I will be spending the week of July 11 just outside of Asissi, with my husband and 2 adult children. Any suggestions of places we must see/ places we must go to eat and drink / etc? We will have a car, and a map!
And, any advice on the best way to rent a car? I'll rent at the Rome airport, but need enough space for 4 adults with luggage, and not have it be a major holiday expense!
Thanks.

What kind of car you rent will depend on how much luggage you have. European cars are much smaller than in the US - so go to the company websites and check out what class car holds how much luggage. The # of pieces they show is the MOST you will fit in the car. We have found we need to rent a full-size car to have room for luggage for 4 - but if you have just one carry-on each you can get something smaller.

As for prices - check the various websites to see what deals they offer.

We always use Hertz since we get a corporate discount and find them reliable - but they are rarely the cheapest.

Lucky you, I love Umbria! Assisi is an obvious choice for you to visit and I would argue is easily worth a couple of days.

My friend Letizia, who lives near Assisi, put together some really helpful notes on how to visit the town (including where to park!) She posted these on Slow Travel:http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/umbria/lm_assisi.htm

On Slow Travel, there are also a lot of useful Umbria notes. (www.slowtrav.com)

With a car, you can easily visit so many beautiful towns: Perugia (which deserves a week!) Spello, Montefalco, Todi, Bevagna, Gubbio, Spoleto. You could easily spend a day in each one, as well as finding some great food and wine.

What are your interests? Do you like to walk and hike? If so, there are great trails around Assisi, including the path to the Eremo delle Carceri which is 4 km (about 3 miles) out of Assisi. It's a bit steep, but worth the walk to one of the rural retreats of St. Francis of Assisi.

If you like art, you'll find so much in Umbria!

In terms of renting a car, if you can drive a stick that will cut your rental costs in half. I can't, so I have to rent an automatic and that costs twice as much!

nytraveler - If you have AmEx, you can use points for discount vouchers for Hertz.

First off, you should rent your car from here, not there. There are a number of reliable rental companies - I use AutoEurope. On their website you'll find descriptions of all the cars offered at the location you intend to pick up from, so you can see the size of the interior and trunk. If you require an automatic, it will be more expensive than a manual. Keep in mind that diesel fuel is less expensive than gas, and you'll get better mileage (chances are all the cars will be diesel in the size you need). Once you've selected a car, call the company to secure the rental (don't do it online because an agent can answer questions, which you will most likely have).

When you pick up the car, take pictures of any damage on it. When you drop it off, take pictures too. This will protect you in the unlikely event the car company decides after you return home that you've damaged the car.

In addition to the map, you should have a guide to Umbria.

I just got back from a 16 day trip to Italy and I spent a day in Assisi. I wish I had spent 2 or 3. It was beautiful. I was surprised how the city wasn't as jammed packed with tourists as I had anticipated. (In fact, everywhere I went this year, I noticed that there were about half as many tourists as this same time last year)

I ate a wonderful restaurant - San Francesco - located on via San Francesco in front of the Basilica.

The region is lovely though - especially the hilltop town of Spello . I wish I could have the opportunity to explore as you will. FYI - make sure you try the Trebbiano wines - the specialty of the Umbrian valley. There is a nice winery in Spello, the Sportoletti Winery that conducts tastings.

I've spent some time in Umbria in the past ten or so years. Here are a few of my favorites.

I always take the train from Rome Termini to Orvieto, an easy one hour trip, and no need to experience Roman traffic. The Hertz office is around the corner from the Orvieto station. I take the funicular (across the street from the station) to Orvieto Alto and lunch at I Sette Consoli, one of my all time Italian favorites. The drive to Assisi is a cou;le of hours max.

As noted above, near to Assisi are:

Spello: La Bastiglia, a hotel at the top of town, has an adventurous kitchen.

Perugia: Correctly noted above, is worth a week by itself.

Montefalco: Home of Sagrantino. In the main square on top of the town is a little enoteca that has a terrific little trattoria down a flight of stairs. Ask someone.

Bevagna: Enoteca Piazza Onofri is in the center of town and features local food and wines. Plenty of parking.

Foligno: An overlooked town. In the center is Il Becco Felice, the tour de force of Salvadore Dinali. His place was featured in Food and Wine mag a year or so ago. A local institution, vegs from his farm, no inch of the interior is without graffiti. Worth the trip to Italy.

Slowtrav is a good source of Umbrian lore.

I've spent a few weeks in Umbria and besides the places already mentioned, I have loved my trips to Norcia and the nearby Grande Piano. Also, be sure to visit Todi. There are a lot of very small towns that are not mentioned in many guidebooks that are also wonderful to visit. Here's a link with tons of information to get you started-

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/planning/where_umbria.htm

I like the Touring Club Italiano guidebook.

Enjoy your trip!

Some great tips already posted - I would stongly second doing the pretty hike to the Eremo above Assisi on Mt Subasio. As I recall, you can catch the trail at the opposite end of the town from the Basilica (near a carpark). The church, views, birds, tiny rooms where St Francis stayed and even tinier caves where he and fellow monks meditated are very serene; an interesting contrast to the town and beautiful but crowded Basilica itself. The monks were a lot friendlier up there, too!

Assisi has lovely shops with ceramics and other artwork, some religious, some not. Both times I was there I bought black and white cards and small prints by a woodblock print artist in town. Easy to pack and make nice gifts when framed.

Good pasta with the local saffron infused cheese in Montefalco (mentioned above) at l'Alchimista (I think that was the name!).

Perugia, as stated above, has so much to see. In addition to the good museum and other major sites there, the intimate little chapel of San Severo, past the main piazza, has lovely artwork by Raphael.

I liked many things about Bevagna (we did a lot of our grocery shopping there, so I got quite fond of the local pasta shop!); it is not on a hilltop as many of the famous Umbrian and Tuscan towns are, but is a small and charming walled town.

My friends had a lot of fun shopping for ceramics in Deruta.

DRJ mentioned the local wine; the owner of the place we stayed arranged wine tasting at some wineries for us. Delicious!

You've all been so helpful----I can't wait! My plan is to spend 3 nights in Rome, then take some kind of transportation back to the airport and rent the car there. We fly out on Saurday morn at 6-so I figured I'd return the car and just be at the airport Friday night late.
I'm thinking about a 1/2 day tour of Spoletto-and with that, we can get tickets to the last concert of the Arts Festival. Anyone with experience there? it is also the week of the Umbria Jazz fest, and I thought we'd spend some of our time in Perugia just hanging on the square and listening to music. Food and wine and music---again, I can't wait! I may take a cooking class, and send my family on that hike, since I may need the car! The place we are staying is actually a time share trade, and has gotten mixed results at best. The place is Carpediem Assisi Living Club. Anyone have any experience there?