stevendavid

my wife and i are conflicted where to go during our vacation. we have already been to amalfi coast, naples, sicily, rome, lucca, and bologna. we loved all of it and now would like to try something else.
we heard abbruzzo was very hilly and le marche is further from rome where we will be arriving on oct 23 and staying in italy for 11 days. we were considering one of these regions but are flexible. we do like truffles.
we dont want to see any more museums, ruins, church's but would rather like to browse shops, be amongst the locals, dine amongst the local restaurants and be in a romantic/charming settings.
while we are not newlyweds we dont want to spend our time in italy living out of luggage and dont want to constantly be walking up and downs stairs and hills.
if anyone has been to both locations - we would welcome your recommendations & preferences- please tell us why you picked one over the other.
we are from the nyc and phila. pa, usa area.
please feel free to send a copy or your response to my email address - [email protected]
thank you!

sandralist

I have only been on the coastal areas of Abruzzo so I can't compare well but I have been through most of le Marche and, given the way you describe your interests then you might want to consider Ascoli Piceno in le Marche. I notice that you seem not to have been to Umbria, so something you might consider -- if you are flying into Rome -- is to immediately make your way to Orvieto by train, spend 2 nights there, and then relocate to Bevagna for 3 nights or so. After that, head to Ascoli Piceno. While Orvieto is a hill town, both Bevagna and Ascoli Piceno are flat. In between is flat Norcia, which has lots of (black) truffles.

There are a wealth of small and charming towns in the route I just described, and you can cherry pick out more flat ones. There is not a huge amount of shopping unless you enjoy food shopping. or go to Perugia (it has escalators too) and Ascoli Piceno has some shopping. However, it is hard to think of a place in Italy that doesn't have museums and churches, large and small, plus historic monuments. Just be prepared!

It's about a 3 hour drive back to FCO airport in Rome from Ascoli Piceno.

Have you been to Venice? I am not a huge fan, and it does have lots of little stairs, but many people would say it describes what you are looking for except you find more tourists than locals unless you make a project of looking for them.

Another combo I would suggest is, especially for shopping, is Arezzo and Perugia, where you wouldn't need a car, but if you wanted to rent one then you could also drive around the Chianti and parts of Umbria. However, if you want something other than the Renaissnce, then making a foray into le Marche will give you a different flavor of Italy.

bvlenci

I live in Le Marche, and have visited both the interior and the coast of Abruzzo. Both regions are beautiful, and both are hilly in the interior. On the Marche/Abruzzo border the National Park of the Sibillines is a mountainous (rather than hilly) area. There is a good possibility of snow on the peaks already in November. Ascoli Piceno, mentioned by Sandralist, is near this park.

Given your interest in truffles, however, I would suggest staying in northern Le Marche, near Urbino, where there is a big truffle festival in Acqualagna on the last Sunday in October and the first two weekends in November. (The first weekend comprises the All Saints national holiday.) This fair features the prized white truffle. Acqualagna is in a beautiful area, at one end of the scenic Furlo Gorge, on the route of the ancient Roman Via Flaminia.

http://acqualagna.com/fiere-tartufo/fiera-nazionale/

There is a smaller, but very nice, white truffle festival in Sant'Angelo in Vado, west of Acqualagna, near the border with Tuscany.

http://www.mostratartufo.it/en.default.asp

I would give this festival a miss on the weekend of the motorcycle rally, though!

Both festivals also feature other typical products of the area, and stands with craftsmen. Both offer the possibility of having a meal featuring truffles. A local specialty is polenta with truffles. The food is rustic but good.

Urbino is a lovely small Renaissance city, with one of Italy's most beautiful ducal palaces. The view of the palace and the surrounding countryside is spectacular from the hilltop park above the center of town.

Fodorites Jamikins and Bikerscott have posted several times about their stay at La Tavola Marche, which isn't far from Sant'Angelo in Vado. I've also read good reports of this place on TripAdvisor.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-dolomites.cfm

It's hard for me to compare shopping and dining in Le Marche and Abruzzo, because I know the former much better than the latter. We once spent a week in the foothills of the Sibillines in Abruzzo, but we spent most of our time on hiking and other outdoor activities. (I don't go on holiday for shopping and dining.) During that week, we found the restaurants we ate at, in various towns in Abruzzo, to be good, but "nothing to write home about", as my mother used to say. However, we just ate wherever we found ourselves when hunger struck, so maybe it's not a fair evaluation.

