Last year we spent 3 days in siena and fell in love with its charm and size. Which other hill town on the way to rome has similar features? From what i have read from RS Assisi seems to be the most similar, that is easy to walk around ,decent restaurants and adequate choice of hotels. Thanks for any insight
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
On the way from where?
Assisi, though it is in Umbria (for some reason I am compelled to point that out), is a good idea if you like a larger town like Siena. Another town, though not a hilltown, of comparable size is Lucca.
Posted by
Boise, ID, United States
158 posts
My family and I stayed in Assisi three years ago for 3 nights. We had a car and spent most of the days seeing other hill towns. I think we saw about 7 that were nearby, including Spoleta, Trevi, and Ciavita, each had something special to offer. The actual "hill" part of Assisi is smaller then Siena but very charming. We stayed in Hotel Belvedere which is at the top of the town (in RS book). Its very easy to walk from one of the town to the other. We had an amazing dinner at Hotel Rome one night and a great restaurant overlooking a piazza another night, sorry I can't remember the name.
Posted by
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
204 posts
San Gimignano, Orvieto in Tuscany certainly Cortona Spelleto in Umbria.
Maybe an Agriturismo as a base and travel to some of these on a day tour.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
Each place is different. I liked Siena, Orvieto and San Gimignano a lot. I wasn't that fond of Lucca. Next trip, I want to visit Montepulciano, Volterra, Cortona and Assisi. I'll have more time next trip because now that I've seen Pisa and Florence I don't need a return. I'll return to CT as long as it's not high season (we really liked it in October and I'm afraid summer crowds might spoil it for me).
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32352 posts
steve,
A really good "hill town" to consider is Orvieto, which is in Umbria and certainly "on the way to Rome". It's easy to walk around, has some nice restaurants (and of course Gelato shops), some good Hotels, interesting local sights (St. Patrick's Well, Duomo) and beautiful scenery. It's also fairly close to one of Rick's favourite hill towns, Civita di Bagnoregio, which has been featured on his TV shows.
Happy travels!