restaurants/sites in Umbria for family
 

Our family of 4 (boys 9 & 12) will be staying in Bettona for 5 nights in June and are looking for some personal recommendations for good restaurants and things to do with the boys. We will have a car and plan on seeing Perugia, Assisi, Orvieto, Spoleto, Bevagna and whatever else we can fit in. The kids are probably not up for too many churches, but are very interested in history and battles so we'll be going to all the castle/forts and maybe the site of the Battle of Trasimeno. We live in San Francisco and are spoiled with great, locally grown food and are looking forward to eating some in Italy. Does anyone know of a restaurant, maybe in the country or on a farm or winery, where we can have some good local food for lunch with the kids? Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...sees-towns.cfm

I like Spoleto (and have stayed there), but I'd skip it during your relatively short stay in Umbria. I'd substitute Gubbio where your kids could climb around the ruins of a Roman theater and possibly (not sure about the age requirements) ride the cage funicular to the top of the mountain beyond the city walls. A video of the ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysARyaFr5T4

If possible, I'd visit Orvieto on your way to/from whatever is before/after Umbria on your itinerary. Otherwise, it's a long-ish day trip from Bettona, especially if the other places that interest you are farther north.

If you click on my initials you can find a thread that I participated in yesterday regarding my Umbrian experiences. Also, for great information about Umbria google slowtrav.com.

Thanks for the input. Gubbio sounds like a good idea since the kids love Roman history. Maybe we'll stop in Orvieto on our way to Rome.

Possibly another reason to skip Spoleto (unless it's the reason you were going there) is the annual Spoleto Two Worlds Festival which will be held June 18 to July 4, 2010. The town will be extremely busy.

http://www.festivaldispoleto.com/sommario.asp?langi=eng

Thanks DRJ, I have been reading other threads and have looked at Slowtrav.com. I was posting hoping to get recs specifically for people traveling with kids. I haven't been to Italy for around 20 years (though have traveled elsewhere in Europe w/kids), so I wasn't sure if kids are welcomed everywhere.

We will definitely skip Spoleto, though there is also a medieval festival happening in Bevagna when we're there and that looks very tempting.

I'd make a point of seeing the Bevagna festival. It's a much smaller, more low-key town.

I think one of the charming things about Italy is that, by and large, more attention will be paid to your kids than to you.

One of the best meals I had in Umbria was at La Terrazza, high in the hills above Paciano. It was essentially someone's house set up with a few tables. The food was outstanding and the views breathtaking.

Kids are more than welcome everywhere.

You kids would probably love Lago Trasimeno. The beach at Castiglione di Lago is fun on a hot day (the Saturday market is fun too), and the restaurants along the beach road have good-quality, good-value food. Passignano is also a great trip - the boys can clamber up the steep alleys going up to the old quarter of town, and there's a ferry out to Isola Maggiore which makes for a nice trip.

There are great concerts on weekend evenings in the main square in Panicale, too. Lots of kids of all ages there.

I haven't experienced Bevagna's medieval festival but have researched it and I would think it would be perfect for your kids, especially the competitions and displays of handiwork. We hope to catch a piece of it during our visit in June. Bettona itself will have some interest--its tiny but the original walls are etruscan and there is signage to crypts. Hannibal's battle site at Lake Trasimeno is apparently signed near the town of Tuoro on the north side of the lake. Its on my list of sites to explore and there is some sort of trail with marked signage.

Thanks for all the input. La Terrazza sounds perfect. Glad to hear the kids will be welcomed in Italy. It was not the case for us a few years ago traveling in the Dordogne with a 2 year old!

Though I would be perfectly happy sitting in a piazza sipping wine or cappuccino, it's the crypts, battles and walking in Hannibal's footsteps that will be the buy-in for the kids.

StCirq, do you have any more info on the location of La Terrazza? Thanks.