UMBRIA - Perugia or Spello?
 

We will be travelling in Umbria by car in mid-november. After doing much research, we've narrowed down our base to either Perugia or Spello, but can't seem to decide which one to stay in. We like easy in and out with the car, restaurants and sights, and also a town with people in it at that time of year. We plan on exploring Bevagna, Montefalco, Spoleto, etc... during our stay. Any suggestions? Thanks.

If you like "easy in and easy out," that doesn't describe Perugia, although I love the city.

November is a month of olive oil and wine harvesting and while Spello hardly rocks with activity -- most people go for the quiet -- it isn't a ghost town.

Spoleto is larger.

Choose Spello for easy "in and out by car"
Choose Perugia for restaurants (there are many more)
Choose Perugia for large numbers of people
Choose Spello for quietness and tranquillity
Choose Spello for proximity to Bevagna, Montefalco & Spoleto

Don't forget to visit Norcia, Assisi, Orvieto and Gubbio!!!

hi ginge,

why not wait til you get there? you should be able to get a room easily in November, withut booking.

take a copy of the Michelin guide to Italy with you and you wil have town maps, the locations of the hotels, their prices and contact details at your fingertips.

have a great trip

regards, ann

I liked Spello as a base (although I had a wonderful 47 minutes in Perugia). Spello is only about ten to 15 minutes from Assisi. We conveniently ventured to Spoleto, Montefalco, Bevagna, Gubbio, Assisi, the aforementioned Perugia and Trevi (well, I drove on the Trevi town square and hightailed it out of town before the Trevians stoned me). There is parking in Spello, but be sure you know how to put your rental car in reverse. The people of Spello are still talking about that near calamity.

We stayed at Palazzo Bocci. Wonderful hotel with a nice outdoor area to sip wine bought at the nearby wine and cheese store. As Zeppole stated, it's not a mecca for night life, but it has some nice restaurants and is, as my friend Kim always says, Spello is "felony cute" thanks to displays of flower boxes all over town. I think my motto was "All Roads Lead to Spello" or "Things Go Better with Spello." Wine can ruin a man's memory. Have fun!!!!

((H))

If you go to Gubbio, take a ride on the "Bucket Of Bolts." Of course, make sure your insurance policy is up to date. It will make things easier for your next of kin.

((H))

I admit I'm more of a city girl. Spello was too quiet and tranquil for me. I presume November would be even more so.

I've stayed in (and enjoyed) Perugia but not with a car and agree that it's not an easy in and out town.

I've stayed in Spoleto with a car and thought it was a great base for exploring all of Umbria. Easy in and out when we stayed at the Hotel San Luca.
http://www.hotelsanluca.com/index_eng.php

I second the "Bucket of Bolts" in Gubbio.

I'd add both Gubbio and Todi to your list.

ginge102,

Your two choices are completely opposite in every way!

Ditto everything Maitaitom says about Spello and Palazzo Bocci. Ditto Jean's advice to add Todi and Gubbio, including "the bucket of bolts". Strangest lift this skier has ever experienced!

My own advice, drink lots of Sagrantino di Montefalco!

"drink lots of Sagrantino di Montefalco!"

Oh yeah!!!!!!

((H))

Both interesting places but Perugia is not an easy place with a car. I liked Spello. Very pretty and full of flowers . However there is no comparison. They are entirely different.

Thanks to all of you for your advice.

Does Spello have lots of restaurants and shops, or at least a few to choose from? I'm from a big city and don't mind being in a quiet one for a change as long as there are still people milling about; not a deserted city i hope? is there another city you can compare Spello to?

and yes, we'll add Gubbio to the list; been to Todi a few years ago.

Spello has a population of 8500 (source: freebase)...Perugia has a population of 150,000 (source: Wikipedia). By my reckoning that means there will be approximately 16 times the number of restaurants and shops in Perugia to choose from than there are in Spello.

In point of fact, there is even more of an inequity in November because Perugia, a university town is at its' liveliest.

Spello in early winter is going to be pretty quiet.

From the questions you are asking (which sort of relay a bit of anxiety about the lack of things to do in Spello) added to the fact you are from a big city, maybe you will overlook the parking problems in Perugia in favour of the vitality of the city-life?

