Umbria
 

Going to Umbria soon. Was told the towns all look alike after awhile. Which would you not miss seeing out of Todi,Spoletto and Orvietto? Any restaurant suggestions?

Well, Orvieto looks nothing like anything you've ever seen. But that's true of Spoleto and Todi too. So in that sense I guess they do look alike.

Are you going anyplace else in Umbria? How much time do you have? And -- most importantly -- why are you going to Umbria? Kind of silly to go to Orvieto if what you really want to see and experience is in Todi (or Perugia or Montefalco or Bevagna).

Do you have any mobility problems?

nessun,

If you are reading this, and if haager will permit an aside, we have reservations at Antico Frantoio Brizi...we are really looking forward to it and perhaps haager would like the restaurant there....

I loved Umbria. I think that each town has its own charm, although I do admit that after awhile some of them do start to look alike. That being said, there are some great ones and the region is well worth the effort.

My favorites are Spello, Bevagna, Assisi and Montefalco.

If you like history and are looking for something a little different from hill towns, check into the ruined town of Carsulae. Very interesting and very uncrowded. If you do a search on here you will see my comments.

Tracy

Forget Todi, Spoletto and Orvietto. Assisi is the best town in Umbria by a mile, or at least a kilometer. One nice thing about Assisi is that they have several exceptionally nice hotels that are fairly cheap by Italian standards.

Proving that everyone is different - of the 4 - Todi, Spoleto, Orvieto and Assisi - we loved the first 3 but Assisi much much less and would probably not go back there. If I had to give up one of the 3 you asked about it would probably be Spoleto as I think I loved the other 2 slightly more - but it is a very close call. As to the look alike factor - yes in some respects there are similarities but surely that can be said about towns in all countries?

Traviata,

How delightful! My best to Emmanuela Brizi. Tell her she is becoming famous on the world wide web! ;-)

I hope it is possible for you to have a tour of the olive oil mill.

In October we visited Tuscany and Umbria. Each town in these areas has its own personality, but if you're concerned about being bored, stay in one place for a week and get to know the surrounding area which is a different experience than running around from hilltown to hilltown. In any case, this was not our first visit to Umbria which is similar to Tuscany, but with less tourists (except for Assisi)and with a landscape which is less dramatic.

Here's the URL of my web page on this trip. I hope you'll find it useful. It's got several restaurant recommendations.

http://www.travel.stv77.com/tuscany2005/tuscany05.htm

nessundorma,

Emanuela was as warm and wonderful as you said when we e-mailed her. We are staying with her for two days and will do the mill tour and she will introduce us to several of her friends who have vineyards there in Montefalco...and, yes, we will eat at her table. Thank you!

Nessundorma
We will be staying in Panicale for four or five nights before heading to France. We defintely plan to see Assissi and Perugia. Some of our group have already been to the other towns I mentioned so we're trying not to do too many repeat visits for them as there are surely many great towns. Bevagna looked interesting as well as Spello. There is no disability among us.
Thanks to Traviata for the restaurant recommendation...will look it up!