Week in Umbria

Assisi is a great destination even if you are not particularly religious. The art work, the food and wandering the streets are just a start. Spello, which is only one train stop away from Assisi, is also very special. It's a relatively quiet town with breathtaking views, great shops and beautiful streets and alleys. Of course, there is also Perugia which is a bigger, university city. Take a map and follow the roads from Assisi past Perugia and ending at Orvieto - there's plenty of places that might catch your imagination.

Spello has many wonderful restaurants, lots to see. I wouldn’t call it sleepy. Smaller towns near Spello that are worth your time are Montefalco and Bevagna( it’s flat!)

Thank you, Robert and Suki. Yes, Spello is on my list, as is Montefalco (have read about a wonderful restaurant there).

My must see/do is to visit the town of Gubbio. Research the history Gubbio played in WWII, visit those sites and then ride the "birdcage" up the mountain. At the top is a casual restaurant and an ancient abbey worth visiting.

We are planning to spend a week in Umbria. Considering basing in Assisi. Will visit Perugia, Spoleto, Gubbio and Orvieto.

Thanks, James. Will add this to my itinerary for sure.

I would also add a 1/2 day or lunch stop in Deruta. Easily doable on the drive down to Orvieto from Assisi. The ceramics shops there are incredible.

I spent a week in Todi and a week in San Gemini in 2016. Loved both, but Todi had more to see and do, and more restaurants. Definitely recommended. A few other items:

Roman ruins at Carsulae are a must see, IMO. I went twice and there was never anyone on site except staff at the archaeological institute. Great site to walk around and a nice little archaeological museum (2 rooms, quick and not boring).

Gusto wine tours out of Montefalco. Van tour to interesting small wineries with a great lunch and funny, knowledgeable guide.

Other towns I liked were Spello, Amelia, and Bevagna.

We were just in Assisi. It was charming and we are glad we went. But the town is very sleepy at night. For mire than 2 nights, I would stay another town. Also, we took the cooking class from Alla Madonna Del Piatto near Assisi. It was a fun way to spend a day and learn new recipes. Will you have a car? If you will, consider a day trip to Urbino (about 1 1/2 hour drive).

About three or four years ago we spent a fortnight in Umbria. We didn't stay in Umbertide, but visited it (by rail, I think), as a day-trip from Perugia. Umbertide was a nice place. We loved Perugia and used it as a base for several other day-trips (mostly by bus), including Spello which is gorgeous. We also based in Assisi and took day -trips from there, including Spoleto which I highly recommend. Gubbio (from Perugia, I think) was the best of all the small towns.

Given you're in planning mode, I'd recommend getting or borrowing a few guidebooks, especially the always excellent Blue Guide (if there is an up-to-date edition) and the current DK Umbria book.

Getting around by bus and rail was straightforward but required some planning on the internet. The resource we used seems to be defunct now, I'm afraid.

Thanks, all. Yes, we will have a car. Thanks for the tips on the books. I have the Rick Steves Italy book but it only hits a few of the towns in Umbria.

Spello, Montefalco, Perugia, Gubbio, Assisi, Bevagna, Todi...we're going to need another week!

I am going next May and have the DK Eyewitness Travel book on Umbria. I really like it. I also have the Rough Guide on Tuscany and Umbria. It is pretty thick with a lot devoted to Florence. But it does have nice detail on towns in Umbria. But proportionately there is far less on Umbria.

Beth, I just ordered the DK book this morning!

Are you outdoorsy? One of the delights of Umbria is its mountains, forests, and lakes. Since you have a car, drive to Tuoro sul Trasimeno, park by the dock. Take the short ferry ride to Isola Maggiore. Hike around the island, then have lunch at the delightful Da Sauro restaurant. Sit outside on the terrace. Or, for a longer trip, drive toward Spoleto, hang a left, looking for Norcia. Lots of great lunch places in and around the town, which has some earthquake damage from 2016. Look for signs for Castelluccio, and drive up into the mountains. Head for the Piano Grande di Castelluccio, you won't be sorry. It's a huge, amazing, spectacular glacial plain high up, and in late June it'll be bursting with wildflowers. There's even a stable and you can rent a horse, if you're into that.

Umbria's towns are amazing. But its soul is in the countryside, too.

For selecting and visiting towns in Umbria (a number of years ago) I really liked the Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria. They don't update every year, but I see there is a 2018 edition you might look at.

Apaonita beat me to it - be sure to see Norcia, Castelluccio, and the Piano Grande!

We stayed in a villa outside of Umbertide this summer. There are many day trips to take like others have mentioned. Spello, Gubbio, Perugia, Spoleto, Montone were all about an hour or so by car. If you want to travel further we used the train station in Terantola to go to Rome and Florence. There is parking there and we even left our car overnight one time. I would also highly recommend a restaurant just outside of Umbertide in Niccone called Nonna Gelsa. Everything there was excellent and very reasonably priced. I had the steak florentine but shared with everyone in our party of 7 since it was 1 kilo of steak! In Umbertide there is also a Saturday market in the town square unless that is only during the summer. Happy travels!

Just looked at photos of Castelluccio...wow! Added to our list.

@lancerhayashi, thank you for the suggestions in Umbertide. Will add Nonna Gelsa to the list as well. We'll be taking a car from Florence and then the train from Orvieto to Rome.

Re: Castelluccio: you'll be able to wander around the Piano Grande. But please be aware that the poor little town was almost completely leveled in an earthquake 3 years ago.

Yes, we traveled to Italy the following summer talked to many people about the tragedy.

On another note, the type in this DK book is ridiculously tiny!