travelfan1, we are also spending a week in Spello but a few weeks after you. Our plans for daytrips are very similar to yours so I am anxious to hear what others recommend and what you finally decide to do. I hope you'll consider reporting back after your trip.

I don't have suggestions for you but we are also considering a stay in Umbria in early October so will watch the replies to your question.
Where are you staying in Orvieto the first night?

Can't really help you with your specific question as I don't drive on holiday ( too stressful and expensive for me as a solo traveller) but would just like to say that I had a wonderful 10 days in Umbria recently based in Perugia. Apart from exploring Perugia (so much to see, especially art), I got the bus to Assisi (very touristy as I expected), Gubbio ( no big names, no tour buses, no tourist tat) which was an unspoilt mediaeval hill-town, and Todi which although small, is perfectly-formed. I also went by train to Spello, Spoleto, and Orvieto. There are magnificent churches full of art everywhere.
Obviously I couldn't get to the off-the-beaten-track places you mention but there was more than enough to see in the time I had.
I don't think you can go wrong really.

I want to follow the discussion too! I have 3 nights in Perugia, 3 nights in Spello, and 2 in Orvieto.

I know precisely what you mean about a race to see towns vrs. Sitting ans sipping. We now prefer that style as well.

If you click on "DRJ" I hope you will find some recommendations for dining in this part of Umbria as I have spent several weeks in the area.

tt

Please see my comments below:


Day 1, Saturday: Pick up rental first thing - visit Civita di Bagnoregio before heading to Spello....must arrive in Spello by 4 pm. Missed Civita on a previous trip and would like to visit on this one. Would love to stop in Todi but feel it may be too rushed. Thoughts? With a car, so long as you leave early, I believe you can get to Civita di Bagnoregio with plenty of time to get to your hotel by 4. Hub and I visited Orvieto in the a.m. and planned to take a bus to Civita di Bagnoregio but were too tired. You could also call your Spello hotel to let them know if you were running late??

Day 2, Sunday: Piano Grande loop, visit Norcia and Norcineria Ercole Ulivucci for salami... lunch in Taverna Castelluccio, back to Spello via Visso - with lots of goodies in hand! This will be our longest drive of the week. No experience here.

Day 3, Monday: Perugia (thinking of taking the train so we don't have hassles with traffic or parking and giving the driver a break) If you take a bus, it's station is more convenient to the public escalator that goes up to the old area. It is interesting to pass through layers of the city. There are as well, busses at the train station that go to the Place d'Italia (my notes say the G2 bus but do confirm). If money is no issue, take a taxi to the top and then work your way back down to the Place d'Italia. Busses and taxis abound there.

Day 4, Tuesday: Spoleto - maybe stop in Trevi on the way back if time permits, perhaps dinner in Trevi? We based in Spoleto and it has some wonderful things to see. The aquaduct, Duomo, market square at the top and lots at the lower level as well. Spoleto has enough for more than a day, so do start early and at the top!

Day 5, Wednesday: Simply Spello, This is market day in Spello. We'll just spend the day exploring the nooks and crannies of this Umbrian village....pick up lunch from the market, enjoy some vino at an outdoor cafe and just savour the fact we're in Italy. You may have time for Trevi if you miss it on Spoleto day.

Day 6, Thursday: Bevagna and Montefalco, ending in Foligno around 5 pm for the Primi d'Italia pasta festival. Can't help here except that we unexpectedly had an hour in Foligno and very much enjoyed its "vibe". The main square is beautiful and we happened upon an art exhibit near the train station.

I'm with you in spirit! How nice that you are returning in an unhurried way. A real luxury.

Make that "its station", not "it's"!

Vttraveler...this time around we're staying at the Hotel Duomo.

Thank you all for your responses so far.

Hmmm...this plan calls for Perugia on Monday - which is when most of the museums are closed, including the interesting looking Rocca Paolina. May have to rethink this....

Your plans sound great. We spent a week in Umbria last September, visiting many of the same places you are considering. Do not miss Trevi, that is where we were based and it is truly wonderful. Very small and quaint, just what we wanted. The views are unbelievable. The Olive Oil Museum is a real treasure. Several very good places to eat, also. If you are into Italian ceramics, Deruta is the place. Market day there is Tuesday, it is Friday in Trevi.

