So far our itinerary is:
5 nts Rome
7 nts Umbria
1 nt Bolzano (on way to Austria & Germany)
4 nts St Gilgen
3 nts Oberammergau
last nt near MUC airport

Just wondering if we'll find enough to see & do in Umbria. The problems arise when trying to shorten it because of day of week we fly and when car rental companies are open. This is pretty much our final itin but I guess I need verification that Umbria will be OK. Staying at Le Case Gialle.
Appreciate comments, thatnks!

I don't think so, and I'm not an Umbria booster. Umbria has both artistic sites of extraordinary importance to art and Italy, and very, very beautiful natural sites, and you need to travel to different places to experience both,, so you can't "hit" 3 sites in a day. Plus, it has Perugia, which is a very complex city in every way.

Perugia, Assisi, the Piano Grande, Gubbio and its beautiful environs are all full day trips in themselves. Towns like Spello, Montefalco, Spoleto, Todi and Orvieto, and ones less frequently mentioned but often beautifully positioned or unique will keep you going. And presumably you want to relax at least some mornings or afternoons and take a break from beauty overload.

If you get there and end up feeling Umbria has disappointed you, you can always give yourself 2 nights in Bolzano. But I think a relaxed week in Umbria will probably only give you a glimpse of what's there, and you'll leave wondering at all that you missed in its less touristed beautiful corners.

Do you know this website? Try clicking "Umbria Italy" on the left hand side and going through the towns in the drop down menu to see what I mean.

http://www.bellaumbria.net/da_vedere_eng.htm

Looks great to me. The only variation may be to split the 7 nites into 4 and 3 and stay in Tuscany--is a week required? I envy you this trip---some of my favs.

(or use the interactive map on the right of the home page)

Here's a great Umbria website...

http://tinyurl.com/ymu5ca

YES - you'll "find enough to see & do in Umbria"!

I love Umbria, so I think 7 nights would be great. Bob's suggestion of splitting the days with some time in Tuscany is worth considering, but IMO it will mean a faster pace in order to see a lot of either area. Have you been to Tuscany? What time of year is your trip?

Regarding the journey from Umbria to Austria, I'd suggest pushing on to Castelrotto rather than stopping in Bolzano. Just a prettier place IMO.

Let's see....I spent 6 weeks there in a very small village in 2006 and I don't recall ever not having something interesting to do....a week? Of course not!

There really is so much to see and do in Umbria that you won't be able to scratch the surface in a week.

As others have said, there is so much physical beauty; there is extraordinary art; really wonderful restaurants and great wine; stunning piazzas where you can sit and relax and enjoy life. And great shopping, if that interests you.

Perugia is one of my favourite places, a really vibrant university town with so much history.

There isn't nearly as much said or written about Umbria as there is about the Big Three cities (Rome, Venice, Florence) or about neighboring Tuscany. But with a little research, you'll find lots of great info about Umbria.

Also head over to Slow Travel and the Italy message board there for some great discussions about Umbria.

I second Zeppole's towns but am a big Umbria fan.
Have a wonderful time and please write a trip report!

One week will be great and not too long at all. I've spent 3 weeks and still want to go back. Umbria is wonderful.

Thank you for all of your responses and for the websites. I didn't realize Slow Travel had a forum similar to this one. Now I'll be over there reading more...
Our trip is late May, 09 but I already have my lodging booked. Waiting for decent plane fares...that'll take a while!
Thanks again!

Hi TAW

I'm one of several fodorites who have stayed at Le Case Gialle. I originally read about it on the Slow Travel website, and then found more good info here.

I was there in late May/early June 2005 for 7 nights, with four friends.

Even as I booked our apts, I had some qualms. Seven nights - would we be bored?

No! I want to go back. Our Umbrian week was sandwiched between urban adventures (we were on a couple of different itineraries and met up in Rome & Umbria) and the island of Ischia.

It was the perfect week. We loved Le Case Gialle and settled in quickly. The weather was gorgeous and the fireflies (this is a big deal for us west coasters) were out each night hovering in the olive groves. Some of the things we did:

Hung out at the little pool, played guitars, drank wine, read.

Shopped for fresh pasta and other goodies in Bevagna and cooked yummy dinners with the fresh herbs from LCG's garden.

