Help with Umbrian Itinerary
Aug 5th, 2007, 07:17 AM
#1
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Help with Umbrian Itinerary
Hi Everyone
Can anyone help me with my suggested itinerary for October trip to Umbria.
We fly into Rome Fumicino and have 9 days in total. We would like to use trains wherever possible. Would the following work, please?
Rome- Orvieto-Perugia=Spello-Spoleto-Todi-Rome.
I would use Trenitalia but not even sure whether all these places have a statiom!
Can anyone help me with my suggested itinerary for October trip to Umbria.
We fly into Rome Fumicino and have 9 days in total. We would like to use trains wherever possible. Would the following work, please?
Rome- Orvieto-Perugia=Spello-Spoleto-Todi-Rome.
I would use Trenitalia but not even sure whether all these places have a statiom!
Aug 5th, 2007, 08:59 AM
#2
Is your desire to travel by train for budget or fear-of-foreign-driving reasons?
It is possible to see all of these towns by train, but you will feel you are spending all of your time on trains (and buses). The stations serving Spello, Todi and to some extent Spoleto are located outside (and downhill) from the towns. Trains to Orvieto and Perugia bring you close to the town centers.
At the hill towns, when you get off the train, you must wait a few minutes for the bus to take you to the town. If you're spending the nights in these towns, you'll have luggage to take on and off trains and buses everywhere you go.
Please consider renting a car. You'll have a much more enjoyable time. You can train to either Orvieto or Spoleto and rent the car there, using only slower, secondary roads to get around if you prefer.
If you have foreign-driving fear, look for lodging in one of the towns where you don't have to negotiate the tiny (and often traffic-restricted) streets inside city walls to get to the hotel.
Perugia might be a driving challenge, but you could leave your car at a town along the train line and then take the train in and out for the day.
Add Assisi to your itinerary. Even for half a day. The basilica there is amazing. I also highly recommend the hill town of Gubbio and the valley town of Bevagna which are usually much less crowded.
An idea of your budget would help us provide some lodging suggestions. We stayed at the Hotel San Luca in Spoleto in late October 2006 for 150 euros. A really lovely hotel with a very easy drive in/out location at the bottom of the town. There is an Auto Europe agency a short cab ride away.
If you decide to drive (please!), have a detailed map of the area and a good guidebook. I recommend the Touring Club Italiano's Heritage Guide for Umbria. Lots of helpful driving suggestions and detailed maps of the towns (including parking info).
Let us know what you decide and where you'll be staying. Then we can talk restaurants!
It is possible to see all of these towns by train, but you will feel you are spending all of your time on trains (and buses). The stations serving Spello, Todi and to some extent Spoleto are located outside (and downhill) from the towns. Trains to Orvieto and Perugia bring you close to the town centers.
At the hill towns, when you get off the train, you must wait a few minutes for the bus to take you to the town. If you're spending the nights in these towns, you'll have luggage to take on and off trains and buses everywhere you go.
Please consider renting a car. You'll have a much more enjoyable time. You can train to either Orvieto or Spoleto and rent the car there, using only slower, secondary roads to get around if you prefer.
If you have foreign-driving fear, look for lodging in one of the towns where you don't have to negotiate the tiny (and often traffic-restricted) streets inside city walls to get to the hotel.
Perugia might be a driving challenge, but you could leave your car at a town along the train line and then take the train in and out for the day.
Add Assisi to your itinerary. Even for half a day. The basilica there is amazing. I also highly recommend the hill town of Gubbio and the valley town of Bevagna which are usually much less crowded.
An idea of your budget would help us provide some lodging suggestions. We stayed at the Hotel San Luca in Spoleto in late October 2006 for 150 euros. A really lovely hotel with a very easy drive in/out location at the bottom of the town. There is an Auto Europe agency a short cab ride away.
If you decide to drive (please!), have a detailed map of the area and a good guidebook. I recommend the Touring Club Italiano's Heritage Guide for Umbria. Lots of helpful driving suggestions and detailed maps of the towns (including parking info).
Let us know what you decide and where you'll be staying. Then we can talk restaurants!
Aug 5th, 2007, 09:27 AM
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Our idea of taking the train was for eco-friendly reasons rather than budgetary and it worked so well when we toured Northern Italy in 2000. Milan, Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua, Ferrara, Ravenna. We have been to Umbria before- thanks for your suggestions of Gubbio and Assisi but we have visited those lovely places before. My husband is an art historian hence the choice of places to visit this time around. It may well be a better idea to take the train to Orvieto or Spoleto and base ourselves there, then hiring a car to visit other places. I have read good reports of Norcia and Montrefalco too and it may be easier to drive these places. Thanks for response! I am still planning so any ideas of restaurants and hotels would be most welcome.
