Hi:

My husband and I will be in Umbria this Fall, arriving after a two day stay in Orvieto (after flying into Rome) and an eight day stay in Montepulciano (also planning to visit smaller towns accessable by bus for day trips).

We have made tentative reservations to stay at a B&B in Montefalco for five nights in hopes that we can take several day trips to 3 or 4 of the following towns:

Assisi/Spello/Bevagna/Gubbio/Todi/Trevi
Spoleto

Without a car, which location would be the best home base and which towns would we have good access to by bus or train (most convenient).

We would like to make home base a smaller size town/quiet and non-touristy/nice views with good food/local charm. We also want to return to home base each day by late afternoon to enjoy a glass of wine and then walk to dinner in the town we are staying in.

Would also be interested to receive your ranking of the towns listed above as to which were your favorites! We have been to Tuscany, but also open for suggestions on the best day trips to take by bus from Montepulciano as well!

Also open to advice on the itinerary for those of you that have done the Tuscany/Umbria tour. We are flying in and out of Rome (only option using frequent flyer miles). Should we travel from Rome to Orvieto to Montepulciano, then on to Umbria and back to Rome or reverse the trip?

Thanks for any help that you can send my way. After studying so many options for several weeks, my mind is a bit boggled at this point!

That will not be easy. I like your Montepulciano stay--good base for your scenario. How do you plan to get there from Orvieto? The best connection is via Chiusi and then a bus to Monte. I do not believe there is any direct connection from orvieto.
And, why Montefalco--which is very isolated. I would stay in Spoleto or Assisi in Umbria for better connections. The station for Montepulciano is way out of town.

Thanks Bob:

Between Assisi and Spoleto, which would have the nicer views, have the better restaurants and have the most convenience to bus/train mobility for day trips?

At this point, I am leaning towards Spoleto with day trips to Assisi, Montefalco/Bevagna or Spello and perhaps a day trip to Todi or Norcia. I found a very nice apartment we can rent that is part of the historic section and looks to be on the lower level of town which should be convenient.

What are your favorite towns of the ones that I have listed or others that I may be overlooking?

Thanks a million - this has been a huge help in finalizing where we should book our hotel/apartment reservations!

I am learning that some of these places fill up quickly even in the off season (we are going in late October/early November).

Ciao!

I don't know that Spoleto is any more convenient for you than Montefalco would be. Montefalco is very isolated and you will spend a lot of time on the bus just getting to the main road that leads to Spello and Assisi. Also, how the heck much bus service could a town as small as Montefalco have? Seriously, I want to know.

Spoleto to Gubbio is quite a hike. I suggest Assisi as being the most central of these towns, with the greatest amount of transport, since it is visited so much. However, you say that you want a smaller, nontouristy town.

Have you checked bus connections from each town. I think Assisi and Spello are the most central to your choices of towns. Spello may not have the number of buses that Assisi does. But it might. Ditto trains. For either town, you have to leave the town proper for trains, but buses and taxis will take you to the train in Assisi. In Spello, I guess you could walk down, but I wouldn't want to always have to walk back up.

But Spello is a great little town, with wonderful views, some terrific and well known eateries, and it is not too touristy. Just check out transportation connections.

About Assisi, which I would favor for it's location from the towns you want to visit: you could pick a B&B that is not in the thick of the touristed part of town. Assisi is a very lovely town, and has some quiet sections.

First, understand that getting around Umbria by public transport will be a real challenge--is a car out of the question? That said, Assisi is the best location for you to visit many of the villages you mention. But, only Perugia will have frequent bus or train options to some of the locations--like Gubbio. It will not be easy.

I have travelled around Umbria twice by Pubilc transports. Once based at Perugia- for touring northern Umbria. The other time based at Assisi and Spoleto for touring central ans southern Umbria, and Gubbio for walking.

Non of them is small town, but all with their own charm,(especially Assisi after the daytrippers gone), and most convenient for travelling by bus and train. I am afraid smaller town and good public transport don't come together as we would wish.

Gubbio is one of my favorite towns in Umbria: well- kept medieval old town centre but far less visited.

There are other threads on the topic of visiting towns in Umbria by public transportation, but this one was easy for me to find because I started it: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1347048

Thanks everyone for such quick responses! Carol - your link was wonderful - thank you!

Decisions, Decisions....