Visited Assisi and hiked up part of Mt Subasio.

More day hikes and walks around Le Case.

Daytrips to Spello, Montefalco and Deruta.

Some of us went wine tasting.

Spent a day in Perugia; the day we arrived from Rome by train and picked up our rental cars (I had been before and could happily spend more time there).

Some of us took a long day trip to Florence.

All of us went on a crazy but very fun long day trip to Sant' Antimo, Montalcino and Siena.

And - Lots of eating, drinking, singing and having fun outside under the portico of one of our LCG apts. Full moon, too!

My wife and I were fortunate to have stayed 9 days in a friend's villa in Trevi, a charming, and rarely visited by tourists, hill town about 10-15 kilometers north of Spoleto. We loved it and were quite busy each day exploring Umbria and parts of Tuscany.
I think you will enjoy a visit to the hill town of Trevi. Not much to see in the way of sites but you might find a visit and walk around the town, stopping at the local bar/cafe or at one of the 3 restaurants in town for lunch, to be quite enjoyable.
Have a great trip.

TAW,

No, a week is not too much. So many wonderful places to see. I've visited parts of Umbria on 2 different trips and really liked it as much as Tuscany.

Orvieto, Todi, Gubbio, Assisi, Spello, Montefalco. Lots of great scenery, architecture, food, wine, and art too, tucked away in some of those village churches.

Buon viaggio!

We stayed in Spello for 2 weeks; wished it was 2 months!!!!
Also, Bolzano (Bozen) is a great town; very interesting cross culture, in language and food. Make sure you take the funivia to Soprabolzano, (ober bozen) a great village with walking trail to Renon. An antique train also connects the villages, very nice mountain inns abound!

I'll echo the popular sentiment and say,no, a week isn't too much. We spent a week in Spoleto in April, and wish it could have been longer!

As Tuscany is Renaissance Umbria is Medieval.

Perugia has one of the finest museums in the world, and outside it is a fountain that is considered the best example of Medieval art.

Nearby Assisi, Spello, Foligno, Trevi , Clitunno, Spoleto, Norcia, Castellucio, Montefalco, Orvieto, Todi, Bettona, Bevagna, Gubbio, Lake Trasimeno [where Hannibal destroyed two Roman legions; and Spoleto saved the day and to this day there is a 2300 year old arch from Rome thanking Spoleto]

Each and every place offer the incredibly delicious Umbrian food. Don't miss Spello, when the ancient Romans arrived Spello was already old and inhabited by the Etruscans.

Our website has endless videos of Umbria and of restuarants in Umbria.

Hint: Umbria has many cashmere factory outlets but don't let anyone know.

If you don't have a lifetime for Umbria 7 days is a good start.

Dear TAW,

Your post caught my eye as I was on the travel talk Europe forum to research our upcoming trip to Paris.

I traveled to Italy for 3 weeks with my husband and two teenage daughters in the summer a couple of years ago.

I think I have to disagree with the others about Umbria.

I took the advice of many others to spend a week in Umbria including the stay at Le Case Gialle.
I would have to say that it was not the best part of our Italy trip. Le Case Gialle to me, was pretty isolated. We drove a long way to get to and from our apartment every day. We visited Assisi, Todi, Orvietto, Spello, Montefalco and Bevagna and others. They are all beautiful walled towns that are interesting, but somewhat the same. We actually drove all the way to Florence one day as our girls were getting a little restless. It was a long day trip.

You did not give any background as to whether or not you are travelling alone, with kids etc. Or, if this is your first trip to Italy. To me, all of that makes difference when thinking of Umbria as a destination. If my husband and I were going back alone, and we had a month or so in Italy, we might go to Umbria for part of that trip.
But, if you only have 12 or 13 days in Italy and it is your first time there, I would not spend 7 of them in Umbria.
There are so many other places to see in Italy that are interesting.
Umbria is beautiful, slow and relaxing for sure. It just depends on what kind of a traveller you are.

I know that you did not ask for advice about Le Case Gialle and that some people have had really good experiences staying there, but we did not. Silvana was not welcoming to us and was at times, rude. I would not recommend Le Case Gialle, and have not to anyone.