Aug 5th, 2007, 10:36 AM
#4
Most of the places on your list are on the fringes of Umbria... Like a big circle. You could base yourselves in Orvieto, Spoleto or Perugia for the public trans options, but I don't see how hiring a car to take you to the other places is being more eco-friendly than just having a car in the first place. The hired car (with driver) will be larger by necessity than the smaller, economy model you could rent for two people.
BTW, Perugia has an excellent extra-urban bus sysem that could take you to several lovely, smaller towns not on your list. Reaching Todi will be the most difficult, involving a least one train change (probably Orte) from anywhere.
The Umbria Ristorante in Todi is my favorite restaurant in Umbria. Great food and a wonderful outdoor terrace with views of the valley below and hills beyond.
We ate at Osteria Trivio in Spoleto a couple of times. Very friendly and welcoming, informal, lots of locals, very good food.
BTW, Perugia has an excellent extra-urban bus sysem that could take you to several lovely, smaller towns not on your list. Reaching Todi will be the most difficult, involving a least one train change (probably Orte) from anywhere.
The Umbria Ristorante in Todi is my favorite restaurant in Umbria. Great food and a wonderful outdoor terrace with views of the valley below and hills beyond.
We ate at Osteria Trivio in Spoleto a couple of times. Very friendly and welcoming, informal, lots of locals, very good food.
Aug 8th, 2007, 12:20 PM
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Thanks for your help so far. In my earlier message I meant that we would hire a small car (self drive) to visit more out of the way places NOT a chauffeur driven vehicle! Hotel recommendations in Perugia, Spoleto, orvieto or Todi please (approx 100-150 euros per night for double room).
Thank you
Thank you
Aug 8th, 2007, 12:26 PM
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I think I would give myself two bases. I would spend the first half of my trip in Spoleto (five nights) and rent a car for some of that period to visit Umbrian towns not easily accessed by train. I would then spend the remainder in Perugia, probably without taking day trips.
Or I would reverse the order. You can bus straight from FCO to Perugia. I'd spend 3 nights there, then off to Spoleto, perhaps in a rental car that I would give back as soon as I no longer needed it, dropping it off in Orvieto.
Or I would reverse the order. You can bus straight from FCO to Perugia. I'd spend 3 nights there, then off to Spoleto, perhaps in a rental car that I would give back as soon as I no longer needed it, dropping it off in Orvieto.
Aug 8th, 2007, 04:57 PM
#8
Sorry I misunderstood your "hired car" comment. Two people separated by a common language...
We stayed at Hotel San Luca in Spoleto for a week in October 2006 for 150 euros a night. The hotel is in a renovated (about 2000?) tannery just inside the city walls. We had a very comfortable room facing the interior courtyard. Very quiet. The included breakfast was an excellent array over 2-3 large tables in a beautiful room (seating also available in the courtyard). Eggs to order were possible. The staff were very helpful and allowed us to check our email one evening. We really liked this hotel and Spoleto which doesn't always get its due.
There is a garage (daily charge), but we had no trouble finding parking along the street. The hotel's position is great for easy driving in/out; just a couple of turns and you can be on a secondary road toward Foligno, Todi, Marmore Falls and more. There is an AutoEurope office a short cab ride away in an industrial area.
FYI, if you select a different hotel in Spoleto located higher up the hill, ask about access and parking. I've read that Spoleto has or will severely restrict traffic into the town, beyond the main roads near the city walls.
If you stay in Spoleto, I highly recommend Osteria Trivio located just a few blocks from the San Luca. Very friendly, reasonable cost, very good food. In Todi, I highly recommend the Ristorante Umbria just off the main piazza. A bit upscale, excellent food and a fantastic view from the terrace of the valley below and hills beyond (better seen, perhaps, at lunch).
We stayed at Hotel San Luca in Spoleto for a week in October 2006 for 150 euros a night. The hotel is in a renovated (about 2000?) tannery just inside the city walls. We had a very comfortable room facing the interior courtyard. Very quiet. The included breakfast was an excellent array over 2-3 large tables in a beautiful room (seating also available in the courtyard). Eggs to order were possible. The staff were very helpful and allowed us to check our email one evening. We really liked this hotel and Spoleto which doesn't always get its due.
There is a garage (daily charge), but we had no trouble finding parking along the street. The hotel's position is great for easy driving in/out; just a couple of turns and you can be on a secondary road toward Foligno, Todi, Marmore Falls and more. There is an AutoEurope office a short cab ride away in an industrial area.
FYI, if you select a different hotel in Spoleto located higher up the hill, ask about access and parking. I've read that Spoleto has or will severely restrict traffic into the town, beyond the main roads near the city walls.
If you stay in Spoleto, I highly recommend Osteria Trivio located just a few blocks from the San Luca. Very friendly, reasonable cost, very good food. In Todi, I highly recommend the Ristorante Umbria just off the main piazza. A bit upscale, excellent food and a fantastic view from the terrace of the valley below and hills beyond (better seen, perhaps, at lunch).
