mara42

Hi all,
My husband and I will have 6 days in Umbria and/or Le Marche in mid-May 2012. We'll have a car and so far are planning to drive from Rome to Norcia for one or 2 nights, then to Gubbio for 2 nights, and then to Urbino for 2 nights. Maybe a night in Spello before returning to Rome? But perhaps we should spend less time in Urbino and include somewhere else? Please send any recommendations!!
Thanks,
Mara

immimi

We're doing much the same trip in May/June and after a lot
of searching I found that the posters on Slow Trav Italy
forum had the most info to share. There are also some good
trip reports on that site.

Maria_G

Haven't been to the cities you've mentioned, but my all time favorite hill town in Umbria is Orvieto.

macanimals

Is there a reason you are changing lodging as frequently as you have outlined? A central location in Umbria would allow you to day trip to most of your locations and would add many more. We have visited all your listed stays and I hesitate to imagine two nights in Urbino or Gubbio. A location near Bevagna or Montefalco would give you access to your sites and would also include Assisi, Perugia, Spello, Spoleto and many others areas. You will also save time in changing lodging.
Whatever you choose, May will be a great time to visit. Don't miss the beautifully spectacular Piano Grande outside of Norcia. Have fun.

mara42

Thanks for your thoughts. I had considered a central location with day trips and will give that more thought. Can you tell me more about your hesitation re: 2 nights in Gubbio or Urbino? Also, what do you think of Spello as a base?
We are definitely planning a night in Norcia with time to see the Piano Grande!

Byrd

Orvieto is one of our all-time favorites.

TDudette

I'm in agreement with macanimals about finding one base. Just looking at the map, Perugia, Foligno and Spoleto are also central.

Hub and I have based in Perugia and Spoleto and spent a nice hour in Foligno when we goofed on our trains!

Parking your car could be an inconvenience in Perugia but its wonderful pedestrian old area would be great to come home to.

Spoleto would have more parking options. Its duomo, aquaduct and arena would keep you busy. You should check with hotels in both cities (no matter where you choose) about parking. Both are hilly as well.

Hub and I had an hour layover in Foligno when we goofed up about trains so we walked around and thought it looked like a very pleasant city. Flat, easy walk to train station. Not terribly touristy-which could be good or bad?

We loved Gubbio, Assisi and Orvieto and visited as day trips. In general, if you can make good parking arrangements, you have many choices! We always used public transportation so other Fodorites can be more helpful about parking.

macanimals

That's great that you are planning a visit to the Piano Grande and Norcia. I'm a big fan of the cuisine--pork--in Norcia and with any luck the wildflowers will be in bloom up high (and lentils!).

Urbino is fascinating for the Count's palace and his innovative home's architecture and history but it is remote and a bit of a singular experience. The vibe from the local university and town is good and I'm certain you can find more of interest but we felt satisfied with a few hour visit on our way through and onward to Ravenna.

Gubbio is a great day trip and we have done it several times. The countryside along the way is scenic and the ceramics are distinctive--just haven't felt the need to stay over in many trips to the area. I still think the "bucket ride" is one of our more unique experiences as once we got to the top, it began raining and we stayed a couple of hours waiting it out in the nice cafe conveniently located at the terminus.

I think Spello would be a terrific base and we looked hard at staying there in an apartment for our next return in Sept., but our choice was not available. So we will stay in a farmhouse and continue to explore the local wineries and sights near Montefalco. BTW-Don't miss Deruta if you are into ceramics--the Alto.
Cin Cin.

TDudette

And be sure to include the upper town! Nice museum and scads of little shops.

mara42

Thanks again for the replies, everyone! Macanimals, where do you stay near Montefalco? I'm now exploring a 5 night stay at one of the following:
Le Case Gialle
Hotel La Bastiglia
Palazzo Bocci
or Palazzo Brunamonti in Bevagna

Any thoughts / recommendations?

Thanks!
Mara

macanimals

I think a 5 night stay in one of your options would be splendid. Of those listed, we have only stayed at Le Case Gialle (twice) so I don't have personal experience but the hotels look very nice. I would select based on location and ease of parking/access to the roads to your day trip destinations. Le Case Gialle is definitely rural and a bit remote with a fair piece of driving to get to a major arterial. I would favor the places you have in Spello--both look terrific. I recall looking over the terraces of La Bastiglia during our visit to Spello's Infiorata 2 years ago with envy. Spello is very close to the highway which takes you north to Assisi and Perugia and south to Spoleto. Montefalco and Bevagna are only 20 mins away (and within sight).

Don't forget to save some time for wine tasting--the Sagrantinos and rossos of this area are outstanding. www.stradadelsagrantino.it And like others, we have enjoyed and returned to L'Alchemista in Montefalco for very pleasant meals. Enjoy.

zeppole

I would take the train from Rome to Foligno and pick up the rental car in Foligno.

I'll be the outlier here and say that I would find it really tedious to be "commuting" to all your destinations and back again. If you really have a problem switching hotels, then of course get a "base".

But for me, the difficulty with the "base" concept of travel for Italy is the long Italian lunch hour when so many thngs of interest close. I don't like to rush in the mornings when I travel, and I don't want to day trip to someplace only to arrive in time to find I've only an hour or so before everything starts closing -- and it is not going to re-open until 4pm. I like a long lunch, but even I can't eat for 3 hours every day.

If you are mainly interested in walking around antique towns without ever entering anything to see artwork, etc., then it may not matter to you.

