galelstorm

We have only two nights in Umbria, a Friday/Saturday. My thoughts are to stay one night on the northern end and one on the southern, and try to cover as much in between as possible. I want to see pottery in Deruta and buy Cori Olive oil in Spoleta (DD's name is Cori). I would love to stay at an agriturismo. But where would you recommend staying? What would you want your friends to see? Maybe a winery?

toni_g_b

If I could only return to one town in Umbria, it would be Assisi. Loved the setting, the history, the evening ambiance, and my husband is still talking about his meal at Trattoria dei Consoli. And if you have a car, Deruta is a short drive away.

But Perugia would be a very close second choice for many of the above reasons.

bobthenavigator

Stay at one place and the Genius Loci near Bevagna is perfect. Do not miss Assisi and Spello.

bratsandbeer

We loved Assisi. Be prepared for very steep walking and/or a lot of stairs. Assisi is located on a very steep hill like many towns in Italy.

galelstorm

toni-Aren't Assisi and Perugia more touristy than the smaller towns? brats and beer-same-though I think the hills will help prep us for Positano!
Bob- we were looking for something a bit less expensive, though it is lovely. Perhaps and agriturismo or B&B. Bevagna is one of th eareas we are considering, as well as Spoleto.
Thank you all!

Flame123

I stayed in town in Bevagna at a beautiful small hotel called Palazzo Brunamonti. It gets high ratings from everyone who has stayed there. In fall of 2007 we paid 90 Euros for a triple including breakfast. The hotel is immaculate, our room was huge even for American standards, but the best part were the owners and staff. They went out of their way each and every time to make sure our stay was fabulous and it was!!

www.brunamonti.com

travelfan1

I haven't stayed here but am considering this hotel for our trip, got the name from this forum and their double room is 75-85E: http://www.hotelberti.it

This is another recommended hotel in Assisi: http://www.hotelumbra.it/eng/home_eng.html

galelstorm

Flame-Palazzo Brunamonti is beautiful! I have saved it to my favs for the selection process. Did you like staying in Bevagna? A smaller town compared to Assisi or Perugia? Were you able to travel to all of the towns you wanted to see in a relatively short amount of time?
Travelfan-Hotel Berti is great too. Inside the walls of Assisi. Did you find Assisi touristy? We will be in Umbria on Friday/Saturday nights so I am afraid of the crowds being too much but I truly don't know. Many people here rave about both Assisi and Perugia as being "the" places to be. We are coming from Venice on our way to Rome for a bit of relaxation between the two major cities.
Thank you!

iris1745

Hi galestorm; Lots of good suggestions. Two nights is ideal. However, you suggested one night in two places. You should consider Gubbio in the northern part and Bevagna, a bit more southern. Both great towns. If you are driving from Venice, Gubbio is 4 1/2 hours, with other towns adding additional travel time. On the way to Gubbio you could visit San Marino [tax free booze] and Urbino. Both lovely old towns. Leaving Gubbio, you could visit Perugia, Assisi and Spello. Don't worry about tourists. Get out early. For Assisi, you go to the top [almost] to park and walk down. You do have to climb back, but it's a gradual climb. For Perguia, both times we have found a space to park on the road leading up to the town. Once inside the town, it is vertually flat. Then overnight in Bevagna. When leaving Bevagna, going to Rome, you could visit Spoleto.

galelstorm

Iris-Thank you so much for your recs. We were thinking of training it to Perugia and picking up a rental car there. Is this a good spot to pick up the car? From there we could go on to Gubbio and San Marino. Are we better off staying both nights in one locale rather than spliting the two? I was thinking one in the north and one in the south but if we can travel and see much of the areas from one spot I think it would be easier on us overall. So much to see, so little time! I'm going to check out the michelin guides for travel times too.

Flame123

galestorm - indeed we loved Bevagna. It is MUCH smaller than either Perugia or Assisi. I believe it is a town of only about 5000 inhabitants and you can pretty much walk the old city from one end to the other in very little time. We rented a car and spent 9 days in Umbria so yes, we were able to see and do most of what we wanted. With only 2 days I would concentrate on staying in one place for 2 nights and just trying to see whatever you can in the nearby vicinity. Otherwise you may end up spending more time on driving and trying to find hotels than what you would want.

Perugia is definitely NOT the place to pick up a rental car. Very hard to navigate and drive. It is truly a city and widely spread out. If you feel comfortable with that, by all means go ahead. I did not.

If you need any more help, let me know.

iris1745

Hi galestorm; If you take the train to Perguia, it would be best to stay two nights in Perugia. You might not get there much before noon and Perguia is worth half a day. [You would not get back to San Marino, as that would be backtracking. Gobbio,a bit too.] The next day you could you could rent the car and spend time in Assisi, Spello, Montefalco or Bevagna. On leaving Perguia for Rome [2 1/2 hours] you could visit Spoleto. If time permits, you could visit Terni or Narni, both on the way to Rome. ENJOY Iris

iris1745

P.S I agree with Flame123. It is all in how you feel about driving in Europe. We find it easy, even in Perguia. That doesn't mean we have not been in some 'tight' situation. We have. Iris

galelstorm

flame-I'm so glad to hear you loved Bevagna. As far as Perugia and driving go I guess if I can navigate my way around San Francisco, I'll be OK in Perugia. I have heard the stories of driving in Italy.
iris- I still hesitate about staying in Perugia but I need to get a better feel for the train time from Venice, the drive times Umbria, and to Rome. We are renting and apartment there so we should probably be in Rome by four or five.
Thanks to both of you!

iris1745

Hi; Renting a car for two or three days will be very expensive. But you can get a car at the Perguia airport. Drive time to Rome will be about 2 1/2 hours. www.economycarrentals.com www.novacarhire.com www.autoeurope.com www.carrentals.com Have a great trip. Iris P.S. We will be in San Francisco in August.

galelstorm

Iris1745-I have decided to base ourselves in Bevagna. I think we can train from Venice to Foligno, pick up a car there, drop our bags at the agriturismo here:

http://www.borgovivo.it/homeeng.htm

Then head out to see and tour wherever the road takes us. Has anyone stayed at this lovely place previously?

I tried the economy car rental site the other night and got frustrated with my computer. I will take a look at the others as well. Thanks for the links, Iris.

Where are you staying in SF in August? And where are you coming in from? Maybe we could meet up for a Fodorite's friendly cocktail while you are here. I'm not sure how to provide you with my personal e mail but I've read that it is not wise to post it here. Let me know!