In addition to spending 5 nights in Venice at the beginning of our time in Italy, and 4-5 nights in Rome, we want to spend a few nights in a hill town in Umbria, possibly Orvieto or Perugia. Two questions: One, which town would you choose (either of these or another); and Two, if you weren't using a car, and instead using train and bus, would you stay in a hilltown and make daytrips, or stay in a larger place, like Florence (I have already spent time there, so wouldn't want to stay long). Any opinions on hill towns and transportation are welcome. We have two weeks in Italy, after spending a week in the Netherlands and Germany... I know, it's a long distance from north to south.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I prefer the atmosphere of Orvieto, but Perugia has more options for rail/bus connections.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15945 posts
Without a car, definitely Perugia, hands down, without question.
If you intend to visit towns in Umbria, Florence would be too far.
Although Perugia is not high in the priorities of the Rick Steves' cult followers, however it's a very pretty and ancient city (Etruscan, in fact) and you should devote a full day to it (use Google Images to see some beautiful images of Perugia).
Also since you intend to visit various Umbrian towns, Perugia will afford the best transit connections since it's the Capital of the Region of Umbria, and therefore the transportation hub for the region.
Orvieto is beautiful but a little decentralized from the other Umbrian towns and in order to visit those towns you would, in most cases, need to travel to Perugia first.
Orvieto is actually best visited from Rome, because it is along the old Florence-Rome line (the non high speed line), therefore it is served by frequent regional trains from Rome. If you want to spend a night or two in Orvieto, it's fine, and you could use the time to visit Civita while there, but the rest of Umbria is not as easily accessible from Orvieto without a car.
The most important small towns in Umbria are listed below:
http://www.10cose.it/umbria/cosa-vedere-umbria.html
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
Once again, Roberto nails it. For an excellent resource on Perugia and many daytrip options from it, you might want to get a copy of Touring Club of Italy's "Authentic Umbria." It has very helpful info on daytrips to Assisi (absolutely beautiful), Gubbio (going next year), Spello, Spoleto and more.
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
I'm just not a fan of Perugia and would pick Orvieto without hesitation. In my opinion, better restaurants and ambiance. Civita di Bagnoregio nearby is an excellent day trip.
Look at guidebook information for both cities to see what they have to offer, decide what you want to see nearby and the logistics of getting around without a car. Orvieto is an easy train trip to/from Rome.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15945 posts
Perugia is more convenient for Assisi, Gubbio, Spello, Spoleto, Todi. Basically all of Umbria.
Perugia is a city of 160,000 residents, 40,000 of which are University students. There are many hundreds restaurants, cafes, bars etc. for all prices and tastes. Think of Berkeley, CA.
You can visit Orvieto easily while you are in Rome. If you have 4-5 nights in Rome, you'll have enough time for a day trip to Orvieto.
Posted by
27 posts
Yes - Perugia is better without a car. However, if you're willing to rent a car, Orvieto is great - with a side trip to Civita.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
I should mention that I'm not a big fan of daytrips in general. I prefer to plunk myself down somewhere and get to know it. When we stayed in Orvieto, it was for two nights. I wish it had been three. It's really beautiful. Check out some of my pics and video clips here:
Orvieto May 2011
Posted by
West Chester, PA
40 posts
My first impulse would be to stay in Orvieto because I loved being there so much more than Perugia. However, we had a car. Without one I would have to agree with the folks suggesting Perugia.
Not quite sure how much of a hassle it would be to get to wonderful Civita de Bagnoregio without a car.
Yes, getting to Orvieto from Rome by train would be fine. However, If I had only 4 or 5 Days in Rome I would be hard put to leave!
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11706 posts
I will offer a counterpoint: stay in a smaller town and tour from there all by train and bus. A couple of years ago we choose Spello and used it as a base for 5 nights. We took a bus to Assisi (train back), trains to Spoleto and Perugia, and a day-trip wine tour with Gusto Wine Tours that was absolutely fabulous! Spello is charming as can be. There were not many tourists and certainly no other Americans, and the town was warm and welcoming. Frankly Perugia was our least favorite day, but I have to admit it was raining that day. :-(
Several responders have mentioned Cività di Bagnoregio. We recently went there from Rome and we did use a car because it is so challenging to get to without one. We tried to see Citivà as a day trip from Orvieto last August, but the only bus to Cività was at 12:45PM, too late to allow a decent amount of time in the town IMO. I understand that during the school year there is a bus at 7:30AM or so. But I don't thing I would pick Orvieto as a base for Umbria. Assisi and environs (Spello!) are more heart-of-Umbria. This blog offers some great Umbria advice.
Happy planning!