Orte is a great little train station that is a great resource for getting just about anywhere, as…read moreit is positioned at something of a crossroads near the borders between Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio. It serves mostly as a commuter rail station for people working in Rome and living in this area, so trains are more frequent at rush hours.
Since this review is in English, I'll leave some suggestions for foreign visitors:
Language:
Do not expect to encounter people that speak English here. You may get lucky, but this is not a station that serves many tourists. Be prepared with a language translator or English-Italian dictionary to help. The people are generally very friendly and helpful, so long as you don't expect that they speak English.
Arriving:
If you have lots of luggage, be aware that there is no elevator here. No matter which platform you arrive at, you will need to walk down roughly 24 stairs, and back up again on the station side. So if you have lots of luggage, be prepared. There is, however, a ramp at the far north side that reduces the steps a bit.
Transportation Options at the station:
If you are making a connection onto another train, it is pretty hard to go wrong. The station is small enough that it is hard to miss a connecting train. However, if this area is your final rail destination, there is not much in terms of transportation. There is a bus route that serves many of the neighboring towns, as well as Viterbo. Times are posted at the station, and you can get tickets at the station cafe. Beware that nights and weekends, the bus operates on a VERY thin schedule. You will generally NOT find a taxi at this station, as this is a more rural area of the country where taxis are extremely rare. There are NOT car rentals at the Orte station. Even though you may have seen car rental agencies in Orte, they are not at the station, and they are simply agents for some of the rental companies that only have cars if you reserve ahead, and do not meet you at the station. These should be avoided.
Departing:
If you are leaving FROM this station to another destination, do not rely on the ticket office being open. There are two automatic ticket machines here, but they only accept credit cards with an embedded microchip and PIN (Not common in much of the world). One of the machines does accept cash, so be prepared with bills large enough to buy your ticket.
Parking:
If you are taking a day trip out of here, you will see that the parking lot is somewhat small, usually full, and fairly expensive. There is ANOTHER lot behind the station that is quite large and has flat rate daily parking. Much less expensive. If you park there, there is a walking tunnel that takes you to the back-side of the station. It is VERY convenient.
Services:
The station has a Bar/Cafe that is almost always open. They have panini, cookies, beverages, seating, and naturally coffee, tea, alcohol, etc. You can purchase bus tickets and get some limited help here. There is also a newsstand at the station that is mostly open for the commuter hours.
