Hi, all,

Just looking for your suggestions on how to structure various days of my two-week stay in Italy that starts in mid-September. The overall itinerary is as follows:

Rome - 4 nights
Montalcino (southern Tuscany) - 4 nights
Assisi - 3 nights
Todi/Orvieto area - 2 nights

I don't particularly need help on Rome, having been there several times previously. (I've already booked the Scavi tour and papal audience). But, I'd love hearing suggestions on actual day itineraries (as opposed to just lists of cities to see, which I already have looked at) working out of the other base cities on my itinerary.

Any special places or restaurants (at any price level) for those itineraries are welcome as well.

Thanks in advance.

John H.

Dinner (or spend the night, or both) - - at either Hotel Fontebella, or Hotel Umbra, in Assisi. Both very, very good.

Best wishes,

Rex

If you are visiting Todi, Orvieto and Spoleto are both worth a visit. Perugia is not far from Assisi. Gubbio is slightly further away but is well worth the trip... Less touristed than Assisi but just as interesting in my opinion.

How much time would you allow to drive from Montalcino to Assisi? First, assuming no stops along the way...

mapquest.com can answer your question -- It says about 75 miles, and 1 hour 41 minutes. I would give it 2 hours.

Thanks for the feedback so far. Lodging is already booked, as follows:

Rome: Mecenate Palace
Montalcino: Palazzina Cesira
Assisi: Umbra
Todi/Orvieto area: Tenuta di Canonica

So, again, any day trip itineraries (e.g., spend the morning in place A, try lunch at this restaurant, and spend the afternoon in place B)would be particularly helpful.

John H.

<<How much time would you allow to drive from Montalcino to Assisi? First, assuming no stops along the way...>>

There don't seem to be so many fans of mapquest.com for driving tiimes, routes, etc here as the two "leading" alternatives" www.viamichelin.com or www.mappy.com

I recommend that for any driving trip you become familiar with one or the other (or both) of these excellent websites.

Best wishes,

Rex

John, in Orvieto, a lot of people recommend this restaurant:

If you can, have lunch in the garden of
I Sette Consoli
Pzza Sant?Angelo 1A
phone/fax 011 39 0763 343911

I'm going to try it out on 18 September.

Out of Rome you might be interested in going to Tivoli, visiting Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa. A visit to Ostia Antica and on down to the beach is another easy day trip.

Thanks, Budman and Rex, for the sites & info. I was familiar with one of them, and knew the mileage, but wasn't sure how big a grain of salt to give to the time estimates they publish, even adjusting for our driving style!

Thanks Budman and Giovanna.

Budman, I will be following you into Orvieto two weeks after your visit there. Will be based in Rome (19-23), Montalcino (nights of 23-27) and Assisi (27-30) before that, in case our paths might cross.

Happy travels.

John H.

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