emnyc

My husband and I are going to be in Umbria for about 4 days in October and are trying to decide where to stay. We stayed in Umbria for several days in 2006 at the much loved Le Case Gialle, and it was deserving of the love bestowed on it, but this time we would like to stay in a town, so we don't always have to drive out to dinner, and so we can wander out for coffee or a drink on the square first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. We would like to visit Gubbio, Montefalco, Bevagna, Trevi, Perugia, and whichever of Spello or Spoleto that we are not based in. I think we are willing to skip Assisi this time around. Might try to hit Orvieto on our way out from Rome. So which would be a better base, Spello or Spoleto? We also considered Perugia. We visited Spello when we were in Umbria before, so I know it is very beautiful, but I don't think we ate there. We have not been to Spoleto or Perugia. Our highest priority is eating and drinking well in beautiful surroundings. We also want to stay in a place that is convenient for driving to the other towns we want to visit. My husband also loves beautiful churches, but it seems we are likely all set with those in any of the above. So where would you stay?

ekc

I would stay in Spello, mainly because I fell in love with the village reading about it on a blog from a woman who lived there for a year with her family. www.ilbelcentro.com

tower

I have twice favored Perugia as a good sized base for Umbria. All of your wishes above can be realized, in my experience. Don't let the size throw you. It's really a small town in big town's shoes. Our favorite lodging is at the very top level right off main drag Corso Vanucci(?), The Hotel <b>Fortuna</b>. Look it up.

A few day trips will allow you the time to take in Spello, Spoleto, Montefalco and pretty Bevagna...and proobably Gubbio, too. In Montefalco look in on the little Enoteca on the northeast corner of the main square....run my a mother and daughter (Cristina)team. They had just taken delivery on a new prosciutto slicer and were most generous in cutting us slice after slice placed on brushettas soaked with olive oil. Wine and olive oil specialties all over the shop. Very light dinner for that evening!

sandralist

You can use Google to figure out roughly if any of your day trip priorities make one town more convenient than the other. Other considerations are that Spello is very, very steep, so your "wandering out" for treats will almost invariably involve hill climbing.

You don't say when you are going in October, and you seem willing to skip Assisi, but if the mood strikes, and you are there in the first week of October, be aware that Oct 4 is the feast day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of Italy, and the town goes into a lockdown because usually the Pope and the head of state go there, and limited access to sites might be a problem for several days running.

If eating in restaurants is your priority rather than having access to good markets, I have heard from ore than one person that the best restaurants in that area of Umbria are in Foligno, and perhaps the best markets as well. But you might want think about whether you will be eating your major meals during your day trips, or at the end of the day. Very typically people who rent apartments in Italy eat big lunches and only want to nibble in the evenings, so having good stores matters more than good restaurants.

All that said, the Roman food blogger Elizabeth Michilli has a house in Umbria and frequently rights about it. I think her house is not far from Spoleto. If you look on her webiste you might find a lot entries for Umbria.

Although I have never had a really good meal inside the walls of Perugia, some of their chocolate is outstanding if you can find the real deal locally made stuff. Also track down the dates of the chocolate festival, which I think occurs in October and might have a huge impact on any plans you have to visit the city. There are also usually truffle festivals in October in Umbria, and maybe some for olive oil.

Dayle

em

I just typed a long reply and it would not post.

Short version I would choose Spello. I loved it

indyhiker

I'm assuming you will have a car. If so, I think Spello is an easy town to navigate if you have a car. There's a free public lot just outside the main gate. From that lot, it's easy to get just about anywhere else in Umbria. We stayed a week in Spello this past May and visited Assisi, Deruta, Bevagna, Montefalco, Norcia and Orvieto. We're staying in Spello again next May as well. It's a lovely, lovely town.

Spello is steep, but I didn't find it uncomfortable. It was a good way to work off dinner!

Elizabeth Minchilli's house is near Todi, not Spoleto.

RonZ

Yes, Spello. Very easy to drive in and out of. La Taverna in Perugio is very good, but our best lunch in the area was at the Entoca Federico II in Montefalco.

sandralist

Thanks. Todi. I only had vague recollection of it being in southern Umbria.

sandralist

Actually I meant to add that other people on Fodor's have commented that they prefer not to stay in Spello because of the steepness, so I thought it was worth mentioning, not knowing the OP. Apparently some people can't manage it easily.

emnyc

Thanks for all this! I especially appreciate the link to the blog and to the food writer and the restaurant recommendations. Feel free to keep those coming! Sounds like Spello is likely the place to be. (Though I will check out the Perugia recommendation as well.). Any recommendations for Spello hotels? To answer some questions from above, we will be there during the week of October 11. I haven't run into anything indicating that we will be overlapping with any major festivals, but on the other hand so far I have been mostly relying on our 2006 guidebooks, which may not mention every truffle festival and which also are no doubt out of date in various ways. We do remember from our previous visit this time of year that it is black celery season! We will have a car. I am fine with hilly strolling given that the weather shouldn't be terribly hot. It is nice to hear such pleasant affirmation of our general plans.

bvlenci

I would put in a word for Spoleto. It's a bigger town, so is likely to have more restaurant choices. It's also improved a lot in general urban upkeep since the first time I saw it. It has a charming medieval center, and always seems to have a lot of concerts and other activities going on, even when the Spoleto Festival is not taking place.

There's a very beautiful Romanesque church, the Basilica of San Pietro, on the outskirts of Spoleto. I was grieved to see it defaced by graffiti the first time I was in Spoleto, and haven't seen it since. I hope the upkeep of the basilica has also been improved.

