My husband and I are visiting Italy for the first time in October. We have three weeks, all booked with one exception -- 3 nites in Umbria. We will go to Venice, Cinque Terre, Fiesole, Siena, Umbria, Rome. Please help us narrow down where to stay. Would like to stay somewhere peaceful & go to markets & cook ourselves for a change of pace. We prefer outdoors -- looking for beauty and serenity, not museums and art so much. Lakes,rivers, waterfalls, the sea....any body of water. Lake Trasimeno? Perugia? Terni? Anyone know of a great agriturismo? All advice welcome!

Will you have a car?

yes, we will have a car...

historic city our countryside?
hotel or agriturismo or B&B?

sorry, I didn't read till the end.

have you checked http://www.agriturismo.com/umbria/ ?
or http://www.agriitalia.it/umbria/

I recommend staying with my friends Mauro and Silvana at Le Case Gialle, outside of Bevagna. Look at their website. From there you can visit Bevagna, Montefalco, Trevi, Spello, Assisi, Foligno, Perugia, even Norcia. If you need restaurant suggestions in the area let me know. Ciao.

Thank you! I have contacted your friends as this country residence looks ideal. I still welcome any further suggestions from others regarding the best location to base our Umbria stay.

FWIW, I'll be there again for a week in early November.

Just want to second DRJ's recommendation. We spent 5 nights in le Case Gialle in 06 and had a wonderful time. The apartments are beautiful, as are the views, and the owners are very nice. If you do a search on here you will see that a number of us recommend this place.

Tracy

Outside Perugia is a gem of a small town, Torgiano. There is an historic inn, Le Tre Vaselle, with large, lavish rooms and likely a price to cause palpitations...but there are also two excellent restaurants.
Siro, at via Bruno 16, serves bountiful plates of superb food at very reasonable prices - at least, that was the case 2 years ago. The other restaurant specializes in seafood. Unfortunately, I cannot recall the name, but I believe it is the only seafood restaurant in town.
Carol

We stayed at La Ghirlanda in Saragano, and it was absolutely lovely. Wonderful views, wine, olive oil, food, and best of all wonderful hosts. www.laghirlanda.it

We have booked into Villa Rosa in Montemelino. Have a look at www.villarosaweb.com. Good luck!

Peter-- I checked the website you posted for Villa Rosa in Montemelino. Sorry to say that has got to be one of the worst websites I have ever seen for an Italian villa....the pics on the main page are very unappealing, including the composite one that appears to be more of a drawing that an actual picture. The Garden and pool pictures don't even display. Very nice of you to post and recommend; the place is probably amazing and great, but please you ought to mention this to the hosts when you visit....

sue-- I bookmark Italian villa websites for future plans anb find this one in Umbria near a nice lake:

http://www.italyfarmholidays.com/regions/farms/u1.htm

Thanks to everyone for your help! A few details however...Caroll, Bfranc & Viajero2: we are hoping to find a place with a kitchen. After traveling for 3 weeks, we hope to visit markets and do a bit of cooking ourselves, so thanks, but the places you rec'd, altho lovely, are not suitable. Peter, Villa Rosa looks like a good potential- thanks! Have you stayed there before? I still like the look of La Casa Gialle too.

sue-- you are a smart girl for going w/a place with kitchen facilities! Agree Villa Rosa has potential. I have had really good experiences with holiday-rentals.com. I strongly advised you check their site.

Viajero,sorry you have had trouble with viewing the property. The owner, Megan did say she is still setting the site up and apologises.We are staying in La Cassetta but there are photos of all the apartments ( under the heading foto album )and includes the pool and garden.Megan is very helpful and has given us a a lot of assistance in her emails. Sue, no I have not been before but if you google Villa Rosa, Montemelino you will see some positive reports on Tripadvisor etc.