I have a bias: I LOVE Perugia and have only ever visited Spello a couple of times. I think that the big parking lot with the elevator access to the upper town solves a lot of the problems of Perugia parking, too.

We have stayed in Spoleto and Perugia and visited Spello on a day trip from Spoleto. All by train.

Do you know if your choice of accommodations in both cities have free parking? That might be a helpful "decider" for you. In terms of driving during the day and "landing" at night, I'd stay in Perugia if you have free parking. So much to do. Such energy from the 6 universities. Very hilly.

Spello is sweet and interesting but it seemed to consist mostly of one main uphill street (ok, a slight exaggeration).

Spoleto also hilly but in the middle of Spello and Perugia in size and things to do. We were based in Spoleto for Spello, Orvieto and Assisi day trips.

Please let us know what you end up doing.

You should look at the website for La Bastiglia, a hotel at the very top of Spello. LOts of parking, great views and an adventurous kitchen.

How many nights will you be staying in Spello/Perugia? I'll admit, on my one visit to Perugia, the city didn't really "click" with me, though I don't have any reasons why.

We spent 3 nights in Spello, and while we had a wonderful stay there, it is pretty small. It definitely does not have "lots" of restaurants, and I, too, would say that it feels like it only has one street (but really, it has more than that). We stayed at Palazzo Bocci, too, and it does provide free parking just up the street. As a comparison, San Gimignano feels bigger, because (food is a big deal for us) there is a much bigger choice of restaurants than Spello. The size of the towns are probably similar.

Spello is less toursty than San G., though, which was nice in that respect.

To me, Spello was totally charming, wonderful to stay in and wonderfully untouristed and quiet. Nice to return to after a busy day in Assisi with the throngs! Very easy to drive in /out of. Had 2 dinners there. One good, but not great at La Cantina. The other, excellent at Palazzo Bocci's restaurant across the street, Il Mulino. Yes, would probably be very quiet at that time of year. Depends on how many nights you are going to stay and how much nightlife you want!

Of the towns and cities I've visited so far, Spello would be one of the top 5 to return to!

I've stayed in Perugia once, for just a couple of days, and visited it again for one day on another trip to the region. It is one of my favorite cities in Italy; I like the architecture (it seems medieval to me); the student life, while it may be annoying for some, makes for a lively nightlife town. There are also some excellent works of art in Perugia.

We took the train there the first time and met up with family who came in (w/ little trouble) in a VW camper van. The second time we arrived there by train and then picked up rental cars there. We had one little glitch heading out of town, but otherwise we were fine. Neither time did we use the cars/VW van to get around once in Perugia - we took a bus and we walked.

I have not stayed in Spello, but stayed about 30 minutes away in an agriturismo a few yrs ago, and visited Spello just for lunch and a walk around. It was a pretty & charming town. I would definitely consider staying there for a few nights on a future trip.

I think you have some good advice here; what do you want? A little quieter at night with small town charm, or a larger city with an interesting and lively historic center?

Did I miss how many nights you are talking about? Can you split the time for a taste of both places?

we're planning on spending 4 nights in that area, then on to other areas that are already kind of planned. We'd like to not have to switch hotels too many times and so we'd prefer to stay in just one place in the Umbria region. After reading about all of the towns, we narrowed it down to Perugia or Spello, and now need to decide which would suit us better.

It sounds like Perugia will win due to it's livliness. I guess we'll figure out the parking situation once we're there. Good point to check with the hotel too and see what they have to offer.

So, thanks again everyone.

I can't recall exactly how the parking worked for our relatives' VW van, but it certainly wasn't a hassle for them. I believe our hotel had parking?

Although I agree about not wanting to move around for that amount of nights, if you still find yourself on the fence, you could follow annhig's suggestion, above - it shouldn't be hard to find accomodations in November. What if you book one night in one place, and then decide when you get there if you want all four nights there, or to move on to the other town for the next three nights?

Unless the Perugia hotel specifies otherwise, your best bet when you arrive is to park your car in the large public parking lot in the lower town. Then you grab your bags,follow all the other good folk and take the interior elevator/escalator up into the city itself and find your hotel. The city centre is quite compact and easy to navigate, on foot and it where you want to stay if you possibly can...so charming and vital!

To start your adventure in Umbria by trying to work your way into the centro storico of a town like Perugia in a car you have just rented is a recipe for madness: I know, I am married to a mad man!