Urbino Transportation

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Urbino is an isolated setting, and the easiest way to get there is to go from PESARO and almost nowhere else.

Motorway A14 Bologna-Canosa
Exits
Cattolica-Gabicce
Pesaro
Fano
Marotta-Mondolfo

That's what the tourist books say. However, we did not do that. We always seem to make it more difficult. We came from Camerino, and Allan spent at least an hour mapping the best way there.

Also there is a Railway line:
Milano-Bologna-Ancona-Lecce
Roma-Falconara-Pesaro

By the way, There are frequent SOGET buses from Pesaro to Urbino (Telphone: 0721 371318) In Urbino, the bus depot is on Piazzale Mercatale (town's southern gate)

However, coming by car requires that you park at the huge Car Park. Until you have a reservation in a hotel with a special permission card, you cannot drive in the ancient part of the city.

Gates to the Old Town:

1. Valbona Gate opens onto the vast Piazzale del Mercatale and is the most important gate to the city.

2. Lavagine Gate used to have an external rampart, but it was removed during the 18th Century.

3. Gate of Saint Lucia (there's a small home above the vault!)

You need to be aware that in the Car Park, you must pay the meters!

- One of the best things of Urbino is that it remains hidden in the mountains, impregnable, so it keeps the essence of a little town with the splendour of the Renaissance and the lively streets full of students. But in the other hand, if you're a tourist that will mean difficulty to access to the city. There used to be a train station, but nowadays the only way to get there is by car, motorbike or bus. You can catch a bus in Rome (twice a day), but the best way is to go to Pesaro (the capital of the Region) and there (outside the train station) take a 50 minutes bus to Urbino. You have a good schedule of buses to go to Urbino.

- If you want to go by car pay attention to the road because it's the typical sharp bends' road of the towns located in the Apenines area.

- If you take the bus from Rome, the bus stop is located in Piazza Tiburtina and the name of the Bus Company is Fratelli Bucci (the first bus departs to Urbino around 6:30 am and the second at 3:45 pm)

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Urbino is located in the hills of the so-called Montefeltro, a region which is located in northern Marche and north eastern Umbria. It is quite easy to reach but one has to take into account that Marche region doesn’t have the excessive autostrada network as it is the case in northern Italy. One autostrada (SS73 bis or E78) leads from Fano at the coast to the west. Exit to Urbino is some km after Fossombrone and then another few km to the northwest on smaller regional streets. Or regional road SP423 leads from Pesaro at the coast directly to Urbino.

For those who come by car: Urbino has a very prominent location on a hill and the streets are quite narrow. Thus, parking for locals is no available in abundance and it should be a question of respect to leave the car outside of the city walls. Parking outside is easy and convenient, since the major parking lot in the southwest of town (from where the two slim towers of Palazzo Ducale can be seen) is connected to an elevator. When I came to Urbino in August 2010 I saw that they are building a multi-storey car park in the south-eastern part outside the walls (see arrow). I don’t know though when it will be opened.

Public transport is easy only if one comes from another town in Marche region, especially from the coastal part (Rimini, Pesaro, Fano etc). But in a recent post in the travel forum we realised that it is quite difficult to travel the rather short distance of 250 km from Urbino to Toscana village of Cortona. “Extraurban” busses leave from Urbino to several towns in Marche and eastern Umbria and to Arezzo in Toscana.