dreamon

As part of our holiday in May, we plan to spend some time in either Spello or Spoleto and visit other towns in Umbria using bus and train. I'd value any opinions on which is the more attractive town to base ourselves in.

Also does anyone have any experience in getting to Todi from either of these towns (wihtout a car)?

Thank you.

Jean

Without a car, I'd pick Spoleto which has extra-urban bus service in addition to the trains. Todi, I think, would be tough to reach directly from either Spello or Spoleto but perhaps not too difficult by train from Spoleto via Terni. These sites may help:

http://umbria.angloinfo.com/informat...lic-transport/

http://www.umbriamobilita.it/it

Unfortunately, the second link above is only in Italian and the train timetable ("Servizi Ferroviari") is a little cranky. There is regional train service between Terni and Perugia (including Todi) and Trenitalia service between Spoleto and Terni. You can't search this connection on Trenitalia, so you have to do separate searches (Spoleto-Terni and Terni-Todi) on the two train sites. It's about 25 minutes Spoleto-Terni and another 40 minutes Terni-Todi, then a taxi to the center.

If there's any way you can talk yourselves into renting a car, I think you'd find your time in Umbria much more enjoyable. It's a great area for driving small country roads.

dreamon

Thank you, Jean. I'll look into the websites you've given. I'm sure there will be heaps to see and do, even if we don't make it to Todi - but it would be nice.

We're thinking of visiting Perugia and Gubbio. I'd also like to walk from Spello to Assisi. I realise they are popular places to visit so are there other ones which we should look out for?

Thank you.

Jean

Gubbio is difficult to reach without a car. Gubbio does not have train service, although Fissato di Vico is about 10-15 kms. away. There is bus service from Perugia (about an hour each direction).

flanneruk

"I'd also like to walk from Spello to Assisi. I realise they are popular places to visit so are there other ones which we should look out for?"

Other what? Walks or towns?

Other walks? The basic walk from Spello to Assisi is 7 miles each way, on boring (but lightly trafficked) paved road. The alternative - straight up and down Monte Subasio - is 12-13 miles, mostly footpath, with about 3,000 ft of ascent and descent.

Partly along one of Europe's most emotive pilgrimage routes (the last 3 miles of precipitously descending path are those taken from St Francis from his hermitage on the mountain into Assisi), on a fine day it can be one of the most exhilarating shortish walks anywhere. On a less fine day it can be downright dangerous (the path's poorly marked and cloud can come quite low down the mountain). I certainly wouldn't do it without a guide and without good stocks of food and water (there's nothing but views along the route): admittedly on more or less the shortest day of the year, and with none of us exactly weekly marathon runners, we left Spello shortly after dawn a couple of weeks ago and walked through Assisi gates as dusk was falling.

There honestly can't be many walks anywhere to match this for accessibilty, sense of achievement and cultural interest (though the waymarkers' claim it's really part of the even more historically significant Via Francigena is pushing things a bit). But there's a good list of other footpaths around the hills at http://www.parks.it/parco.monte.subasio/Eiti.php

Other towns? Assisi is Italy's biggest pilgrimage destination after Rome, and most religious pilgrimage is concentrated on the same basilica artlovers make a beeline for. It's also got some of the world's most spectacular early Renaissance paintings. It's crowded pretty well all day every day of the year. There's nowhere like Assisi (for good and, in many people's minds, ill) - but some would find its crowds not worth the town's immense cultural or spiritual attractions (or the fun of shop windows stuffed with Catholic kitsch).

That just isn't true of Umbria's second division towns. Perugia's big enough to absorb crowds anyway: Spello, Spoleto, Bevagna, Montefalco, Foligno, Todi etc can all get busyish on a busy day (and May's a popular month both for all kinds of touring in Europe's heritage towns, since there are public holidays almost every week). It's all down to personal taste, but I wouldn't say any one of them was obviously essential for the general visitor, or not worth the bother.

Personally, Umbria's practically the last place in Europe I'd visit without a car, unless I'd organised, or got someone else to organise, a week's proper walking for which Umbria can be almost unparalleled.

If you've no particular interest, base your itinerary on the limited public transport available. If you have got a specific interest (say in Romanesque churches, the Etruscans, wildlife or Giotto) a car is absolutely essential. Even then: lock yourself in your nearest serious library, research the trip to death and then work your itinerary out.

dreamon

Thank you, flanneruk. Your information is really valuable but makes me wonder whether we've chosen the right area to visit in Italy. We don't want to hire a car as I simply don't find driving in a completely unfamiliar environment relaxing. I clearly need to do some more research. Thank you especially for the website reference.

We don't intend to rush around seeing many towns in a single day - just one would do - and anticipated that public transport would be fine for that. We have no particular focus of interest but would just like to see something of the area.

GAC

If you heart is set on Umbria, rest assured that you CAN use public transportation between the major towns and cities, except on SUNDAYS, when some smaller towns (e.g. Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco, Trevi) have no bus service. Use this website:

www.umbriamobilita.it

as well as www.trenitalia.it

dreamon

Flanneruk, when you say the walk should be taken with a 'guide' do you mean a decent map and notes or a person? If the latter, do you know how to organise this? Thank you.

GAC, we are pressing ahead with our plans. We have both visited Tuscany a number of times but it's 30 years since I've been in Umbria and would very much like to see it again. We don't plan to rush around trying to see everything so think we should manage fine with the local buses and trains. We have decided to just concentrate on the towns close by and will probably have to miss some of the further flung towns. We do arrive on a Sunday but have checked train timetables and that will be okay.

Thank you all for your help.

dreamon

Flanneruk, just found contact details under 'Facilities' - did you use any of these?

goldenautumn

dreamon,

Most people don't pay attention to flanneruk's rants-- er, I mean "posts." Sorry I didn't spot this thread sooner.

This might help you:

http://www.brigolante.com/blog/2010/...general-guide/

goldenautumn

and this

http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/...a/walking.html

dreamon

Thank you, goldenautumn!