SassTraveler

Hello All,

We're making our fourth trip to Northern Italy and are looking for suggestions on spots in Tuscany or Western Umbria to visit. We have been to these places and will definitely be visiting again on this trip:
1. Florence
2. Peruguia
3. Sienna
4. San Gimanano
(5. Maybe Lucca)
(6. Maybe Cortona)

We'll probably be staying in at Montegufoni Castle in Montespertoli (SW of Florence) just because we've stayed there before and it seems to be pretty central. But we are also open to recommendations on other places to stay in Tuscany. There are two of us - well travelled, 50 and 70 years old.

Any recommendations on any great little Tuscan or Umbrian towns to viist or other sites in the area? Has anyone been to Fiesole? Ravenna? San Marino? Worth a visit?

Thanks All!

Sass

jentrav

My DH and I have visited Italy many times, most recently last fall. After flying into Rome, we drove about 90 minutes to Orvieto (we had last been there 20 years ago) and we stayed in the most interesting and beautiful hotel, an ancient renovated monestary called La Badia. I've never stayed anywhere like it. One of my favorite memories was drinking cappucino in the courtyard, very laid back yet elegant. It's located just outside the walls of Orvieto. It took less than 5 minutes to drive to the main parking garage in town, which is definitely worth seeing. One can stand at the high city walls and enjoy beautiful views of the countryside. I would highly recommend while you are in the area, a day trip (less than an hour away by car, I believe) to Civita di Bagnoregio - breathtaking! All in all, this part of our trip was a great base to start, beautiful, with so many things to see and do, yet very relaxing, a great way to recover from jetlag.

SassTraveler

Thanks so much! Good info.

Henry

Sass,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

SassTraveler

Thanks Henry. I'll check it out!

Mimar

Ravenna and its mosaics are well worth a visit. In Umbria: Assisi, Spello, Todi, Bevagna, Gubbio. Are these too far east? South of Florence: Volterra, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Pitigliano. In Chianti Greve and Castellina.

porkister

2 cents
To me, San Marino was not really worth it. It just had a 'fake' air.
If you are into mosaics, Ravenna is unique. The town itself is dusty and lacks the charm of the hilltowns, but I don't regret spending a day there. Can be done as day trip from florence.
Orvieto is really charming and the Duomo has an unbelievably detailed facade. You can stare at it for a week. If I had one day in central Italy, I would probably spend it there. While it is not that close to your base, you can visit it on your way to Rome, if that's where you fly out of. Assisi is probably the most renovated of all the places we've seen last year. The basilica is definitely worth a visit.
My wife and our 2 year old really enjoyed volterra. Lots of climbing though.
For some reason, we didn't really taste Perugia. maybe we were just too tired that day or expected too much.

zeppole

To ask for recommendations for Italian towns to visit while staying southwest of Florence is a bit like walking into the Louvre and asking for recommendations about paintings to look at.

May I make the suggestion that you invest in a good guidebook specifically about Tuscany?

"Authentic Tuscany", from the Italian Touring Club, might help. It's available on Amazon.

If you are staying in Montespertoli, visiting Orvieto or Perugia or Gubbio is awfully far to go for daytrips. Ravenna is in Emilia-Romagna, not Toscana or Umbria, and I doubt many people would consider it an enjoyable day trip from Florence, considering how long it would take to get there and back. Ditto San Marino (which is in Le Marche). With the exception of San Gimignano, every town you have on your initial list is more easily visited by train than car, and none of them are "little towns."

It is fun to go to Tuscany without any plan at all and discover how rich the region is at every turn, jammed with charming small towns and beautiful views. But to go with a plan that has you zooming past all this because other tourists went there once on their last trip risks keeping you on the high-speed highways for hours and hours, while much of charming Italy eludes you.

Anna_Galea

We were in Umbria and Rimini coast last Christmas holidays. Rimini, with its endless long beaches, was literally empty in December, and not really much to do, but a bit tourist trap in the Summer, with bars and nightclubs next to each other. I just love the countryside in Umbria, even more than Tuscany. One suggestion is you still are interested to visit Ravenna, is to stay in Gubbio, a real lovely medieval town in Umbria. It is very central to visiting towns in Emilia Romagna (Ravenna) and for other beautiful Umbrian towns like Assisi (which is another option). We stayed in a town called Citta di Castello. You can also stay at a hotel near the Lake Trasimeno in Umbria, is was one of my short-listed choices, if interested check the hotel I Capricci di Merlon, it has very high ratings for its cuisine. We had a lunch at the Antico Forziere. For Christmas eve we stayed at La Locanda del Borgo in Pietralunga, a big feast of fish was excellently prepared, they are the nicest hosts you can ever hope to meet. There are plenty of other relais and agriturismos I had shortlisted, of course a car is a must.