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Any suggestions on a small town to base ourselves while in Umbria?

Any suggestions on a small town to base ourselves while in Umbria?

Old Jul 11th, 2005, 05:34 AM
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Any suggestions on a small town to base ourselves while in Umbria?

My husband and I are planning on a Italy/Croatia trip for March or April of next year. We would like to spend 5 nights in Umbria, hopefully in a small town with easy access to the larger towns for daytripping (Perugia, Montepuciano, Orvieto, Assisi, etc.). Having never been to Umbria, we are hoping to get some suggestions on a good place to base ourselves. We will have a car so we will need a place with access to decent parking, preferrably at the hotel itself.

Thanks for any advice/suggestions!
Tracy
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 05:59 AM
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Hi Tracy...We're going to be spending a week in Umbria this September and - after a lengthy search - I've chosen an agriturismo near a village called Villa Faustino. One criterion I had in my search was convenience for daytripping and this location is good for that.

http://www.argoweb.it/appartamenti_m...lanoce.uk.html

You mention Montepulciano, which is in Tuscany. We're planning a week there as well. For Umbria, we're including Gubbio and Norcia in addition to the ones on your list. Since you'll be there in the Spring, the Piano Grande (Norcia) should be a must-do on your list!

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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 07:05 AM
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Way back in '98, we stayed in a B&B called the Poggio d'Asproli, in Todi. We loved it, and Todi was a good central location for seeing various villages in Umbria.

We originally found it in the Karen Brown book on B&B's in Italy, although I'm not sure it's listed in the latest edition. I just did a search, and found a web site at "http://www.todi.net/poggio/" (scroll down for the English text).

Bruno Pagliari, an artist, was a wonderful host. If I recall, his daughter Claudia did the cooking, and the web page says she is now taking over management of the B&B.

- Larry
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 08:54 AM
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Except for Perugia, I would define the other towns you list as small.
Todi is a very good location for southern Umbria,not so good for Tuscany.
I personally like the other towns more, but it depends on what you want to visit.
Choose 2-4 "can't miss" places you want to daytrip. Then see what the drive time is from each.
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 10:26 AM
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Thank you very much for all the replies. I greatly appreciate it!

There are so many places I want to visit but I learned quickly during our last Europe trip to keep the daytrips to a minimum and within a short drive. We considered staying in Assisi but my husband is quite nervous about the prospect of driving in Italy and wants to stay in a small town with minimal traffic. I wasn't quite sure how large the towns are, so I appreciate the replies.

Thank you TuckH and justretired for your suggestions. We are looking at small country inns or agriturismos and both seem to fit the bill. I'm going to look into them further.

Thanks again for your help!
Tracy
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 10:34 AM
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Spello!

I spent a few fays in Umbria in May and stayed at the Hotel Bocci in Spello. If you click on my name, you will find a half-finished trip report.

Spello is a lovely little hill-town with a couple of good restaurants. It is close to Assisi (30 mins) and very quiet and quaint. I drove to Assissi, Orvieto, Spoleto, Gubbio, Perugia.

BTW, if your husband is nervous about driving in Italy, you may NOT want him to read my trip report gt;) Actaully, driving in Umbria was not too bad MOST of the time. If I can do it, I am sure he will be fine.

Regards Ger
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:03 AM
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Ger, your post on driving is hilarious! I just copied it and sent it via e-mail to my husband, although I don't know if thats a good thing! I keep telling him that driving through Italy can't be any worse that our disasterous drive through the heart of London, but somehow he isn't biting. Still, even he will admit that, although public transportation seems adequate for the region, nothing beats the freedom of a car.

I am researching Spello now (found some great pics on webshots.com) and it looks like a great town and sounds like a wonderful base. I'll have to research the hotel.

Thank you very much for your reply and your entertaining trip report!

Tracy
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:11 AM
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Just to add another bit of information, the Poggio d'Asproli is not actually IN the village of Todi. It's in the countryside, about a five minute drive from the edge of the village. The advantage is that it's very beautiful and peaceful. The disadvantage is that you can't WALK to anything.

We always came back from our day trips and had dinner at the B&B, once we discovered how good Claudia's cooking was. That way we could drink as much wine as we wanted, and crash without having to drive anywhere.

Bruno also used to regale us with various after-dinner drinks. After one meal, he served an after-dinner liquor, which we thought was a very nice addition to the meal. But then he said, "Here, try this one too," and offered us another one. And then another. I think there were five before we were done. These were all part of the meal - we weren't being charged for any of them. I think this was where we had our first limoncello.

When we visited a local winery, we bought a nice bottle of wine. Since we didn't really want to carry it home on the plane, we gave it to Bruno as a gift of appreciation for his hospitality. Trouble was, when we left, he gave us another bottle of local wine, so we ended up carrying a bottle home anyway (it was good, though).

