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3-4 weeks in Tuscany and Umbria and nearby environs

Posted by (Torrox, Malaga, Spain) on

I'm hammering out the details of a fairly leisurely trip to Italy this summer, with at least 3 weeks allotted for Tuscany and Umbria. I have arranged a house exchange in Florence for 10 days and plan to use it as a base to get places easily accessible by public transportation (Pisa and Lucca, primarily).. Then I've got another 10-13 days when I plan to rent a car and travel to the smaller hillside towns, etc. I've got lodging for 3 nights in a small town not far from Volterra and some days later I've got a place to stay for another 3 nights in Assisi. When I wind up these 3 plus weeks, I will be heading for Rome.

Some questions: First, does it make any sense to plan a more-or-less north to south route and return my rental car to Rome rather than take a circular route and eturn it to Florence or Pisa, taking a train from there to Rome? If I did drive to Rome, I hasten to add, I'd, of course, get rid of it at the first opportunity, dropping it off at one of the airports!

Second: Any suggestions about routes, lesser known places to visit or things to do for the 10-13 days I have a car and freedom to travel around the countryside. Already on my radar: Montepulciano, Orvieto, Siena, Spello, Cortone, Montalcino, Civita de Bagnoregio and Ravenna.

And finally: Any suggestions for one or two other places to base myself for 2 or 3 stretches between my first stop near Volterra, then Assisi and ending up within a few hours drive of either Pisa, Florence or Rome?

All suggestions and guidance gratefully accepted!

Melissa

Posted by
27196 posts

This is sort of an off-the-wall suggestion, I guess, but if you want to see a couple of places where you won't be tripping over a bunch of other foreign tourists, Viterbo and (much smaller) Tuscania in the upper part of Lazio would be kinda/sorta on your way down to Rome if you end of up driving. Over near the coast are some Etruscan sights (which I haven't seen) in and around Tarquinia.

Orvieto is a place I especially like. There's quite a lot to see there, fully justifying more than a day, especially if you don't want to rush around. The tourist office used to run walking tours and the cathedral is not to be missed. Orvieto's close enough to Rome that I suspect a fair number of the (many) visitors you'll see in the historic center are Romans up for the day, so the town may be somewhat less crowded on weekdays than on weekends.

Ravenna is a special place, but it's pretty far from your target area and in the opposite direction from Rome. There are seven mosaic sites in Ravenna, plus the pretty historic center itself to appreciate. It's not a half-day destination as far as I'm concerned. I think attempting it as a day-trip could require too much driving time. It's 2 hr. 50 min. from Florence on a regional train, which would probably be less tiring. Beware the connections involving expensive Frecciarossa trains which can take much longer due to extended layovers.

Arezzo has a large outdoor antique market once a month. I believe it's on the first Sunday of each month and the previous Saturday. I enjoy that sort of thing, but this one sort of takes over the historic center, so if you're not much interested in the market and want to be able to see the architecture, you should avoid the market days.

Posted by
7688 posts

We are planning to spend 9 days in Umbria, starting with 2 nights in Orvieto then a week in Perugia. We will use Perugia as a base to visit several other cities or towns in Umbria, like Assisi, Spoleto, Spello and more. Don't need a car, trains can get us where we want.

Beware renting a car, many get huge tickets when they are back home for several hundred dollars. There are zones that you can't enter and speed cameras that will nail you if you go over the speed limit AT ALL.

Posted by
11185 posts

We have been to Tuscany quite a few times and love the Chianti region. Spent a wonderful week in Panzano a few years ago. Also have stayed in Castellina.
For Umbria, I highly recommend staying in beautiful Spello. Great dining options too. Charming. Parking lots circle the town leaving it mostly pedestrian.
We enjoyed hilltop Perugia once we finally found the parking lot in the hillside. I wouldn’t want to have to deal with it as a base though.
We have returned and picked up cars in Rome and at Rome FCO. Easier than schlepping luggage on and off trains.

Posted by
3603 posts

If you go to Spello, you should include stops in the close-by towns of Montefalco and Bevagna.

If you like modern art, near the town of Capalbio is the Tarot Garden, an outdoor sculpture park which features the work of Niki de Saint-Phalle. Great fun! Easily visited on your way south towards Rome or Orvieto.
There are lots of Etruscan sites in southern Tuscany, near Pitigliano, many with museums of local finds. Orvieto has one, as do, I believe, Tuscania and Chiusi. The latter has a quite good museum whose admission includes a guided walk into some of the frescoed burial vaults. If that interests you, check to see which days it is available. As I recall, it was only twice a week.
There are so many attractive and interesting towns in Tuscany and Umbria that I wouldn’t waste time with Civita. Some years ago, RS started touting it, for inexplicable reasons; and his loyal followers started to believe it was a must-see. It isn’t. It’s a hamlet with hardly any population, I once heard the number 8 as a count, whose distinction is that it is set on a mesa that is being eroded from below. There’s nothing interesting there, and it’s time consuming to get to. (I’m sure this opinion will provoke cries of outrage, but that’s my opinion.)

Posted by
27196 posts

I agree about Civita di Bagnoregio, but if one has a car, is passing nearby and isn't on a rushed trip, I don't think it's a horrible stop. I don't think it's worth trying to go there via public transportation (as I did in 2015, from Orvieto) unless one is staying for an extended period in the area.

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