Consider making some time for provisioning on the day of your arrival in Spello. We have found it helps to get groceries on that Saturday as Sunday and Monday am can find many stores closed. In other words, save some energy for your arrival.

We/I like to visit the wineries between Spello and Montefalco--there are many. Arnaldo Caprai has a very nice tasting room with first class italian hospitality--Scacciadiavoli is another favorite and there is a good enoteca in Spello. I always suggest the restaurant Al'Chemista in Montefalco.

We will be in the area also--Can you tell us more about Foligno's "Primi d'Italia's Pasta Festa" ? Is it the one scheduled for 9/27 to 9/30 (Thur-Sun)?

Your schedule looks fine--we've driven the Piano Grande Loop (and will again) a couple of times but in reverse of your description--something about lentils and pork in Norcia! Love it! If you are a fan of ceramics, don't miss Deruta Alto.
Enjoy--Paul

Macanimals - Yes indeed, it is the one scheduled for that Thursday through Sunday and since we're there I thought it might be something to experience. I'm opting for the first night because I was told the weekend will bring bigger crowds. Thanks for the tip regarding Arnaldo Caprai...may very well do their tour/tasting - with the Umbrian cheese and cold cuts of course!

My husband loves to drive, so we have see a lot of Umbria by car. Although it's all beautiful, we especially enjoyed the scenery along the road between Spoleto and Acquasparta (SS418), all the roads between Bevagna and Spoleto, and the road between Gubbio and Perugia (SS298). If the weather's exceptional, consider going to Lake Trasimeno and driving part of the shoreline -OR- drive toward Terni and see the Marmore Falls.

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/nature-and-environment/marmore-falls/

If you go to Todi, look for the parking lot at the bottom of the town and farthest from E45. Ride the funicular from there to the top of the town. There are beautiful views toward Bastardo from the terrace of Ristorante Umbria located off the main piazza. Good food too. We found the shopping options in Todi to be a bit more sophisticated, higher quality, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dalem/22993965/

If you go to Gubbio, there is a parking lot at the bottom of the town that is easy to find if you follow the signs for the Roman Theater. There are some beautiful ceramics shops. Don't forget to ride the Bucket of Bolts to the top of the town.

http://www.annaghvarn.plus.com/Italy2011/28/imgp0094.jpg

Travelfan,

Your plans sound wonderfulderful! I stayed in Spello on my last trip and loved it. Especially liked Il Mulino restaurant across from Palazzo Bocci,excellent. Also loved the bar/gellateria up the street that has back garden with gorgeous views.

Gubbio is not a long drive and definitely worth visiting. Very interesting town.

I also really liked Todi. Very steep,very special.

Was disappointed inthe ceramics inDeruta, but our mistake was in shopping in the lower town!

Besure to try Sagrantino di Montefalco, an amazing red.

Do go into the churchrd andsmall museums in all the above. There is some beautiful and mousart

Argh! Hardto type on touch screen.

I wish i was going! Buon viaggio

Travel fan, from the info I have, lonely planet guide, the museums are open on Mondays, except the Galleria Nazionale del Umbria is closed only the first Monday of the month.

We will be there the same Monday, also Tuesday, before we move on to Spoleto.

Jean, thanks for the driving tips. My husband also likes to drive, and I have been pondering which would be the most scenic roads/towns to tour. Going to cut and paste your suggestions into my itinerary.

Dayle, maybe I am dense, but I can't for the life of me figure out what is mousart?

Macanimals, please share what is a comfortable driving time for the Piano Grande loop? I am hoping we can do a day drive to Ascoli Piceno by way of a detour, north from Spoleto to Visso and Casteluccio, then south towards Norcia to get onto the east west highway to Ascoli. Does this sound like too much of a drive for one day?

Wow! There is so much great information being exchanged here. I love the tips like where to park - always an issue - and driving routes. I'm madly taking notes. Thank you to all.

We're also staying in Spello for a week. Anyone with some good restaurant recommendations? Also, I hear there are some hikes that start in Spello. Can anyone provide information about those?

Thanks, TravelFan, for starting this thread.

Possibly staying in that region next spring, too. Eager to hear what you all have to say!

Okay Dayle, after a good nights sleep, I think I got it: famous art.

