on a crag of volcanic tuff in southern Umbria, already outside Lazio but on the Rome–Florence train line. It's the day trip from Rome that is best done without a car: the train drops you at the foot of the rock, a funicular takes you up and at the top you have one of Italy's most beautiful cathedrals, a 54-metre well with a double staircase and an entire city of caves dug beneath the houses.

What can you see in Orvieto in a day?

The cathedral. The façade of golden mosaics can be seen from afar and doesn't disappoint up close. Inside, the San Brizio chapel holds Luca Signorelli's frescoes of the end of the world, from the early 16th century. Allow an hour and a half. Entry costs €8 with an audio guide.

Underground Orvieto. A one-hour guided visit through the caves, cisterns and dovecotes dug in the tuff, leaving from opposite the cathedral. Four sessions a day; in Spanish, if you book.

St Patrick's Well. Next to where the funicular arrives. It was commissioned by a pope who took refuge in Orvieto after the sack of Rome in 1527: two spiral ramps that never cross and 248 steps down to the water.

With time, climb the Torre del Moro, go down the Pozzo della Cava and enter the Claudio Faina Etruscan museum, opposite the cathedral. If you're going to see three or more things, the Carta Unica, at €35, includes almost everything and is valid for a year.

How do you get there from Rome?

By train, from Roma Termini on the Florence line: regional and intercity trains stop at Orvieto, at the foot of the crag. Opposite the station the funicular leaves, climbing in a few minutes to Piazza Cahen, next to St Patrick's Well. From there, a quarter of an hour on foot along Corso Cavour to the cathedral.

By car, about 120 km on the A1 motorway, Orvieto exit: around an hour and a half from Rome. Don't drive up to the centre, which has restricted access: leave the car below and go up by funicular, or in the car park your hotel suggests.

From Spain, you fly to Rome Fiumicino and continue by train, or to Florence if you're combining with Tuscany: Orvieto is on the same line.

How much time do I need?

One day covers the cathedral, the underground tour, the well and a stroll. With a night, you see the façade in the afternoon light, when the day trippers leave, and the next day you can go to Civita di Bagnoregio, half an hour away by car or by COTRAL bus from the station.

When to go?

In spring and autumn. In summer the centre heats up at midday, though the caves and wells are cool. Note on Sundays: the cathedral admits tourist visits only from 10:00 to 11:00 and from 13:00, because of Masses. In winter it closes at 17:00.

Where to eat and sleep?

La Palomba is the long-standing trattoria, opened in 1965, with homemade umbrichelli; it closes on Wednesdays. I Sette Consoli is the more refined table, with a garden and views of the cathedral in summer. For sleeping, the Hotel Corso is by the funicular, the Palazzo Piccolomini in a palace in the centre, and Villa Ciconia, down below, has a pool and parking.