Small atmospheric hill town as base in Umbria or Tuscany.

Last spring my friends and I stayed in Spello for 10 nights and loved it. It's a beautiful small Umbrian hill town, and the streets are mostly pedestrian only. Lots of uphill and downhill, so you need to be mobile. And you need a car to go anywhere else. Definitely no tour buses here!! Assisi is only about 10 miles away. I have a trip report on the forum called "2+ Weeks in Eataly with Friends" if you want more detail, or you're welcome to PM me. Ciao!

We have spent time near Greve in Panzano, Radda and Castellina. Also stayed outside of Cortona and enjoyed them all. Two years ago this month we spent two weeks in beautiful, flower decked Spello, Umbria. Restaurants are important to us too and there are many at all levels. There is tourism, of course, but it was more of a real town experience and we loved it. Didn't see any tour buses. You park your car at lots around the edges of the town and walk everywhere. There are many beautiful rides when you want to explore- Montefalco, and Bevagna for example. You can see the lights of Assisi on the opposite hill side. We stayed in a friend's home in Spello.
In Cortona, we stayed at the bottom the hill in the vineyards at Il Falcone, beautiful place. We did day trips to Lake Trasimeno to Monte de Lago, Montepulciano, Montalcino, and Pienza.
Umbria is less crowded and less touristed than Tuscany. Another wine area we loved is the Piemonte.

Spello wins!

We're staying at Villa Trasimeno in Passagnano sul Trasimeno next month - haven't been there before but it looks beautiful. They will also take drive you to other towns, wineries, etc. The owners are chefs.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lnq5jns511cf6kf/brochure%20villa%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0

Check out Montefalco in Umbria, on the Sagrantino wine trail and cute little town.

Thank you Gordon. We actually had a wonderful lunch in Montefalco. It was very quiet, which we like. I wasn’t sure if it would be too quiet for a week. We drive around some days but other days we like to stay at our rental and walk around town, sit at a cafe and pretend that we are lucky enough to live in Italy.

We have stayed in Orvieto and Cortona and have had great accommodations in both towns and great restaurants.We had a car to get to the other towns.The crowds in both towns were manageable.
Mike

When I look for small towns, I look for towns i haven't heard of. I might go to some of the listed towns in the off season, but definitely not summer. I had to get out of Pienza after half an hour because of crowds, and that was during the first week of May. We stayed in Monticchiello, a very short ride (10-15 minutes I think) from both Pienza and Montepulciano My wife and I agree that Monticchiello was our favorite town in Tuscany. There are three restaurants in or by the gate entrance to the town, just enough to keep things a bit vibrant. The rest of the town is peaceful and a great escape from the crowds. The walk from Monticchiello to Pienza was stunning and not that difficult. Monticchiello offers stunning views of the val d'orcia and the surrounding roads are some of the prettiest in the area.

It may be too quiet for some, but we loved it. If I ever win powerball, I'm moving there.

My vote is for Spello.

Hello- I have stayed in both Cortona (twice) and Montalcino (once) and they were both exquisite. I had a car in both and parking was difficult but doable in Montalcino and in Cortona, we parked outside the walls, no big deal. I usually google earth the towns and the hotels to make sure I stay at the edge of the town and can enjoy the views from the pensione/albergo where we stay. It is a tough call- good luck!

Have any other very off the beaten path travelers out there based themselves in Anghiari?

Spello is so very beautiful. Assisi (where I spend 2 weeks every July for a music festival) is so very special. The buses can't get into the city and the tourists are pretty much confined to mid-day. Early morning and the evenings are my favorite times. Tourists primarily stay one one or two roads (where most of the shops are and the Basilica San Francesco). The rest of the city is pretty much yours! Amazing food, beautiful vistas and a peaceful atmosphere that has been special for over 2000 years.

There was a similar thread on this "Italy" site that recommended the following:

