My wife and I will have six days to visit Umbria. We plan to travel by train to Orvieto where we will rent a car. We're thinking we'd like to hub out of two towns for our visit. We're considering Spello for one and would like help deciding on the other. Orvieto, Todi, Gubbio, any suggestions?

I think you can base yourselves in one town, not two. Spello would be good for that - you can easily reach Gubbio to the north and Spoleto and Todi to the south (the E45 is a toll-free, limited access road). Of course Assisi is nearby, as is Bevagna, Montefalco, Trevi, etc. I suggest a hop over to the beautiful Piano Grande region (between Norcia and Castelluccia), via the tunnel just north of Spoleto.

I agree with Spello as a great base. It's a beautiful, charming town without the crowds of Assisi.

Spello is a wonderful choice. I think you could base yourself there for the duration. We were originally booked to stay in Spoleto for 3 nights. We found it too busy and choked with diesal fumes from the local traffic. We made a quick plan while there to change our next two nights to Spello. We could not have been happier with that decision. It's a very peaceful place to return to at night.

Orvieto is definately worth a visit. I might even consider an overnight stay as the town is lovely at night and in the early morning hours before its taken over by tourists.

Orvieto would be a good place to pick-up a car and from there to Spello is a comfortable distance.

We very much enjoyed our stay in Umbria and there is plenty to keep you busy for 4 or 5 nights in the area near Spello.

Good luck with your planning. If you want to see my photos of Umbria, here is the link

http://www.kodakgallery.com/crazy4travel/main?view=1

For Crazy4travel...Enjoyed your photos. Where did you stay in Spello?

We recently stayed in Spello for a short, two-day visit to Umbria. I loved Spello, but it's a pretty small town. If I had 6 days for Umbria, I would probably spend 3 days (nights) in Spello, and 3 nights somewhere else. Though I would agree that most sights in Umbria can be easily reached from Spello. We enjoyed Bevagna and Montefalco on this trip.

As I recall, the old city part of Spello (which is VERY much located on a hill, or rather mountainside, by the way) had about 3 restaurants, which were only open for dinner, a handful of stores, and that's about it. There was also a great little bar/gelateria with a huge terrace part overlooking the countryside. We went there both evenings to sit and enjoy. (There's more to Spello to the west of the old city, but we didn't spend any time there.)

We stayed at Palazzo Bocci, which is a wonderful hotel. The woman at the desk most evening was particularly helpful.

Gubbio is also a nice town (we visited it on a different trip), but given its location in the northwest part of Umbria, is not as centrally located for day trips elsewhere.

We've been to Orvieto several times, and always loved our time there. Haven't been to Todi or Spello, though, so can't compare. I wouldn't hesitate to make Orvieto my base for six days ... it's a heavenly spot to begin & end your day, imo!

Thank you cousin...we stayed at Del Teatro which is a moderate hotel. Very clean and well appointed rooms. There was a beautiful terrace at the hotel overlooking the Vale which we seemed to pretty much have to ourselves. We ate breakfast on the terrace and enjoyed our wine there after a day out sightseeing...it was heaven. It was 90 Euros per night including a light breakfast.

Here is the website: http://www.hoteldelteatro.it/indexuk.html

I agree that if I had 6 nights to spend in Umbria alone I would likely break it up into 2 areas. There are some great places around Orvieto....Civita di Bagnoregio, Sorano, and Pitigliano to name a few of interest.