But I've discovered what works much better for me is to arrive in a place like Urbino in the afternoon, check into my lodgings, walk around the town, have a cocktail, have dinner, spend the night, and the next morning (with my luggage parked at the hotel or in my car), tour the museum and the churches. I usually stay for lunch, but then I drive on to my next destination. Often I have time to see another small town (like Montefalco) en route.

For a place of significant interest, like Perugia, I will stay for several nights. I think a place like Perugia really gets short-changed in a "day trip."

I find it too time consuming to keep driving back and forth to a base. I'd rather just keep driving forward. Sometimes I stay on a farm that serves dinner for a night, or an albergo riestorante (a restaurant with rooms upstairs).

Up to you.

zeppole

I just checked and from a "base" in central Umbria, you will spend 2 hours driving to Urbino, and 2 hours driving back. You will be driving an hour each way to see Gubbio and to see Norcia (with no chance of including the Piano Grande in the same trip).

Like I said, many people don't like a driving tour, but I feel that I see a great deal more. If I wanted to stay in one spot, I'd stay in a very interesting place like Perugia and enjoy it, or a town like Spello, or I'd go to a farm and just chill with a book and enjoy the great eats. But I wouldn't try to combine a lot of geographically-dispersed sightseeing from a single "base."

But this is your trip!

TDudette

zeppole makes a fair point, mara42. And that was why we chose Perugia and Spoleto as our bases. It took us two 2-week trips to see all the places on our list! And there are still more left.

jrecm

Spello Spello Spello!!! In 2007 my girlfriend and I stayed in a beautiful apartment for a week as a reward for retiring from teaching (and we drove everywhere, picking one city a day to explore)

Now we are returning with the guys (DH) for one week in Spello staying in the same apartment . As TDudette mentioned it took them 2 weeks to see everything...(later 2 other cities)

I like having a homebase with laundry facilities, a kitchen for small meals, and a garden at the apartment to enjoy a newly purchased bottle of wine with friends. Since it is in town, those that get up early can enjoy coffee at home or in the local cafe, we can shop at their market for lunches to go, and enjoy a couple of local restaurants at night early or late.

Believe it or not, on the first trip we never even made it to Perugia which is high on my list!

Zeppole is right..rent your car in Foligno. I could not talk the guys into this so we are driving from Rome (ugh ugh ugh)

zeppole

jrcem,

If you go to Perugia, definitely talk the guys out of driving. It is much simpler to either get a bus from Spello if there is one or drive to Foligno and park at the train station and take the train in. The National Gallery of Umbrian Art is Perugia is one of the glories of Italy, and an extremely pleasurable museum to visit, and I personally highly-recommend it.

I rent apartments when I am in a city so I can do a laundry, but for a 6-day trip to Italy, one ought to be able to pack light and still not need to do a wash.


mara,

I realize I made a mistake in my above post. If I were to pick a week in Umbria in an apartment rental, if I didn't want a place as large as Perugia, I would pick Spoleto, not Spello (only because Spello is so small, and if I wanted a town that small, I'd pick Montefalco because it has better wine -- or Bevagna if I didn't want steep climbs).

mara42

Thank you all for your thoughts! I feel quite torn between driving from place to place & probably seeing more that way, vs. having a lovely home base like Le case gialle & enjoying the atmosphere. I've now made MANY reservations and am driving my husband crazy with so many options...
Thanks for the car advice - Foligno sounds like a good plan!
Mara

macanimals

Re: Train to Foligno from Rome. If, by Rome, you mean the FCO airport, you will have an extra leg (and fare). I don't think you can go direct to Foligno from FCO. You have to take a train into the Rome train station then transfer. It also necessitates the obvious shlepping of luggage etc.
Your call.

A drive from FCO to Foligno/Spello is about 2 hours and to Norcia, about 2 1/2 hours. Personally, mixing planes, trains and autos is generally too much for us but timing of arrival can be a factor.

BTW-We consider Perugia a large city that is not particularly attractive and hard to get in and out of with a car. Nice amenities in the core however as described.

mara42

Thanks macanimals,
I didn't explain this, but we'll actually have a full 3 days in Rome before we head up to Umbria. Currently, we have a car booked to pick up at FCO on day 4 & then drop off after Umbria. But the train might make things easier, I suppose. I have to see if I can find an automatic car in Foligno!
Mara

rosetravels

mara42 - if price matters, I've found renting a car at the airport a lot cheaper than renting in a smaller town or city.

I spent 2 nights in Urbino and really loved it. The city itself is interesting and beautiful and there are other small hilltowns to the west and the north with gorgeous country in between. I wouldn't hesitate to spend a night or two there. It's one of my husband's favorite places.

I spent a lot of time a couple of months ago thinking through a similar trip and was similarly torn between a week in an apartment v moving along every two nights. If your vision is to hang out, get to know a small area well, get into the rhythm of life and not go far, then you should be in one place for 5 nights. If you want to see the sites - Norcia, Spoleto, Assisi, Gubbio, then I'd move locations to save the commute time. As I recall from a trip in 2001 there was a fair amount of industrial development along that highway that was tedious. To me a variation of your original plan makes a lot of sense - 1 night in Norcia, 3 nights in Spoleto or Montefalco, then move to Urbino for 2 nights seeing Gubbio along the way.

We spent 3 nights in Spoleto and LOVED it. From there we moved on to Norcia and stayed the night at Castelleucia in a crazy storm. That too was beautiful - the hill town on a ridge rising above the high plain. Wow.