Itinerary for 2 weeks in hill towns of Umbria

Paul; With that much time, you should consider spending a like amount of time in Tuscany. Perhaps around Siena. Then off to Umbria. You need a map. Flying into Florence and out of Rome works. So much to see in these two regions. Richard visit slowtrav.com for information

Good for you, Paul.
I am confused--is it 2 weeks or 24 days--big difference?
I agree that a week in Umbria may be adequate, leaving time for nearby Tuscany. Look at Le Case Gialle and Genius Loci in Umbria. You can visit most of your hill towns from one location in Umbria.

In Assisi, I highly recommend the restaurant, Medio Evo. The best gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce that I've ever had!!! And, everyone was very friendly... the owner and other patrons all stopped to chat with me (a single diner).

http://www.ristorantemedioevoassisi.it/english/chisiamo.htm

I wanted to stay at the Hotel Umbra, however it was fully booked. I won't recommend the hotel that I did stay in... the rooms were very bare bones and the armoir was pretty dirty although the cost was pretty inexpensive.

I so loved Assisi... it was one of my favorite towns in Italy! Try to take a stroll along the back lanes... don't stick to the main street.

I don't think you need to move around so much, unless you want to really get a feel for the towns you are staying in. I suggest basing yourself in one or possibly two bases within the two weeks. You may want to split it up between SW/central and northern Umbria (+ visiting some of southern Marche).

I enjoy staying in the countryside with a town nearby. Have you considered an apartment or agriturismo? It might give you more space to relax and the option of preparing your own meals when you don't want to go out.

I have stayed a few times at this very central agriturismo, located 10 minutes from the town of Bevagna-

http://www.lecasegialle.it/

A very beautiful hotel in Spello-

http://www.palazzobocci.com/en/index.html

A great house (it's on my next visit list) and an informative review-

http://www.rocciaviva.net/
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/review.asp?n=1704

This is a nice place to stay, located just outside of Spoleto-

http://www.eremodelsole.com/home.aspx

I like the Touring Club of Italy Umbria guidebook. It provides great info and terrific town and driving itineraries.

This is a well written trip report you may enjoy-

http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1084

Enjoy beautiful Umbria!

as far as length of time;i figure 14-18 days in umbria and 4-5 days in rome at end of trip.
paul

We too stayed at le Case Gialle and loved it. Wonderful location near Bevagna.

I also agree that most of the towns can be visited from one base. From le Case Gialle we easily visited Bevagna, Montefalco, Spello, Assisi, Trevi, Todi, Deruta, Spoleto and even Orvieto and some towns in Tuscany (Montepulciano, Pienza, San Quirico).

If you enjoy ruins, we visited the ruined Roman town of Carsulae in Umbria, not far from Spoleto. It hardly gets mention around here but is a great site and very untouristy.
We somehow managed to get a little lost trying to locate it, but finding it was worth the effort.

Happy planning!
Tracy

bookmarking to read later ...

to joanny c.
thank you for the recommendation on the ristorante medio evo in Assisi. The photos of the dining rooms exemplify the dining atmosphere that my wife and I enjoy. Surely we will check this place out!!
paul

Br careful in Orvieto.

I drove onto the wrong street by accident.

It was available to limited traffic during specified times of the day unless you stayed in a hotel on the street.

I followed another car but did not have a sticker and didn't even know I was not supposed to be driving there.

They took a photo of the license plate of my rental car and 18 months after the trip I received a citation from the Commune of Orvieto for 104 euros.

Instead of a warning and or a thank you for visiting and spending a boat load of $$$...I received a citation EIGHTEEN MONTHS LATER!

18 monhs later!

And if I chosen to appeal I had to do it in Italian and if I lost I had to pay double the fine.

Been to Orvieto three times but will not return!

Happy to be of help, Paul.

The first views of Assisi as you approach is just amazingly breathtaking. It is truly an OMG moment! Try to pull over somewhere to take a photo.

If you decide to visit Tuscany, I can recommend a couple of restaurants in Siena and the convent's wine shop for a wine tasting in San Gimignano.

Enjoy!

I really wish you could edit your own posts on this site...

The first views of Assisi as you approach are just amazingly breathtaking.