Orvieto's beautiful, but it's outside the mainstream of Umbria (sorry, I'm speaking as a perugino). If you aren't driving, I'd use Perugia, Assisi, or Spoleto as a base. Perugia has the most convenient train and bus connections, because it's the regional capital. From there you can take trains or buses almost everywhere. My list of places? It really depends on the season, because as it warms up, there are natural places to experience. But if you're looking at towns, my to-see list would be: Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio, Spello, Trevi, Spoleto. For a more nature-oriented experience, head to Passignano sul Lago, hang out there or take a ferry to Isola Maggiore, where you can hike around the island, enjoying incredible views, and then treat yourself to a decadent lunch at a restaurant near the ferry landing. Spello is just incredibly charming, with polished pink stones, some art, flowers everywhere, and a few really interesting places to eat. Gubbio has an amazing main piazza, an interesting museum, and a hair-raising cable car ride that's more like a ski lift with birdcages. Spoleto is stunning and has great shopping, an archeological museum worth a visit, and incredible views from atop the fort--you take elevators up to the top. And a plug for my hometown, Perugia. It's a college town, vibrant and young, with lots of places to hang out, a few good restaurants, and is perfect for spending lazy days walking around the old town, having a drink, seeing some art, both Renaissance and modern. If you're there mid-July, there's the Umbria Jazz festival, during which the city turns into a giant party. And it's not just jazz--we're seen REM, Brian Wilson, Caetano Veloso, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga. Bottom line? Umbria's great. And relatively un-touristy.

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Absolutely love Umbria. Perugia makes a very good base as you can access numerous buses and trains from there to other locations in Umbria. Having said that, I think just about anywhere in Umbria is beautiful. Orvieto is makes a good base for a visit to Civita di Bagnoregio, but it is wonderful on its own. Assisi is gorgeous, but not as good for transportation since the train station is in the lower town. Still, an overnight stay there is highly recommended. We also loved our daytrips to Spello and Gubbio.
In Perugia we stayed at Hotel Fortuna, https://www.hotelfortunaperugia.com/.

In Orvieto, B&B La Magnolia, http://www.bblamagnolia.it/?lang=en.

In Assisi, Hotel Pallotta, http://www.hotelpallotta.it/en/ (they also have a very good restaurant).
Buon Viaggio.

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We did something similar. Stayed in Perugia, then drove to Orvieto, stopping in Spello and Montefalco on the way. If I had know how beautiful Spello was, I would have stayed there instead of Perugia. Definitely stay in Orvieto!
Here is where we stayed in Perugia https://www.bed-and-breakfast.it/it/umbria/garden-house-perugia/10658
Here is where we stayed in Orvieto https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21488431?wl_source=list&wl_id=251861932&role=wishlist_owner&adults=1&guests=1

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Gubbio is beautiful, but not served by train. Per Google Maps, you can take bus E001 or E022 from Perugia: http://www.fsbusitalia.it/. I would try a different route in each direction.

Have not stayed in Anghiari, but did visit several years ago. It's one of Tuscanys "Beautiful villages". Plenty to see, lots of winding lanes, several nice restaurants.

Another town we really enjoyed was Radicofani, while smaller with only 2-3 restaurants and a few sites, the views were wonderful. It made for a very pleasant base to visit the Val d'Orcia.

For the broad area you're considering, I think Montepulciano might work well as a central location. You have Pienza and Montalcino to the west and Chiusi and other points to the east. Cortona is a little bit of a drive from Montepulciano but doable. There are other interesting options too. Montepulciano is a little touristy but definitely not overrun with bus tours. I've stayed there at least twice for about 3 days each time and don't recall it ever being overly crowded. It definitely has some good restaurants and a couple of nice in-town wineries too.

Hi mobay68,
We have travelled multiple times to Montepulciano (most recently in February). It is exactly as you describe - lots of atmosphere, charming shops, wonderful restaurants and cafes...I could go on and on. Montepulciano doesn't get overrun with tour busses and is the kind of place where you can stroll through the cobbled streets and take in the amazing sights.

If you are interested in Montepulciano, let me know and I would be more than happy to pass along dining and accommodation suggestions.

Have a wonderful vacation!
-TJ

Mobay,

I’ve not been to Anghiari (yet) but it’s in my bucket list!

You may want to read our late friend Zoe’s trip report that includes Anghiari: Orvieto, Tuscania, Tarquinia, Anghiari

Besides beautiful Spello, you may also consider visiting peaceful Montefalco, Bevagna and Trevi.

Enjoy your trip!

We spent a week of our month long trip in Cortona during July (the peak season.) I did not find it super crowded except at the end of our week when the Cortona Mixx Festival began (a very cool music festival that happens ever year and was a nice surprise! http://www.mixfestival.it/index.php) Every late afternoon we had drinks and/or gelato and people watched or listened to the guitarist that played in the town square. Very relaxing vibe. And it is super central to visit Montepulciano, Montalcino, Assisi, Lago di Trasimeno, Deruta, etc. BTW, parking was never an issue for us in Cortona as it's free and plentiful just outside the town walls. And it never felt like there were hordes of tourists. I would say that the tourists that were in Cortona in July were other Europeans. We did not find many Americans (well, except us!)