Hi there,

My husband and I are staying in trastevere, Rome from 28th Dec until 4th Jan. I was thinking of leaving on 2nd Jan and trying to see some of Umbria or Tuscany for a two day side trip, as we have been to Rome already four times this year!! I would love to get some advice on nice towns to see and stay, with a view to returning in April for a week. have heard good things about Cortona, Perugia, siena, narni, Montepulciano, but very much open to suggestion. (We are eventually hoping to buy somewhere). Terrified of the thought of driving in rome so thinking of getting a train to a large town and then hiring a car. Please help. Thanks a million, Emma

EMMA: You'll find some recent posts regarding the easy accessibility of Orvieto from Rome and I echo this advice. Its a one hour train ride and a very small and inviting city with an unforgettable duomo. I'll, of course, add my boost for I Sette Consoli, my favorite restaurant in all of Italy. Buon viaggio.

We just returned from a 10 day trip to Italy and spent time in both Tuscany and Umbria. I haven't had a chance to post our trip report yet.

In Umbria - we really enjoyed Montefalco and Deruta. The pottery in Deruta is just beautiful. It's a very charming town at the top of the mountain.

Montefalco was also beautiful. We were there during the olive harvest and we toured an olive press in this town. We had a wonderful lunch at a little entoca in the center of town.

We also visited Orvieto and enjoyed it was well. We just found it more touristy.

In Tuscany - we visited Montelcino and had a wonderful time. Great lunch in town and then toured a winery in the area as well.

Siena is also fantastic. We stayed there for one night at the Hotel Caterina. It was a great hotel and wonderful town. The Campo is great!

We didn't go to Perugia but did consider it and drove past it. It's a larger town so it depends what kind of experience you are looking for.

We drove to all of these towns. I can't recommend this enough - get a GPS system! It is worth every penny. We rented through Auto Europe. It was only 11 euro a day and it was one of the best planning decisions of our entire trip! It saved us hours of frustration!

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need some more details on any of these towns.

Since you've already been to Rome four times this year (I am so jealous!), I think a 2 night trip is a great idea. My husband and I have spent time in both Tuscany and Umbria. I would probably choose Orvieto or Assisi (Assisi being my favorite of the two). Both are easy enough to get to from Rome, and both offer something quite different from Rome.

Tracy

Hi Em,

Wow, I'm jealous too! You must live in Europe.

My suggestion would be to train to Foligno which is 1 1/2 hours out of Termini by train. Pick up a car (Avis right in the station) and drive to Spello.

Stay at Palazzo Bocci 4*, one of the nicest places I have ever stayed. Spello is tiny, ancient, lovely, with a couple of really great restaurants. Be sure to have dinner at Il Mulino.

Spello is very nearby Assisi and Montefalco. I really enjoyed Assisi, Montefalco was nice, but especially enjoyed their unique wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco. Didn't make it to Bevegna, but many here love it. Gubbio is not too far, about a 30 minute drive, but I don't think you would have time with 2 days.

Buon viaggio!

Dayle,

Your suggestion is an excellent one. We did the opposite earlier this year; trained from Foligno back to Rome. It worked out super though. Spello was our favorite Umbrian town, and from there its super easy to visit Montefalco and Bevagna. We stayed near Bevagna on our trip and loved it.

Aahh...4 visits to Rome in one year. I've been three times in the past two years and can't seem to get enough of it. I'm still quite jealous!

Tracy

hi again,
Thanks for all your suggestions. I am going to look into them and am now considering extending our break by a further two days as flights are quite reasonable and I would love to be able to explore all the small towns close together and maybe just stay where the mood took us. My husband will kill me!!!! Dayne, I liked the idea of Spello but the hotel seems to be booked up already.Do you know of any other nice hotels in the area. Also looking at Bevagna. I am thinking that maybe i should change my plans and go to Umbria for the first four days inc. New Years Eve and then back to Rome for two before going home to Galway, Ireland.. (We are close which is why with cheap flights we get to treat ourselves to a few weekend breaks throughout Italy). Many thanks again.

I'll make another recommendation for the Foligno/Spello itinerary. There's an Avis store right in the Foligno train station, and it's 10 minutes from there to Spello. Spello is about 10 minutes to Assisi, 15 to Bevagna, and about 20-25 to Perugia and Montefalco. Spello is a very STEEP city though (I felt that it was hillier than Cortona or Montepulciano) so make sure your calf muscles and lungs are in good working order. Whoever created the Old Grandfather saying of they walked to school uphill both ways must have lived in Spello. > The city is on top of a hill that has a commanding view of the entire valley. You can see from Perugia to Spoleto.

I stayed at the Hotel Altavilla, which is off by itself in north Spello. The hotel is okay, nothing special, but it's quiet and has a great view of the Spello skyline. The Spello skyline is awesome when there's a full moon behind it. A great hole-in-the wall restaurant is Il Trombone, near the "top" of the hill off a little side alley. It faces the valley on the east side of Spello (most of Spello faces westward toward the autostrada and the rail line). This view is gorgeous too, although I don't know how useful it will be sitting outside in the middle of January.... (there is an indoor dining room too).

Hi again Emcor,

Sorry, I didn't pay enough attention to your travel dates, or I could have told you the Palazzo Bocci would be booked. I went in Sept 05 and made reservations about 9 months ahead! Even then, they had limited availability.

