We will be staying in Spoleto in early October for 2 brief days after a week in Tuscany to finish off our trip! so 2 nights in Spoleto, then 1 night at the Hilton near FCO for our return trip home. Countdown 2.5 weeks!

Question about car rental return (Avis). We plan to keep the car while in Spoleto so that we can drive around the area. Does it make more sense to return the car in Spoleto and take a train to FCO for the last night? Or do we keep and return it in FCO?

Also, any tips for great towns to visit or places to eat in while in Spoleto? We are considering going to Assisi, but will be there on Oct. 4 - the great feast of St. Francis. Still have not decided whether to venture there or not!!

Thanks dear Italian-loving Fodorites!

I was In Umbria one year on Oct 4 and did not venture into Assisi on the advice of locals who told me that the main sights and much of the town would be locked down because the heads of government in Italy travel to Assisi for the feast day (St Francis being the patron saint of Italy).

You might check again to see if that is the case this year or perhaps someone else has had a different experience.

If your last 2 days in Italy are a weekend then you might have difficulty dropping off the car at a rental office in Umbria since most are closed except for Saturday mornings. Airport rental offices are open full hours on weekends.

As sandralist pointed out, you can't return the car Saturday afternoon or on Sunday. Neither the office in Spoleto or at the Foligno train station would be open. But I would drive the car to FCO anyway. The only Avis office I know in/near Spoleto is a couple of miles from the train station, so you'd need to taxi from Avis to the train. Then, Spoleto to FCO is two trains which means schlepping your luggage two more times. At FCO, you could head first to the hotel, drop the luggage and then turn in the car.

Don't try going to Assisi. If you want to day trip from Spoleto, Trevi is wonderful (and has a great little museum), and Montefalco is a charmer where you can get some of the most wonderful red wine in the world (Sagrantino -- which is not exported much and if it is, it is way more expensive than you can get it in Umbria. Spoleto is a splendid town in its own right, so you may find plenty to do without going anywhere else.

awesome! thanks for the great insight!
the wine sounds great uhoh_busted! and the car rental return as well. We' d return it on a Sunday in FCO
Ciao!!

Rather, returning on Monday!

We were in Umbria for a week and although the Basilica di San Francesco is memorable, the town itself is dull polished sterile - - it was my least favorite place of the entire week, by far. As uhoh_busted says, Trevi is really nice, Montefalco is pleasant - - and a hightlight for us was going east to truffle capital Norcia, and then circling round north through the pretty/eerie moonscape that is the Parco Nazionale dei Monte Sibillini. Flickr piccies here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougla...7632254170980/

@dfourth, lovely pictures; thanks for sharing! How was the drive itself to Norcia? For some reason, the mountain roads have me spooked ....

dfourh, your photos make me want to make a speedy return to Umbria. Thanks for the link.

The drive is very straightforward - - approaching from the south into the park the roads are pretty wide; on the northern route circling back there are quite a few switchbacks, but all you see are trees, no heights.

Wanted to add: Spoleto itself is really a spectacular place!

Dfourth, thanks for the insight and the photos. Where is the Baci factory in Perugia? the truffles in Norcia sound awesome.

The Spoleto cemetery is definitely worth a visit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622914730403/ and the next picture.

Spoleto looks amazing! thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the info on the drive to Norcia. That makes me feel better.

I don't know about the Baci factory but there is a big Baci store on the main drag in Perugia.

It's a Perugina store, actually, and the "main drag" is called the Corso Vannucci. The factory is located outside of Perugia (but not far).

http://www.perugina.com/casa_del_cioccolato.php

They also make chocolates in Norcia.

http://www.umbriaontheblog.com/2012/...le-chocolates/

In October I probably would not head up into the mountains to take the back route home from Norcia. You can never tell what the weather is up there when you are down in the valley, and it can change very quickly. You can get to Norcia and back by going through the river valley.

But right in Spoleto and within the immediate vicinity of Spoleto there is a huge amount of interest without undertaking long drives. All these places are very close:

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/foligno-neighborhood/

http://www.bellaumbria.net/en/spoleto-neighborhood/

Truffles and chocolate. Ok, I'm ready to go!! thanks all. I'm so excited about our destination choice. Umbria has always been on my wish list and I'm so glad to finally get there after maybe 6 trips to Italy. Yippeeee!