The medieval aqueduct/bridge in Spoleto is one of the most impressive works of medieval engineering I've ever seen. In some ways it's more impressive than a cathedral, because of the difficult terrain where it was constructed.

I can't advise about restaurants there, because we're the kind of people who stop when we get hungry and follow our noses. We go out for special meals, mostly with friends, usually when we're near home.

Spello is one of the most beautiful small towns in Italy, but I feel it might be a bit restricting as a base. I don't remember it being terribly steep, but I may have forgotten. We stayed there for two nights once for the Infioratura of Corpus Christi, when they make elaborate floral decorations on the streets which are then ruined by the Corpus Christi procession. If anyone will be there near the feast of Corpus Christi, it's certainly worth a substantial detour. You should go the evening before and stay until the wee hours to see the ongoing work.

Probably you'd be happy in either town. It's very difficult to go wrong with restaurants in that part of Italy. Maybe you should choose based on the lodging offered.

indyhiker

I can't offer any hotel recommendations for Spello as we stayed in a rental. I would agree that Spoleto arguably offers more, but for just four nights, I do think you'll find what you need. I do think Spello offers a slightly better location for the other towns you wish to visit.

I thought I'd mention that we did a wonderful day long wine tour with Gusto Wine Tours if you're into that sort of a thing. They will pick you up from Spello, which was very convenient for us.

sandralist

I just checked and the Eurochocolate trade show in Perugia starts Oct 16. It is a huge event that completely overtakes the main center of Perugia, with hundreds of stalls, so I can't help but think that they begin setting up several days prior to the actual opening date. If you are arriving on the 11th and want to visit Perugia, you should do it as early in your stay as possible. Perugia does not need a perfectly sunny day to be toured and appreciated, and even if you are not major museum hounds, the national gallery of Umbrian art is one of the most important museums of art in Europe for understanding of the development of Italian church fresco art, and it is not enormous and is well-labeled in English if you don't speak Italian. The collection is stunning and your understanding of aesthetic and historic Umbria (and Italy) will increase mightily if you take the time to walk through.

indyhiker

In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you that Spello is pretty quiet in the evenings. Certainly, there are a number of restaurants from which to pick, but beyond that, there's not a lot of "action." That was okay with us. We typically ate around 8:30/9 and were fine with calling it an evening after that. But we did often walk around the town to work off dinner a bit and didn't see much in terms of liveliness.

If you're willing to forego a hotel, this is the rental where we stayed:
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p6224524

While the apartment isn't posh, it was very clean and well organized. The owners live next door and will be at your disposal and were extremely helpful and accomoodating. The price is ridiculously cheap for what you get. We really like the location in that it was just a few minutes from the main town gate (and the nearby parking lot). We could easily come and go without having to trek up through town. There's a cafe a few minutes away that we liked as well. The apartment lies within a locked courtyard and is very secure. We're staying there another six nights next May.

TDudette

DH and I loved Hotel Clitunno in Spoleto. We also enjoyed the owners and staff. My TR below will elaborate on our meals at the hotel's wonderful resto and our train rides to other towns:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ellagio-tr.cfm

Spoleto also has some pretty steep hills but it also has good bus service to a convenient train station.

The Spello station was unmanned on the day we were there.

Once you get to the top of Orvieto, it is flat. Killer Duomo--try not to miss it.

Jean

Spello would be too quiet for me. We stayed in Spoleto for nearly a week and had a great time exploring Umbria. We stayed in the Hotel San Luca which is in a perfect location for driving in/out in all directions. They have parking (for a fee), but we had no trouble finding overnight parking on nearby streets in mid-October. There was a market a couple of blocks away where we bought wine, cheese, fruit, etc.

Spoleto is steep, but there are now a couple of escalators from parking lots at the bottom of the town to the historical center at the top. I've had no success in finding a map showing their locations.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/hotelsanluca.html

indyhiker

What a pretty hotel, Jean. I'll have to keep that in my back pocket.

I mentioned we went to Norcia. It's not too from Spoleto. I loved the town and the short drive to the Piano Grande would be well worth it.

emnyc

Ah, I figured the early consensus was too easy. I am not looking for "nightlife" in the sense of wee hour bars or clubs, but if you wanted to, say, have a glass of wine and linger at an outdoor bar or cafe table on a piazza at 11:00 or 11:30 at night, could you do that in Spello, or is it really a dinner-and-to-bed town? And is Spoleto too far South for easy driving to the destinations on our list, or well situated?

Suki

Yes, that is your dilemma. Spello is charming and very well located for visiting the places you'd like to go. Spoleto is a little bigger and probably livelier. We stayed outside of Spello twice and ate dinner in Foligno (very close to Spello), and in Spello. We ate lunch in may towns in Umbria. Don't miss Norcia, and the Piano Grande.

Jean

From Spoleto, we easily reached every town on your list, with the exception of Perugia where we had stayed on a prior trip. We had also already been to Foligno and perhaps visited Assisi on one of the other trips, not that it matters for your planning. I will say if you can squeeze in a half day in Assisi just to see the basilica, I don't think you'll feel it was a waste of time.

I especially liked the drive (SS418) between Spoleto and Todi (a very picturesque town IMO) and the area between Spoleto and Bevagna/Montefalco/Bastardo. Gubbio was the longest day, obviously, but we took different routes going and returning and then had dinner in Spello.

But do you have four FULL days (i.e., five nights)? Even with four days, you'll have to be very selective in your sightseeing. Where do you go after Umbria?