Umbria - First Tinkered Now Planning
 

Originally I was planning this trip for the middle two weeks or so of June. However, due to a scheduling conflict it will have to be the middle of July.

As we did on our two recent successful trips to Tuscany and Provence, we will be relying on public transportation to get around.

For a base I want two things. I want the town to be convenient to public transportation. Also, even if we don't plan on any complete days in the base town I expect that we'll spend a fair amount of time either before or after day trips wandering the town. So I'd like a town with enough to keep us busy for part of at least several days.

So far Perugia appears to best base for us even though I'd like it to be more convenient to the main train station. It is close to the FCU and bus stations.

So far I see two parts to the trip with the possibility of a third.

We'll most likely fly into Rome (been twice before), spend a couple of days there with a day trip to Oriveto (I'd love to see civita di bagnoregio but it just takes up too much of the day unless there's another way to get there).

From there we'll move on to Perugia for the rest of the Umbrian portion.

There's a possibility that we'll add a few days in Venice (been there twice before) with a day trip to Verona but haven't decided on this yet.

I've reviewed many of the popular Umbrian towns accessible by bus or train and there seems to be one common thread. Just about all of them are hill towns.

Orvieto (from Rome) and Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi and possibly Montefalco, Bevagna and Spello.

At the end of the trip will all the hill towns blend in with each other or do they each have their own look and personality?

This is the starting point.

When we used Perugia as a base, we visited Gubbio (by bus) and Assisi (by train). Those two were both charming hill towns, but had very different feels because Assisi was filled with people all headed to the same few religious sights, and Gubbio was relatively empty of tourists and quiet.

Check when the huge music festival is in Spoleto -- and also check when the Perugia is having its jazz festival if you haven't already. I think they are over by mid-July, so you may miss them and be all the happier for it because they overwhelm the towns and jack hotel prices very high.

Montefalco is an extremely steep hilltown and Spello is also extremely steep. You might not want both in July. I'm partial to the red wine of Montefalco -- but I'm not sure I'd want it in July!

Bevagna is actually flat, and has the unique feature of Roman mosaics. Spoleto is expansive and has variety, plus memorable art. Gubbio has the plus of there being a pulley-lift to move you up to the top of town, and is quite distinctive in feel. Assisi is Assisi, a huge international religious shrine.

I'm not sure Todi is all that much of a draw if you are staying in Perugia and have visited the other towns.

It is likely to be extremely hot, so make sure your accommodations are well-air conditioned.

Have you checked out the possibility of going on an excursion to Lago Trasimeno from Perugia? The lake is famously humid, so I don't know if will give you any break from the heat, but it would give you a change of scenery.

I just checked for you. There's a 30 minute direct train to Passignano sul Trasimeno from Perugia leaving several times a day. Might be nice for lunch or just a stroll by the lake and evening cocktails.

We met a guy and his son in Spello at lunch last Sept. who was staying near Lake Trasimeno, and using public transport to get around. If it wasn't available to where he wanted to go, he hired a cab to drive him for the day. Said it didn't cost any more than renting a car based on previous trips, and he was enjoying being forced to take his time in towns he visited.

Anyway, we loved Perugia, and it should be a good base.

None of the hilltowns seemed the same to me. Some are different stone, and have totally different looks.

Thanks. Good ideas to think about.

The Spoleto festival will be over but I think the Perugia Jazz Festival is July 5-14.

It's tempting to push the trip a few days later and get to Perugia from Rome just after it ends. I can't push it too many days because I'm going to Glacier National Park in early August.

If the main draw of Assisi are the religious sights we could pass.

So it looks like the suggestions so far are to go to Orvieto (from Rome) and and Perugia as the Umbria base.

Then go to Gubbio, Bevagna, Spoleto and either Montefalco or Spello from Perugia. More towns of interest?

Although it's a half hour closer to Spoleto from Perugia it may be an idea to go there from Rome. That takes a day away from Perugia. I'll keep that in the back of my mind for now.

More comments?

Could you spend a night or two in Orvieto en route to Perugia? Orvieto is a gem.

wekewoody,
You make a good suggestion. By staying over in Orvieto, not only would we get to spend the evening there but I could also get to civita di bagnoregio.

On the negative side. As we get older we are trying to spend more time in less places. Less moving around with luggage.

But still, I'll try to see how that works out trying to work out an itinerary.

Perugia is a wonderful, small city. Orvieto is more of a town (especially if you focus on the historic upper town). We loved them both. I don't know if I could choose between Montefalco and Spello. We enjoyed Spello, maybe because it seemed to be filled with residents -- we were there when school let out and it was fun to see all the kids pile on buses or be picked up by their parents to walk home for lunch. But there were also some great galleries and pretty little churches with extraordinary art (IMO and I'm not really a devotee of religious art ).

In Montefalco, we enjoyed tasting olive oils and wines in several little shops. While I'm not really a "shopper" I really wish I'd taken the time to shop for table linens in Montefalco. I saw some there that were different than anything we saw throughout our two weeks in Umbria, and we never got back to buy any. We've started using cloth napkins everyday at home, and what a useful souvenir some would have been.

Myer,

I've been to all your mentioned towns except for Bevegna and Spoleto. Stayed in Orvieto, Spello, Assisi and Gubbio. They were all very different and each seems to have it's own specialty.

Gubbio is weapons and ceramics (very unique ceramic patterns I've not seen anything remotely similar). Great main piazza with views.

Montefalco is linens and of course the fabulous Sagrantino di Montefalco red wine (LOVE it).

Assisi is religion central, full of shops selling religious clothing, etc., etc., etc. But - the basilica is worth visiting, simply amazing. Plus I enjoyed a couple of the other churches too. I forget the name, but the church with the pink and white stripped exterior and the flying buttresses is gorgeous. A very beautiful town.

We stayed in Orvieto 3 nts and just loved this town in every way. Did day trips from there and one was a 1/2 day to Civita di Bagnoreggio. My friends thanked me over and over for putting that visit on our trip. We did have a car....

Stayed 2 nts in lovely Spello and I would return in a heartbeat. Full of flowers, basically no tourists, beautiful views and you can see Assisi from the top of town. Nice view at night! Some nice small art museums and a church with some very nice art too.

I would highly recommend staying a night at least in Orvieto. You will be very glad you did!

Buon viaggio!