which cities in umbria to visit
 

We will be in Umbria for 3 days only. Which of these cities should definitiely be visited. Interested in history.

Gubbio
Todi
Spoleto
Spello
Orvieto
Folignao
Montefalco
Assissi

I appreciate all of your advise.

Where are you basing - makes a difference as I would recommend several of those cities as being about equal but perhaps farther travel time - and will you have a car or not?

I loved Gubbio, Orvieto and Todi as classic Umbrian hill towns - well Gubbio not so much on a hill but a really ancient looking place.

Assisi is nice but more nice for folks tracking St Francis and other saints from here - I really like Perugia, not on your list but to me a nice base - a larger town with more action because it has a large university - sans car it is a good base because of its excellent transportation links.

Todi is nice but kind of sadly overrun with wealthy foreigners who have bought houses in and around it - very very tony - not the ancient feeling say I found in Gubbio.

Orvieto is exceptional and would certainly delight anyone.

Is that 3 full days, or is day 1 your arrival day? Where are you coming from and going to after Umbria?

Orvieto and Assisi, for sure. The third might depend on where you're driving from and how much time you want to spend in the car and in each place. If you are a fast sightseer, you might be able to visit two geographically-close towns one day.

I personally like Gubbio and Spoleto (both of which have Roman ruins), but the others are nice stops too. I'd add Bevagna to the list if you go to nearby Montefalco. In Bevagna, ask at the Tourist Info Office about viewing the Roman baths.

FYI, the drives on SR298 (between Gubbio and Perugia), SS418 (between Spoleto and Aquasparta) and the entire area north of Spoleto toward Montefalco, Bevagna, Bastardo, etc., are all beautiful.

Any particular history? For example, if Etruscan history interests you, Chiusi should be on the list. And I'm surprised you didn't include Perugia.

Purely from a "history" viewpoint-
Gubbio, Spoleto and Assissi.

Umbria is a fairly large area and your base location would factor into these suggestions. We like Bevagna as well as Montefalco for various reasons--the wines, history and convenience. Lots to do in three days!

You really can't go wrong with any of the choices you offer in your post. Not like peas in pods at all but all very enjoyable!

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What town are you planning as a base and will you be renting a car?

Enjoy the Bucket Of Bolts in Gubbio. Make sure your will is in order.

((H))

Loved Spoleto; it worked out great to park the car high up in the town (Spoletosfera parking as described here on somebody's blog: http://www.tips4italiantrips.com/spo...kids-our-guide ), see the sights in the upper town, then walk all the way down to the lower town, and take the little city bus back up.

The Basilica in Assisi is impressive, though the rest of the town seemed too well-manicured and kind of sterile - - though St. Francis' old church (the Porziuncola) which is placed in the center of the Basilica in nearby Santa Maria d. Angeli was unforgettable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilic...a_degli_Angeli

Perugia is indeed worth a visit as PalenQ says. We also loved our daytrip to Norcia and the nearby Parco Nazionale, which is like a moonscape. We stayed in Montefalco which was ideally central, and can't recommend the B&B Casa Turrita more highly (especially since we had three rooms, so the whole upstairs including kitchen was ours).

Here's our piccies: http://www.flickr.com/photos/douglas...7632254170980/

Thanks for the replies. Have been to Perugia. We have 3 full days for touring and will be based just outside of montefalco.

Orvieto will be a little far... 90 minutes driving plus time to park and reach the historical center, so probably closer to 2 hours each way.

Enjoy the Bucket Of Bolts in Gubbio. Make sure your will is in order.>

When I was waltzing down the ancient main street of upper level Gubbio a roof tile was blown off the ancient roofs and landed a few feet from me - yeh make sure your will is in order as the Lord works in mysterious ways!