<<Macanimals, please share what is a comfortable driving time for the Piano Grande loop? I am hoping we can do a day drive to Ascoli Piceno by way of a detour, north from Spoleto to Visso and Casteluccio, then south towards Norcia to get onto the east west highway to Ascoli. Does this sound like too much of a drive for one day?>>

IMO, yes, it's too much. The drive winds through river valleys and mountains, so you are not zipping along. You may also want to stop along the way and check out some of the towns and the Piano Grande. Plus, you mentioned stopping in Norcia and lunch in Casteluccio. You've got a full day without the drive to Ascoli Piceno.

Do you have this guidebook for your trip?-

http://www.amazon.com/Umbria-Heritage-Touring-Club-Italy/dp/8836528376/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

I can't imagine visiting the region without it!

Enjoy your trip!

Your route: Spello-Visso-Casteluccio-Norcia-Ascoli Piceno-Spello. It looks like a lot of backtracking and about 5 hours of only driving, no stopping. I don't think I'd go all the way to Ascoli Piceno unless there was something specific you wanted to do/see there.

I would drive from Spello to Norcia then north to Casteluccio di Norcia, Visso, and back to Spello on secondary roads. (Sort of a figure 8 if you look at a map; from Visso on SS209 to SS77.) Take the side road before/south of Casteluccio for a few miles toward Monte Vettore (east) for the views, then return to the road you were on. That's about 3-3.5 hours of actual driving, so you'd have time to explore Norcia and Casteluccio and have a nice lunch. Make sure the Taverna in Casteluccio is open on Sundays and try to find out what time Norcineria Ercole Ulivucci opens. You might need to drive my route in reverse for better timing.

Jean, thanks for your reply. I did preview my post, but didn't explain that so well. We are staying in Spoleto, not Spello, then driving to Ascoli Piceno for the next leg of our journey.

I was hoping to go from Spoleto up to Visso, then Casteluccio , across the Piano Grande, to Norcia, then continue east to Ascoli, where we will spend the night. I google mapped it out and it's somewhere around 3-3 1/2 hours, but of course, actual traveling times will be much longer due to stops and the fact that the roads are very curvy.

That appears to be sort of backwards from how most people do it.

I think it's doable, but will we enjoy it?

Actually when I mapped it out again, google says 2 1/2 hours, but that is easily 3.5 to 4 hours driving time.

Thanks for the tip about Monte Vettore for the views

Zoecat, That book looks like the ultimate guide to Umbria. I'm hoping to find it on our online library.

Travel fan, sorry for hijacking!

Hope I didn't cause too much confusion jumping into travelfan's thread. sorry!

Sundried,

Wow you are good! Maybe you should go on Wheel....

I was going to explain that mousart = big touch screen typo!

<Maybe you should go on Wheel...>

Dayle, I think my response time is a little lacking, ha...I'd be out on the first round.

Talk about big screen typo, my hub was texting a message to friends in which he made a reference to our mutual friends with the same name as Kate the Great (maiden name). He sent the text, and a few minutes later got a message back:

"our friends the M---- might not appreciate being referred to as The Misfortunes"

Now that was a big moustake!

We had the luxury of 2 weeks outside Spoleto last September http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/heavenly-2-week-retreat-in-umbria.cfm. Check my TR for some tips. sadly, Kodak's website doesn't work anymore so I doubt the pictures are viewable anymore. Argh.

It is hard to pick which towns to visit...but the driving is relativly easy and VERY beautiful. We enjoyed Spello, and I can't imagine anyone not being charmed by that town. I loved Trevi, but I also enjoyed Spoleto very much...I thought one of the coolest things there was walking across the aquaduct.

Oh good! I didn't want to "dis" your choice of Spello. It's lovely but small and Spoleto was such a favorite of ours.

Hub and I stayed in Hotel Clitunno and it had a wonderful restaurant. The local football team stayed there so there was eye candy also....Anyhow, we found it easy to take train trips from there.

Lots going on in Spoleto. I'm glad that will be your base.

