mgfit

We are ending our 13 day honeymoon to Italy in Spoleto for 2 nights. Does anyone have any recoemmendations for excellent restaurants in Spoleto?

We are staying at the Hotel San Luca...anything near the hotel anyone can recommend for dinner?

Also - we will have one free day to take a day trip from Spoleto to another small hillside town....what would you recommend and why? This will be our last full day in Italy on this special trip and we want it to be perfect!!! Suggestions appreciated!

bobthenavigator

The best option is Assisi and stop in Spello coming or going. See Orvieto on you way north from AC.

Huitres

Spoleto is near Assisi, as well as Perugia, the capital of Umbria. If you have never been there, it is worth a visit. Perugia is famous for its chocolate, jazz festivals, and a host of other things that make it a great city to stop in and see. There are a variety of restaurants featuring different specialties as Perugia is the home to 2 foreign universities with a lot of different cultures and peoples residing there.

Likewise, if you want to go the other direction, you can take a train 40 mins north to the now famous Tuscan hill town of Cortona (home of Frances Mayes). It is a charming little town high in the hills overlooking Lake Trasimeno and the neighboring countryside.

Jim01

We have recently visited Assisi, Spoleto, Spello, Orvieto, plus others. If in Assisi,be sure to hire the audio-tape to guide you around the town; if in Orvieto, go to the tourist office and get the package, including the underground tour in English at 12 noon (I think). You would find both these places very interesting and attractive.

Parker

My husband and I spent two nights at the same hotel in Spoleto last summer and really enjoyed it. Very nice and peaceful. It's at the bottom of the town so you'll have lots of walking to do to get to the top. One of the restaurants the hotel recommended, that we loved, is Osteria del Trivio (the hotel can give you directions - it's very close). The night we went was their one-year anniversary. It's run by a husband/wife team. She cooks, he's the host. At the end of the night, they brought out champaign, then grappa, for everyone to share. We went back the next day for lunch before we left. Very good and reasonable. Buy some of the olive oil they sell there. It's some of the best we tasted in all of Italy. Ciao . . .

mr_go

My suggestion: be sure to pack <b>comfortable shoes</b>. Spoleto's very hilly, with many cobblestone streets. Here's a typical one (that's my daughter waving):

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...36451191YQOjYx

Sorry I don't have a restaurant recommendation. The lunch we had was less than ideal.

ctd02

Just got back from (amongst others) Spoleto. The duomo was a big suprise - the interior is just stunning but in the various guide books I have seen it rates only a brief mention, so I didnt expect it. The bridge/acqueduct around the back of the hill is interesting and a pleasant walk. Went to some of the other museums, mainly with Roman/Etruscan ruins/displays - they werent that exciting and probably not worth it. The fort on top of the hill (forgotten its name, used to be a prison) was having a da vinci exhibition but I couldt go for various reasons. It seemed to be a very pleasant town, very hilly.

As others have said, from Spoleto you can easily go to either Assisi or Perugia. Both are worth it - Perugia is larger and has several museums and art galleries to see plus the 'usual' duomo and churches; whereas the highlight in Assisi is the Basilica (of course, there are plenty of other sites, several churches etc, but they are overwhelmed by the Basilica).

If you wanted a busy day, you could probably run around Spoleto for 1/2 day, travel to Assisi and see the Basilica (about 1.5 hours worth of looking, I guess) and whatever else you can fit in (or the other way around, depending on which direction you are coming from). Then spend a second, somewhat more relaxing, day in Perugia after a leisurely start in Spoleto. Obviously you would miss some things but see the 'main' sites.

I second the suggestion to see Orvieto, probably my favourite Umbrian hill town. Lots of interesting things, from the Duomo downwards (literally - underground). However, from Spoleto its a fairly longish drive - about 1.5hrs each way (although it doesnt look it from the map, from Todi to Orvieto is a windy road that takes about 40min for the 40km.

mgfit

Thanks everyone for the great info!! I will check into some of the cities all of you recommended. We have already been to Orvieto (that's why we decided to head back to Umbria!!!). I can't wait to go back. I have heard that about the walking....I appreciate the shoe advice!!!

RichardJ

We are leaving June 2 for Italy and will spend our first two nights at Hotel San Luca in Spoleto. We have stayed in Bevagna (in Umbria) two years ago and are axious to return to our all time favorite restaurant in that little walled city called Octavius. The restaurant is charming and very reasonably priced. They grill many different meats over fire with porcini mushrooms on top--truly incredible and I don't like mushrooms! Bevagna should only be about 30 minutes north and worth the drive. We also intend to drive to Civita Bagnoregio for a day trip--quite a drive but we are curious to see this great attraction rated so highly by Rick Steves and other travelers. When is your honeymoon?