CF

Are there any towns in the Umbria area you would say are a 'don't miss'? <BR><BR>Please advise on towns and whether they're good for exploration, overnight stay, or both...<BR><BR>Thank you for your suggestions!

Dale

I visit Umbria every year. It is the Tuscany of twenty years ago. All of my hill towns are a treat and shouldn't be missed. <BR><BR>From north to south on the road connecting Perugia and Spoleto, Spello goes up a hill and culminates at a fine hotel with a great kitchen: La Bastilia. <BR><BR>Montefalco sits on a hilltop and is famous for its sagrantino wine. One of the best sagrantino vintners is Arnaldo Caprai, located a few miles out of town and worth visiting. <BR><BR>Next door is Bevagna, where I always stay for at least a week. Try Enoteca Piazza Onofri for excellent food and drink. They also have small apartments for rent in the center of this charming town.<BR><BR>Trevi sits atop another hill, is a sight to experience from the Perugia-Spoleto highway and has a pleasant town square. Down the road a few miles is a dining experience to remember. Taverna del Pescatore has a few little signs on the roadway and is in a town adjacent to Trevi calle Pigge. I will never forget a lunch there last fall. <BR><BR>These are my favorite hill towns in Umbria. All of the guide books can tell you about Spoleto, Todi, Perugia, Assisi, Norcia and Gubbio. (And they are all special places.)<BR><BR>Ciao e buon viaggio!<BR>

Betsy

Check out www.malvarina.it for a WONDERFUL place to stay near Assisi while you enjoy the area restaurants that Dale recommends. But be sure to dine at Malvarina at least one night. You wont be sorry!

peter

my vote is for orvieto. a good overnite stop. plenty to keep you busy for the day and there are several good restuarants there. try the wild boar if you are there during season(sept-oct). its less than 2 hrs to rome from there also

Sandy

to he top.

Helen Donegan

Hi CF<BR><BR>I live just outside Perugia and would just like to add a few ideas to what the others have said.<BR><BR>Take your time in Assisi - it is worth it. Drive up to the eramo (hermitage) and if it is a good day keep going up and you will be in a national park - wonderful views of the whole of Umbria below you.<BR><BR>On the way up to the eramo you will pass a bar/tavola calda on your right - good, homemade food, reasonably priced and if you sit on the benches outside you have a fabulous lunch.<BR><BR>The road down the other side of the mountian from the national park takes you eventually to Spello. On the way you should stop in Collepino, time stands still there! From Spello you can take the dual carriageway back.<BR><BR>Corciano is a small medieval town between Perugia and Lake Trasimeno, not so many visitors and nice to wonder round for an hour or two.<BR><BR>A boat ride on Trasimeno would be a good day out. Leave the car in Passignano and take the boat to the main island. After a visit there you can take the boat to Castiglione del Lago.<BR><BR>If you want any more ideas I can keep going!! Lol<BR><BR>

ron

Hi,<BR>I went in November and ended up staying at Bevagna because it seemed like an out of the way "charm spot", that would be a little more quiet and untouristy than Assisi and Perugia. It was indeed quite charming, and I think I saw only one other tourist in November. For lack of more a more poetic phrase, the town is really "old", and so incredibly well kept. It's quite small, so can be explored quickly in a few hours if you are in a rush. We stayed there on our way up through Perugia and onto Tuscany. The hotel we stayed at was the Palazzo Brunamonte, right in the middle of town. People friendly and building quite accommodating and I can recommend it .Their homesite is: <BR>http://www.brunamonti.com/en/Default.htm<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip.