My husband and I are spending 4 days in Tuscany near Cortona, then have 4 days to play anywhere between Tuscany and Rome. We fly out of Rome, so we would want to drop our rental car there and then maybe go venture out somewhere besides the town of Rome. We have already done the Rome tours and would love some romantic places to stay along the way, including interesting sites to see and learn about. Wine, dinners, fun drives, exercise if possible, great food and luxury accommodations are preferred...pricing can be anything. Need some help!

I'd encourage you to think about going back to Rome--see this recent thread
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35118456

I think we really want to appreciate the smaller towns throughout the Umbria region....any suggestions there?

guidebook writer's tips:
-Check the area around Viterbo, Bolsena in N. Lazio on www.elegantetruria.com
-it has all you are looking for
-print out the itineraries to follow and many special places to stay
- great food, wine, cultural sites including Unesco heritage sites of Tarquinia and Cerveteri
- Specially recommended www.fontanadelpapa.it

Hi Nlla,

Keep the car and do a tour through Umbria. Stay in a nice house or B&B. Here are 2 options-

http://www.geniuslociumbria.com/

http://www.rocciaviva.net/

Visit some of the beautiful towns and enjoy the landscapes of Umbria.

Eat the organic, delicious food and savor the local wines.

I highly recommend a day visiting the lovely town of Norcia (set in a valley surrounded by mountains) and the nearby, unbelievable valley called Piano Grande- spectacular! You can even hike or horseback ride while you are there.

There have been a few good threads lately here on Fodors about Umbria- do a search.

Enjoy your travels!

Zoe

This is my idea of romantic. Not far from Rome airport:


http://www.lapostavecchia.com/

Villa Zuccari in the Umbrian countryside near Montefalco fits the bill for luxury and gets great reviews:
http://www.villazuccari.com/

ekscrunchy,
My brother stayed there on his honeymoon years ago!

Welltraveled: An idyllic start to a marriage!

Thank you for your fantastic ideas...we are booked for 2 nights at Poste Vecchia and I can't wait! We have 3 days to spend before we go there, so I am looking into all options. Has anyone stayed in Perugia? we would love to incorporate some tours and it seems that this town has a lot going on....yet we still want to keep that romantic, cozy feeling. Is Perugia just not that special or is it a good choice?

Hi N,

I would drop the car in Orvieto, spend the night and train to Rome the next day.

Stay in Rome the night before you fly home.

Nilla I am so pleased you are going to Posta Vecchia! Please write about your experience when you return!!

I have been to Perugia and it is very interesting but does not seem to be mentioned on this board all that much..


If Orvieto is of interest:

http://www.labadiahotel.it/

In the Sabine Hills of Lazio (famous for olive oil) is:


http://www.borgoparaelios.it/index.p...mp;language=en

I will certainly write about my visit to Posta Vecchia! I am also interested in a simple cooking class/experience with my non cooking husband to taste and incorporate olive oils and wines....

We are considering a trip to a property named Il Pellicano in Tuscany on the coast...any knowledge of this property?

Nilla,

You may find this recommendation too close to Cortona, but, suggest you look at Palazzo Terranova near Ronti. This is a favorite...really beautiful, though a bit remote. More of a destination property....good for relaxing and just enjoying the gorgeous ambience.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Perugia last year - it's too big to be called "cozy", but I found sitting on the rooftop terrace of our hotel looking over the countryside pretty romantic. And the art museum was amazing - even my husband (not a fan of museums) was duly impressed. You mentioned exercise in your original post - the incline of many of the streets should address that need.

Some other towns we found charming on our way to Rome were the old town part of Deruta (known for ceramics), of course Assisi, Spoleto (take the walk to the ancient aquaduct), near Terni visit the falls, Cascata d. Marmore, then on to Narni. The road south from there that takes you to S3 has some amazing views.

If you haven't visited it yet, I thought the best Umbria website is Bella Umbria.
http://www.bellaumbria.net/
It has various itineraries describing towns you pass through along the way.