Try using venere.com for hotel, inn ideas. It has great search parameters. If you can't book through them, try contacting the hotel directly.

If you want to pull up my trip report, type in "Dayle's Solo Trip to Italy" and it will come up. The last 8 days were in Tuscany and Umbria by car and might give you some ideas.

Happy planning!

Hi E,

>home ... Galway, Ireland.. (We are close which is why with cheap flights we get to treat ourselves to a few weekend breaks throughout Italy). <

Go ahead, rub it in.

#$%^& furriners


Enjoy your visit.

Hi dayle,

Good News . Think I might be able to get a room at Palazzo Bocci after all... Is Spello very very quiet at night or is there any little bar cafe to get a late drink after dinner. In the meantime I have also been looking at Orvieto as alot of people also recommend it.(although can't seem to see as nice a hotel here) What do you think? Thanks, Emma

Hi again Emcor,

If you can get a room at Palazzo Bocci, grap it! Spello is VERY tiny. There is a bar/gellateria up the main street from Palazzo Bocci, but after sightseeing all day and a lovely dinner, I crash at night so I can't say what it would be like.

I would recommend just lingering over your dinner. Be sure to try Il Mulino.

We stayed at Palazzo Piccolomini in Orvieto. We liked it, but it's not nearly as nice as Palazzo Bocci. both are real palazzi.

Hi Dayle,
Great News; Just booked Palazzo Bocci for two nights on 29th & 30th Dec - and even better am staying in the Suite! (decided to treat ourselves for my birthday) I changed my trip around and instead now we are going to Spello at the beginning and heading from there to Rome to the hotel Santa Maria in Trastevere for our last four nights. We are arriving in Rome around midnight on the 28th and am wondering whats the best way to travel to Spello. Do you think it's best to stay somewhere central around termini and get the train to Foligno first thing in the morning and hire a car there or to get the train to a town closer to Rome and enjoy some sights on the way to Spello. Also on the way back, would it be possible to drive to Orvieto and leave the car there, do some sightseeing and get train back to Rome for early evening New Years Eve (around 5pm). Also have you ever been to Mount Sibbili or Le Marche. Looks quite close to Spello. What would you recommend for our two night/ three day trip re towns and sight seeing. Have you ever been to Panicale neat Trasimeno? Sorry for all the questions but I'm getting excited now as I've never been to Umbria. One last question... would it be crazy to try and travel the night we arrive?

Emcor,

Great news! You are going to love Spello! I think if it were me, I'd make things easy on myself arriving that late. I would stay at a hotel right at the airport overnight and pick up your car at the airport next morn. Drive on to Spello. There are a lot of hilltowns on the way. Todi is one that's especially nice.

Hi again,

Sorry, got interrupted by work!

Yes, dropping the car at Orvieto is a good idea. Since you are dealing with the holidays, I would verify office hours on the day you want to drop. They will be closed on Sunday and probably Monday AM. I would also make advance train reservations going into Rome on New Year's Eve.

I very much enjoyed Assisi. There is a lot to see there if you enjoy art. I spent one afternoon and the following morning and still didn't see everything I wanted.

I did an afternoon trip to Montefalco. Montefalco is also very small. I particulary enjoyed trying their local wine, Sagrantino di Montefalco. The have a fairly interesting museum (ancient converted church), although you will be seeing plenty of churches!

My good friends stayed at a B&B in Panicale when our trips overlaped last Sept. I'll ask them about it. I do remember them saying it was very small and no tourists. Very little English spoken.

Lots of Fodorites really like Bevegna, which would be on your way to Montefalco. I didn't visit it.

If you want to pull up my old trip report, search under "Dayle's Solo Trip to Italy" and it will come up. The Umbria part is at the end.

Hope this helps!

PS - Gubbio is not far. About a 30 minute drive. A very interesting and fairly unique town!

I'd overnight in Rome and train to Foligno in the AM. And a mandatory lunch at Il Becco Felice in Foligno. You can walk there from the train station. Salvatore has a one-of-a-kind place. The olive oil is from Mauro Colonna (Le Case Gialle) and lots of the vegs are from Salvo's farm. A unique experience. Also, while in Spello try lunch or dinner at La Bastiglia at the top of the town, a good hotel with an inventive restaurant. Finally, Hertz has an office a block or so from the Orvieto train station. And if you arrive lunchtime take the funicular to Orvieto Alta and I Sette Consoli for a memorable meal. My favorite restaurant in all of Italy.

Thanks for the great suggestions Dayle & DRJ, re the sightseeing and of course the good restaurants, both of which are equally important to us. We love good Italian food!! we are having problems re the car hire as new Years Eve is a Sunday and all of the offices seem to be closed. tried Foligno and Ovieto. I might be able to be able to drop off in Spoleto on Sunday out of hours, but this would mean missing Orvieto. Only other option seems to be to drop it back to Ciampino airport and taxi it back to rome on New Years eve. Dayle, do you know if the drive to Spello out of Ciampino is fairly straight forward. I think the drivers in Rome are Nuts!!

Emcor,

If you can drop the car in Spoleto, go ahead. Then just take the train to Orvieto! Or, look into dropping in Terni. I have seen it listed on the rental office lists too.