For what it's worth, I didn't have any trouble driving in Italy, except trying to get my rental car out of Rome (it was an overcast day, I had inadvertently packed my compass, and drove for half an hour in entirely the wrong direction on the twisty streets). There is alway a certain tension driving in a foreign country with unfamiliar signage and conventions, but I really didn't encounter any major difficulties (even driving a stick shift, when I usually drive an automatic).

Every now and then, you hit a sign that you don't understand at all. Getting onto a toll road, there was an empty toll lane with the sign "Solo autovetture". Since I didn't have the faintest idea what "autovetture" are, I stayed out of it, and lined up in the other lane, with a bunch of trucks. Later, I went to my dictionary and looked it up. For the record, an "autovettura" is just an ordinary passenger car.

- Larry
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:13 AM
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We stayed in Corciano, just west of Perugia last spring at a villa we rented from the Parker Company. We liked the area and would go back because it was less than 10 mins. from the highway and we were able to get to Cortona and Montepulciano very quickly. Anywhere near Lago Trasimeno is very central and lovely.
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:37 AM
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I enjoyed my stay at 3 star La Bastiglia in Spello. www.labastiglia.com

My notes say, "Smartly restored mill-house in the heart of the picturesque little medieval town. Pleasant rooms, some with private garden terraces. Beautiful terrace with views of olive groves and Mt. Subasio. Charming dining room filled with contemporary Italian art, ceramics. Pool. Fabulous food."
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:51 AM
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FYI, the most valuable website on Umbria is this one, thanks to Bill Thayer...

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...mbria/map.html
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Old Jul 11th, 2005, 11:55 AM
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P.S. This is a quote from Bill Thayer...

"Put it all together, and in my opinion, Bevagna is the best possible base for visiting the heart of Umbria."
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 04:39 AM
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Hello tcreath,

For a central location in Umbria, have a look at this agriturismo: www.ilcanticodellanatura.com which is a peaceful setting with a pool and views over lake trasimeno.

If you're looking for a town which hasn't changed in a couple of hundred years, head for Bevagna.

Two spots there are: www.ilchiostrodibevanga.com or
www.brunamonti.com

Enjoy,

Lino and Rita
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 04:51 AM
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Except for Perugia, the towns you list don't create a problem driving. Perugia breally isn't all that bad either.
With most of these towns (and others in Umbria/Tuscany) you either can't drive into the central area and/or don't need to.
In Assisi you can drive a short way in and park or you can park right outside the walls and walk.
Except for Florence and Siena ,I don't think there's any towns that are all that difficult. Siena's traffic isn't crazy like Florences, but there's a tendency for visitors to get lost go to and from the central area.
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 07:09 AM
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Thank you all so much for your replies. They have been very helpful. And thanks for sending hotel recommendations....all are so lovely, its going to be difficult to choose! Obviously I have some researching and work to do to get this itinerary together, but all of the information above really helps.

Thanks again!
Tracy
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 07:21 AM
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I stayed at a farmhouse (San Angelo's) about a 2-minute drive from Aquapendente, which is about a 30 minute drive from Orvieto. Drive the other direction and you can be in Siena in a couple of hours. Also, about a 1-minute drive from the farmhouse was a tiny virgin hill town (Porcino, I think). I didn't explore the town's lodging options, but there are surely a few. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 02:34 PM
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My husband & I stayed in Montefalco at Villa Pambuffetti, found it in Karen Brown's book. The villa & grounds are as charming as the scenery they overlook. It has 15 rooms. You'd want the 'Torre dell'Amore', the tower room, with it's 360 degree vistas. Can't say enough about the family's culinary skills and pampering you'd enjoy. We also fell in love with the town itself.

Driving times with parking were (1) hr or less:
Montepulciano 60 minutes
Perugia 40 "
Assisi 40 "
Orvieto 30 "

Allow an entire day for Assisi.

Montefalco is just off SS448, close to
SS75 and SS3. It is about .30 minutes to A1 to go up to Montepulciano.

The Michelin map helped us plan out our route itinerary giving us 'down time' to discover the lovely town we were sleeping in.

Good luck & enjoy your planning.
Di
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Old Jul 12th, 2005, 04:18 PM
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Given the cities you'd like to see, I'd recommend a place near Lago Trasimeno. Maybe one of the lake towns themselves (Passignano, Tuoro, or Castiglione del Lago) or an area just nearby like Citta della Pieve or Panicale.

This area is generally right in the middle of all of the places that you want to get to, with nearby connections to the Autostrada that make driving to your destinations reasonably short. Get yourself a Michelin 1:400,000 map of central Italy, or better still, a Touring Club Italiano 1:200,000 map of Umbria & Le Marche and see where you want to go and what's involved in getting there. Back-calculate your way into places to stay. (BTW, the TCI map is great for driving.)
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