I know that the larger coastal towns in Le Marche have good shopping. I've shopped in Fano, Senigallia, and Ancona, which are the coastal towns nearest me. I especially like Senigallia, which has some nice small artisanal shops as well as some national and international chains. In Ancona, which doesn't have much to offer in the way of touristic possibilities, you can find outlets of some of the Italian designers. In southern Le Marche, especially in the province of Fermo, there are lots of shoe manufacturers, with outlets.

Senigallia has two of Italy's best restaurants, Uliassi and Madonnina del Pescatore. There are also other excellent restaurants in Senigallia and in the immediate interior. I also know the restaurants in the upper Potenza valley, near Camerino, in the province of Macerata, because we have a summer home there. There are several interesting restaurants in that area, which only recently had only rustic trattorie.

If you want to spend a little time in Le Marche, I would advise taking the train to Ancona and renting a car there. There are several rental agencies just outside the train station. The train ride is a bit long, but it's scenic. As an alternative, you could fly from Fiumicino airport to Falconara (AOI) and rent a car there, but I would greatly prefer the train for such a short trip. By the time you get to the airport and deal with their checkin and security, you could be halfway to Ancona on the train.

sandralist

I very much enjoyed my stay in Urbino but it is one the steepest towns I have ever been in. There are flat towns nearby however if you wanted a flat town for a base. Were I flying in and out of Rome and wanted to go to northern le Marche I would probably spend my first night in Florence and pick up a rental car there the next day (at the airport) and then plan to spend some nights in Arezzo at the end of the trip before taking a train back to Rome for the last night.

Just to be clear: although Ascoli Piceno it is near the Sibillini mountains it is not in the mountains but in a river valley and there wouldn't be any snow in that area in October.

sandralist

I should add that I would also look at train schedules and drive times for Orvieto and Perugia and Arezzo as possible first-day targets landing in Rome to see what might work when it comes to getting to northern le Marche. Florence is simple by train but it means a longer drive to northern le Marche (plus a complicated car rental). Some other town with an easy connection to FCO plus a car rental office might be better.

bvlenci

Once you get up into the town, Urbino isn't very steep, and they have an elevator from the parking lot.

Sant'Angelo in Vado is not very far from Arezzo, but if you have any tendency to car sickness, bring Dramamine, as it's a very winding road over the Apennines.

sandralist

My spouse also turned green being a passenger in a car going from Pennabilli to Sant'Angelo in Vado. Just in general a lot of routes around there have very twisty roads. I think Sant'Angelo in Vado is a very charming town but I don't know what is the best way to get to there or anywhere in northern le Marche from Rome. (And I personally would probably skip it during truffle festival weekends but I just don't much care for crowds and festivals).

I do think Urbino would be very steep for a multi-day stay. The top of the town is not large. I have never been to neighboring Urbania but it has always looked appealing and a bit larger than some of the other towns. I personally would probably skip Sant'Angelo in Vado during truffle festival weekends but I just don't much care for crowds and festivals. (Although I would stay in Arezzo for the antiques fair.)

mama_mia

I am a great fan of Abruzzo and its natural beauty. Three national parks offer great opportunities for outdoor fans. Lovely Romanesque art in small churches. Some charming small cities like Sulmona and Lanciano and many more interesting small towns.

But agree with the others that it is probably not what you are looking for.

bvlenci

I've been to the truffle fair in Aqualagna numerous times, but to the one in Sant'Angelo in Vado just once. I don't care for crowds myself, and my husband likes them even less. We don't find the Aqualagna fair overly crowded; it would be less crowded on the Saturday mornings than at any othe time.

The one time we were there the Sant'Angelo fair was not crowded at all. It was mostly local vendors; there was even stand with local kids selling their unwanted toys. The Aqualagna fair has a big tent with vendors from all over Italy selling typical culinary products from their regions.

StevenDavid specifically expressed an interest in truffles, and one of these fairs is the best place to find them, in the raw state.

The best route would depend on where exactly you were staying. I enjoy train travel, and, as I said, the route from Rome to Ancona is scenic, but driving would certainly be faster.

There's a bus from Rome to northern Le Marche, making stops at Cagli, Urbino, and Fano. I've taken it a few times, but it does have to follow some winding roads. I prefer the train.

jamikins

We just got back from 2 weeks in northern Le Marche (our 4th trip there in two years!)

We always stay at La Tavola Marche but Urbania would be a great choice if the hill town of Urbino is too steep for you. It's a nice sized town with several good restaurants even open on Sundays.

You can get an idea of the area you can see our pics here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...7634528008046/

In addition to our trip report above click on my name to see our other three reports.

Happy planning!