I am really torn between setting up our home base for the five nights in either Spoleto, Spello, Assisi or Perugia (now that I am hearing such wonderful things about the town). It sounds like Assisi may not be too touristy in early November although one hotel that I e-mailed said that there is a big convention there during this time which doesn't sound too appealing for more than a day trip.

Big draws to Spoleto and Spello at this point are beautiful apartments that we can rent (at a very reasonable rate for the five days) vs. staying in hotels. I didn't find any apartments in Assisi that looked nice, although perhaps if I spent more time researching, I might find a good resource.

The more I study these towns, the more I want to stay in them all! And, I can already tell that since we like the Slow Travel pace, we will need to come back again to see what we won't see on this visit - what a nice problem to have!

What towns were the most memorable to you that you either stayed in or visited that would make you want to return again and stay for several days?

What towns would you definately recommend that we put on our "must see" list? Has anyone been to Norcia - the scenery on the drive there sounds beautiful.

P.S. Bob the Navigator - I noticed that you also stayed at the Politian Apartments in Montepulciano. That is where we are staying for seven nights before we head to Umbria. We are also doing the area in Montepulciano without a car. What towns will we be able to get to by bus from Montepulciano without too much hassle? Just hanging out in Montepulciano for a couple of the days and chilling will be fine for us also and the apartments look great - we are staying in Apt. #1.

Thanks again everyone for being so helpful.

Some visits I would suggest while in
Montepulciano are -

having dinner at La Porta in Monticchiello
(but I don't know if this is possible without
a car -- but maybe you'll meet some other
folks who do have one and can share
a meal there)

hiking the trails between Montepulciano
and a number of smaller towns nearby
(beautiful countryside)

visiting Pienza (this you definitely can do
by bus) for its Renaissance architecture/
art

visiting Montalcino for the wine and,
if you can manage it by bus and some
walking, the nearby wonderful
Romanesque Sant'Antimo. I always
return to Sant'Antimo if I am anywhere
nearby. It has all the awe of Assisi
when the tourists hae gone -- and the
singing of the monks is really fine.

Buon viaggio!

Dear Mayabee:

Thanks for your recommendations! I bought the book Walking & Eating in Italy and they recommend a walk from Pienza to Monticchiello (bus to Pienza from Montepulciano then walk back to Montepulciano, stopping to eat in Monticchiello).

The restaurant that they recommended is La Porta, so weather permitting, we will certainly try to make this walk and glad to hear that the restaurant is good!

Also looking forward to spending time in Pienza and seeing Saint Antimo is also on our list, so thanks for the strong endorcement! I hope that we can also get to Montalcino by bus for some wine-tasting as well!

Thanks again!

You could stay in Spoleto and day trip to several of these places by train and taxi. My last trip, I spent 3 nights in Assisi, and then I took the train to Spoleto, where I stayed for 4 nights. In Spoleto, I hired a taxi (nice white mercedes), and I spent the morning in Trevi, and then I went to Spello where I had a great lunch. From Assisi, I took the train to Foligno, where I thought that I could get a bus to Montefalco. Wrong. There are two am buses but they are basically school buses. There is one pm bus back to Foligno, also a school bus, which you would have to pick up on the main road. So, I took a taxi to Montefalco, and I pre-arranged to have him pick me up a few hours later (fabulous San Francisco church to see and great lunch)to take me back to Foligno train station. I was so glad that I had him pick me up, because there are also no taxis that I saw. From Assisi, I also had a taxi driver take me on a tour of Bevagna. Also very tiny, and another great lunch. As an earlier poster said, a Perugia base is very convenient. Two trips ago, from Perugia, I visited (by bus) Todi, and Gubbio. You could also daytrip to Assisi, but I prefer to stay there. I think that you need to decide on one base city, and take it from there, IMHO. Also, while the train does go to spello and Trevi, you may have trouble getting a taxi up to the center of town from the station.

Thanks Itaylss! I'm leaning towards Spoleto for the nice spacious apartment. It sounds like Assisi is a nice spot to stay for a few nites. Are there any hotels or apartments that you would recommend?

It also looks like from one of my guide books that going to towns from Assisi or Spoleto by bus might be more convenient than train?

Thanks!

Sorry, I think it was Patrick that did that. His report was an excellent resource. We have always driven.