Planning to stay in Umbria for one month next September. Plan to rent a car while there. Originally thought to stay in a larger town such as Perugia but am also intrigued with the smaller towns, specifically Spello. However, want to make sure we aren't in such a sleepy quiet town with not much available in terms of restaurants, cafes, shops, etc. I get a mixed impression from reviews - many love it and some think it's too small. The only way I think I can determine if it's right for us is to compare to a town we're familiar with: Is Spello similar to San Gimignano in terms of size and availability of restaurants/cafes etc?? Thanks!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16678 posts
San Gimignano is a bit bigger, with a larger historical core, and receives many more tourists, therefore it has more restaurants. But Spello has at least 10 restaurants in town. If you want to base yourself somewhere larger, maybe you could consider nearby Assisi. It’s a larger village, a decent size “small” town, a happy medium between a smallish village and a full fledge city like Perugia, which certainly will give you the sensation to be in a city and not a small town. Also with a car I would avoid staying in Perugia.
Posted by
Florida, USA
283 posts
You might want to read the book "Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center" in which the author and her family spent a year in Spello. The author also has a webpage with additional information on Spello.
Posted by
8933 posts
We are booked on a Road Scholar tour of Tuscany and Umbria. It uses Siena as a base for Tuscany and Spoleto as a base for Umbria.
Posted by
Miami
386 posts
Spello is very pretty but really small. I would stay in Assisi.
Posted by
Pacific NW, USA
347 posts
We stayed 6 nights in Spello in 2017. We had a car and day tripped most days and enjoyed our evenings in Spello. We were there during Infiorata, however.