Travelfan, here are my 2 cents.
We were in Umbria one week ago, we stayed in Bettona.
Day 2: I did the Bettona-Visso-Castelluccio-Norcia-Bettona loop and it was wonderful. Visso is a nice little town, very small, with a nice central place. The Piano Grande is wonderful. It can be rather fresh, cloudy and windy up there. This is a must go. The time you will spent up there will depend on weather.
Day 3: Your rented car will have a gps I presume. For Perugia, look for the covered parking at Piazza Partigiana, entrance from the Via Cacciatore degli Alpi or Via Baldassare Orsini. It is close to the stairs to go to the city centre.

We visited Collepino on our way to do the round trip of the Monte Subasio via Armenzano. In Collepino, we discovered there is a road going up to Monte Subasio, which is a natural park. It first is a regular road, till you get to a refuge (Eremo Piccole Sorelle di Maria). Up there, it was quite full of people suntanning in the fields. Then the road goes further up as a strada bianca (gravel road in very good condition, easila doable with a normal car). We went up and up till we were some 50m under the summit and down on the northern site to arrive at the Eremo delle Carceri. Beautiful site, stunning views. Then you can come back via Armenzano. The stretch between Armenzano and Collepino has an unique atmosphere, it is like driving through medieval times...

Have fun.
P.

We also spent a week in Umbria with Spello as our base last fall. The drive through the Piano Grande was a highlight. We did it on a Sunday starting in Visso where they were having a classic Fiat rally in the tiny town square. Lunch at Taverna Casteluccio and then the walk through Norcia were both great.

The only additional recommendation I have is to eat at Osteria del Teatro in Foligno. The chef is wonderful and the whole experience is really fun. I didn't know when we were there, but apparently they have an interesting wine cellar that the chef will show you if you ask.
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g227667-d1776584-Reviews-Osteria_del_Teatro-Foligno_Province_of_Perugia_Umbria.html

Also, for anyone with time and interest, this cooking class outside of Assisi is great. The woman speaks perfect English, and she meets you at the small town outside of Assisi at a gourmet shop where she leads you through some tastings. Then you follow her up the mountain to her home/B&B and you prepare fresh pasta and other goodies. Then you have lunch and wine, and it is a really good time.
http://www.incampagna.com/incampagnaENGL/Cooking_Classes.html

Finally, we also really enjoyed the Antonelli winery outside of Montefalco. It's less corporate then Caprai (although we enjoyed that very much too.) If you turn away from the main road when you come out of Antonelli's parking lot (it's s right turn I think) you will find an even smaller producer with a tasting room and a beautiful view of the valley.

"We went up and up till we were some 50m under the summit and down on the northern site to arrive at the Eremo delle Carceri."

I meant to add that on a prior trip to Umbria, we did this drive on a Sunday morning. It was very foggy but cleared at the summit and it was beautiful. There was no one else around until one lone car pulled up. We walked away from our car to admire the view, and thought we had locked it. We had not, and up there on that lonely mountain top, I had my Iphone and credit cards stolen. It was our fault, of course, but oh, the irony of being so careful in cities and then in a place with almost no one else around, we got robbed!

todi is a nice town, but many shops are closed because of the recession...

the countryside is lovely around there

Travelfan...Just in case you check back....Would you provide contacts for your apartment in Spello ????

4carolina...http://www.italybackroads.com/ We were in the Augustus Unit and loved the apartment, loved Spello and had an absolutely wonderful week there. Rented a car and drove to a few towns and took the train to Perugia for a day. If you have any other questions in regards to the apartment, just ask.

Thanks for the Spello apartment. I will save the information for another trip.We are staying in Bevagna this time.Many thanks !!!!

We stayed near Bevagna & Montefalco several years ago. We really enjoyed a couple of meals (lunches) at l'Alchimista in Montefalco (macanimlas also mentions this in her/his post,above). Pasta with the local saffron cheese and thinly sliced zucchini was delicious. We did a lot of our food shopping in Bevagna; I don't remember the name, but the shop with fresh pasta on the main street never disappointed. We had one dinner there at Osteria del Podesta, which was good and we liked the atmosphere. I know you said you've been to Assisi, but did you do the hike (not at all hard, but uphill) from Assisi up part of Mt Subasio to the Eremeo (hermitage) where St Francis and his followers spent time meditating? A couple others have mentioned it here, too. I found it to be a peaceful spot; with the birds flying around and the pretty views, it was a nice place to reflect.