We spent 9 days a few years ago in Umbria and loved it. We decided to spend all of those nights in one small family run hotel in Bevagna called Palazzo Brunamonti. We chose Bevagna both because it is a very central area from which it was easy to get to most of the other places we wanted to visit, and also because it is completely flat, as opposed to all the other very hilly hill towns! We were very pleased. I highly recommend this hotel.

Bevagna is very small, I dare say maybe 5000 people, and this is not what everyone likes. We personally did, and loved it.

As for restaurants in Umbria here are the ones that we loved the most and can highly recommend :

Ottavius restaurant (Ottavius Ristorante, Via Del Gonfalone 4, Bevagna; Tel : 0742-360555)

Il Cacciatore (Ristorante Il Cacciatore, Via Giulia 42, Spello; Tel : 0742-301603)

Our very favorite restaurant was :
(L'Alchimista, Piazza del Comune 14, Montefalco; Tel : 0742-378558;

There are many who have recommended this restaurant :
Piazza Onofri (Enoteca Piazza Onofri, Via Onofri 2, Bevagna; Tel : 0742-361926) but we had a very bad and very overpriced meal there and would NOT recommend.

I am a very slow traveler and love to spend many days in one place to really get a feel of the area. But even I would suggest that 14-18 days in Umbria alone is a bit much and would maybe divide the time between Umbria and Tuscany.

Enjoy.

Flame, I'm glad you mentioned Ottavius because we too ate there and loved it but I had forgotten the name. I had a gnocci with sangrantina sauce that was to die for.

Tracy

Dear Paul,

I'm not sure that my plans for two weeks from now will fit with what you are seeking, but after two other trips to Umbria, we decided to do this:

We are spending two nights in Orvieto, one to decompress from overnight flight from US > Rome, and one to sight see by car, with a planned trip into Tuscany to visit Pitigliano and surroundings.

I think we have decided to eat my birthday dinner at La Palomba in Orvieto, based on many recs.

Trattoria La Palomba
via Cipriano Manente, 16
Tel. 0763 343395

Closed on Wednesdays.

We are spending two nights at B&B Michelangeli, with is a small apartment, with a very small price, by anyone's standards. 75 €

When we leave Orvieto, we are headed to the small town of Montone, just outside of Citta di Castello.

On our way there, we will visit Sansepolcro in Tuscany, to have a meal at La Fiorentina and see the Piero della Francescas in the town museum.

RISTORANTE FIORENTINO ~ LOCANDA del GIGLIO
Via Luca Pacioli, 60 ~ 52037 Sansepolcro (AR)

In Montone, we are staying at a newish hotel called Hotel Fortebraccio. It isn't atmospheric but it looks new, clean, and comfortable, especially for 85 € per night. They have a restaurant and pretty much full hotel services.

http://www.hotelfortebraccio.it/index_en.php

We may have one meal at Il Capitano, but we are moving quickly and may not feel like a more dressy restaurant such as this appears to be. I'm not reserving ahead from home, but I've heard very good things.

http://www.ilcapitano.com/

We will be in Montone for three nights, and two more full days. One day is for Gubbio and one if for a road trip to the Sanctuary of San Francesco at La Verna, to soak in some St Francis, and to see the Casentino and the della Robbia reliefs at La Verna.

I don't have eating plans for either day, but I am hearing mixed things about Taverna La Lupo in Gubbio. Some reviews I've read in Italian (barely deciphered, that should be) are negative. Still looking for a place to eat in Gubbio. We will probably be there on the holiday, April 25.

We leave Umbria by driving to Arezzo to drop our car off and train to Rome.

Much of this itinerary was put together with some good help from Fodorites.

I also purchased the book An Appetite for Umbria, which is a very nice book and covers a lot more than I'm going to see or do.

Hello Paul, I think your broad plan sounds very, very good. Two-plus weeks in Umbria and five days in Rome will give you time to enjoy both.

I wouldn't dilute my time in Umbria by spending only a week there and a week in Tuscany. Umbria is a fascinating region, with so many things to see and do. I could easily spend a week in just Perugia!

You've mentioned an interest in hill towns, but I would definitely add Perugia to the list. It's a city, but the medieval core at the top of Perugia is fascinating. There is great art, great history, views, wonderful restaurants and bars and it's very vibrant. An interesting contrast to some of the quieter towns such as Spello.

Don't forget Spoleto, Norcia and the Piano Grande, Trevi, and fascinating rural monasteries like San Pietro in Valle.

