Umbria for 10 days

Assisi, Spello, and also Bevagna are all great choices, near one another.
Spello and Bevagna are a bit smaller than Assisi.
You can choose one and use it as a base to visit everything else, including Gubbio and Spoleto which are no more than 30 min away from Assisi, no need to change bases.

Suggestions on any places to stay? All these towns look beautiful.

Take a look at Perugia for a base which is the the capital of the Umbria region. A bit larger than many towns in the region, up on the hilltop you'll have plenty of restaurants to choose from. We parked our car in Piazzale Europa.

It wasn’t a super-crowded time of year, although Assisi had quite a few visitors. We stayed at an agriturismo outside of Spoleto in October 2021. It was great for daytrips as far north as Assisi, and to many towns in between. Bevagna, one of the few locations that was flat, and not a hilltown perched on a hill, is a great memory. I’d consider staying there as a second location, if we’d wanted one. Spello (and even its modern neighborhood down below the walled hill town) was nice, too. Spoleto itself, maybe. Assisi, not for staying. Same with Montefalco.

We could’ve driven to dinner in Spoleto or elsewhere, but as our place was out in farming country, with very narrow roads and very dark at night, we didn’t try to manage that. Fortunately, Maria, the owner of the agriturismo, was an excellent cook, and we had breakfast and dinner there every day and night.

Suggestions on any places to stay?

I would stay in Assisi. I stayed at Hotel Sorella Luna, right by the basilica, and would stay there again.

It so depends on what you like and what you are interested in.

In November 2021, we did:

Orvieto, 4 nights (a return visit)

Perugia, 9 nights

Gubbio, 6 nights

Spoleto, 5 nights

Norcia, 3 nights

Narni, 5 nights

Best meals & number of good restaurants: Orvieto and Perugia

Best art & architecture: Orvieto. Also Assisi (basilica frescoes and San Ruffino facade)

Most interesting experiences: Gubbio (its birdcage lift + its steep streets) and Norcia (rebuilding after earthquake + day trip to Castelluccio)

Most heavily touristed towns: Assisi and Spello (to be fair, these were day trips and we only walked on the main street)

My favorite Romanesque church facade: Basilica di San Pietro in Spoleto
//www.viaggiareinumbria.com/altorilievi-facciata-basilica-san-pietro-spoleto/

Easiest towns to stay in with a car: Gubbio and Narni

I wish I'd kept better track of all our day trips to small towns --- I know where we planned to go, a bit hazy on where we actually went. Deruta to buy ceramics.

We took the train from Rome to Orvieto, then a train (actually two trains) to Perugia, then rented a car right before leaving Perugia. More choice of rental places in Perugia than in Orvieto (we like Europcar). Returned car to Terni and took train back to Rome.

Best bases? I guess Perugia and some smaller place that appeals to you. Take a look at San Gemini.

Cors

This might be useful

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/umbria-0e71739b-9f7f-48fb-8a45-f3124c3cc406

Regards Ron

Here's a link to my thread on Tuscany and Umbria by car. Scroll down to my post on March 28 - that's where the road trip saga begins. Italy was just coming out of the pandemic and welcoming foreign tourists again, so most of the places I visited are likely to be signficantly more crowded. There were multiple restaurants in every town I visited, but I only ate dinner in places where I spent the night. I wasn't always sure when I was in Umbria and when I was in Tuscany. On some days I drove back and forth 2 or 3 times.

don't forget Assisi.
We used Spoleto as a base.

OP Cors,
The Spoleto-based real estate agent Luana Zangarelli works with a number of families to rent out their Umbrian vacation properties.
The name of her company is 'Italy to Rent'. We once rented a double-apartment overlooking Bevagna's main square from her and found it to be VG value.
Good luck.
I am done. the Umbrians

Thank you all for the fabulous suggestions- it's helped me build an itinerary for our trip. The following is what we have come up with after your help. Any input is welcome.

Orvieto for 3 days. Will arrive by train from Bologna
Spello for 5 nights. Rent a car in Orvieto on our last morning. Will use Spello as our base to explore the area hill towns.
Tentative last 2 days: spending time at a lodge in Pettino. Can partake in truffle hunting experience while staying at the lodge. Awaiting availability.
If the lodge does not work out- will consider another area or return to Bologna. We explored the area around Bologna on a previous trip and enjoyed that region but would love to explore another area.
Thank you!

Perugia!!!! I stayed there for three months back in youth (I studied Italian at the university there). Perugia is lovely, and since there are so many students there, it feels less touristy and more "real". Hubby and I went back for a short visit many years later, and he loved it,too.

Since you'll be spending several days in Spello you might be interested in the book "Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center" by Michelle Damiani. It is about their year living in Spello.

Cord., you may have already researched this, but Spello is awash with beautiful flower displays. Residents are encouraged to decorate with big floral arrangements by their front doors and windows, and there’s an annual contest, with tiles recognizing the winners set into the stone walls of the houses.

Earlier, I mentioned the modern, suburban part of Spello, located below the atmospheric old town on the hill. Whether you stayed high or low, I’m not sure that you be able to get easy parking for the old town, so for convenience and practicality, you might consider staying in the lower Spello. Whatever your lodging, confirm how you’ll be able to reach it, and where the car goes.

Also, be advised that the bells at the Santa Maria Maggiore church in Spello are exceedingly loud. We arrived on a Sunday while mass was in session. As that ended, the bells started ringing, and as we were in the small square just out front, their volume was painful.

To add to Cyn's advice about parking, parking is very limited and all outside (and below) the historic hilltop walled towns. Plan to arrive early to get a parking place, or be prepared to wait for one to open up.