For two-plus weeks in Umbria, you might like having two bases, one in a town and another in an agriturismo or country inn. I like both; staying in a town like Bevagna or Spoleto, you can park the car at the end of the day, have wine at dinner and stroll the dark streets to your heart's content. Staying the countryside means you must drive everywhere, but it can be really beautiful, quiet and peaceful. The stars at night are spectacular when you're away from the ambient light from town.

Another vote for Perugia. Central location plus great transportation options for the region should you choose to take advantage of it. You can search my trip report from 2004 to see what I did in Perugia and the surrounding area. Definitely eat at Dal Mi'Cocco on Corso Garibaldi. Amazing food.

Other pretty towns to try: Arezzo, Narni. Non-hill-town but pretty is the area around Lago Trasimeno (Castiglione del lago). Go out to the small island in the middle (Isola Maggiore)- pilgrimage spot for St. Francis fans.

You could also check out the Cascata delle Marmore (a beautiful waterfall near Terni).

Tracy - that is exactly the meal we chose as well in Ottavius, and it WAS to die for. Yum!!!

Oh, Zoecat, that roccaviva sounds divine! I have bookmarked it for a future trip!

tuscanlifeedit,

This may be just one person's impression but we also visited Gubbio on a holiday although this one was Ferragosto. We arrived mid-morning and the parking lots we could find were jammed, and we were hard pressed to find street parking. The atmosphere I hoped to find in a medieval town was lost among the throngs and street vendors. Unlike so many other small towns and villages that I'd love to return to someday, Gubbio felt more like a theme park on that day.

toni_g_b: that is just the kind of feedback and experience thåt I've been looking for. We can easily switch to do the Casentino on April 25.

Since Gubbio didn't please you, can you name another town in the area that you liked better?

However, that's one persons opinion. It was a great town. We stayed two nights. Always had parking in the upper town. Here was our hotel in the upper town. Richard www.relaisducale-gubbio.com

P.S. Another bit of information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gubbio

To you all,
keep the suggestions coming. They are very good!!
To the person, tuscanlifeedit, I really like the idea of Montone and the hotel/restaurant: Locanda del Capitano.
As for continual feedbacks; we are still primarily interested in staying in the towns itself as opposed to agriturismos. We don't want to be totally isolated and we do prefer activities in the towns themselves.
paul the man

Excuse me if I didn't make myself clear. I was trying to express my experience visiting Gubbio on a holiday (and maybe it's only that crowded on August 15). Any other time it may have enchanted me. I wouldn't for a minute suggest someone not go - it was picturesque - but if the schedule is flexible try the day before or after.

As for another town, tuscanlifeedit, we were driving from Urbino to Perugia when we stopped in Gubbio so another day's trip to Citta di Castello was the extent of our northerm Umbria experience. Now if you want to go into le Marche, the drive to Urbino from Gubbio on S452 to S3 (via Flaminia)is pretty striking. Mapquest says it's 1 hr 45 mins. Except for Urbino which is simply amazing, none of the towns in the area are exceptional in and of themselves but the aggregate is a lovely overview of the area. Cagli, Fermignano, Urbania, Peglio (amazing views from the mountain top), the Furlo Gorge. Now that's somewhere I definitely plan to return to.

We also loved Urbino. About an hour. But we first visited San Marino [a tiny country, within Italy] that took about one and a half hour's to get there. Very nice hill town. Then did Urbino on the way back. It was a interesting day trip. And a little more information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/san_marino http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/urbino

Ah, forgot about the Repubblica di San Marino. It is indeed gorgeous. Beautiful views, not too far away. Charming.

Paul & tuscanlifeedit,

I stayed in Gubbio at the Palazzo Ducale. Very nice hotel, but church bells rang all night (every 15 min.) and I checked out a day early. Other than that I really liked Gubbio and would have liked a second day there. Beautiful views from the main piazza, very ancient town. I did have dinner at the Taverna de Lupo at the hotle's reco, and hated it. Very stuffy, bad service, overpriced and food not good a fine dining restaurant.

On the other hand, highly recommend Spello and Palazzo Bocci. Dinner at their restaurant, Il Mulino, was outstanding. I would return to Spello, the hotel and the restauant in a heartbeat!

Buon viaggio!