Travel Guide to Umbria - The Green Heart of Italy
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Landlocked Umbria, tucked between Lazio, Tuscany, and Le Marche, is often called “the green heart of Italy”, and this is a genuinely fitting name for this bucolic region of valleys and green hills that cradle some of the most enchanting towns in Italy.
Umbria is not exactly “off the map” for tourists, but it’s far less visited than some of its neighboring regions, making it quieter, less commercial, and largely unspoiled. Umbria’s landscapes and towns are pretty similar to those of Tuscany, but with a fraction of the crowds. That’s a big part of the allure here.
The region’s main attraction is Saint Francis of Assisi, who nine centuries after his death, still draws millions of pilgrims a year to his hometown of Assisi, on the flanks of Monte Subasio. His kindness, gentleness, and humility infuse the gentle Umbrian landscapes that you’ll look across from Assisi and dozens of other hill towns.
Exploring these storied old places, seeing their soaring medieval cathedrals and Renaissance art treasures, enjoying the local bounty in welcoming taverns, and rambling around the mountains and countryside are among the experiences you’ll find in Umbria, and they will be a high point of your Italian travels.
More Umbria travel info:
For more info on travel in Umbria, check out our 7-day Umbria itinerary and our city guide to Perugia.
And if you could use some one-on-one help planning your trip to Umbria, consider scheduling an Umbria travel consultation!
Table of Contents
Why visit Umbria?
Where is Umbria
How to get here & around
When to visit
How long to spend
Best places to visit
Unique things to do
Umbria itineraries - 5 to 10 days
Why visit Umbria?
Travelers come to Umbria for a lot of reasons, and one of the most compelling is simply to enjoy the deep forests, vineyard-carpeted valleys, and medieval hill towns. The region is as beautiful as neighboring Tuscany but for the most part quieter and much less visited, and it’s easy to fall in step with local life here.
Making the rounds from Perugia to Assisi then over to Spoleto and Orvieto, with stops in Spello, Bevagna, Todi, and other little places in between, you’ll enjoy a look at unspoiled Italy.
You’ll eat well, too: chocolate in Perugia, prosciutto from Norcia, torta al testo (stuffed flatbread) in Assisi, pasta alla Norcina (with pork sausage), crostini alla spoletina (grilled bread with black truffle and anchovies)… and it’s all washed down with Montefalco reds and Orvieto whites (wines).
Religious pilgrims head to the beautiful little town of Assisi, where Saint Francis, co-patron of Italy (along with Saint Catherine of Siena) was born and is commemorated in a massive basilica. An estimated 6 million visitors descend upon this little town of 3,000 inhabitants every year, and through it all the steep streets lined with tile-roofed houses of honey-colored stone can still seem otherworldly.
Other travelers come to admire the region’s outstanding art and architecture—paintings by Piero della Francesca in Perugia, frescoes by Giotto in Assisi, and Signorelli in Orvieto, stunning cathedrals in Spoleto and Orvieto, and that’s just the top of the list.
Sports enthusiasts raft on the River Nera, bike around Lago Trasimeno, hike in Monte Sibilini National Park, and cross-country ski on the Pian delle Macinare.
Concertgoers arrive for two huge annual events. Perugia stages Umbria Jazz for ten days in July, drawing big-name entertainers and fans from around the world; Umbria Jazz Winter Festival is a December - January event in Orvieto. The famous Festival dei Due Mondi runs from mid-June into July in Spoleto, with operas, classical concerts, and dance.
Where is Umbria?
Photo: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Umbria is in the center of Italy, south of Tuscany and north of Lazio, the province where Rome is located. To the east, the Apennine mountains rise steeply, separating Umbria from the Marche region.
Umbria is the only Italian region that does not border the sea or another country, imparting a sense of isolation, and the tranquil valleys and forested hillsides give rise to the region’s moniker, the Green Heart of Italy.
While parts of the region can seem remote, Perugia, the regional capital, is only 150km (90 miles) south of Florence and 170km (106 miles) north of Rome.
Umbria is divided into the larger Perugia Province, to the north, and the Terni Province, in the south.
The Tiber River traverses the length of the region, flowing through rich agricultural valleys beneath centuries-old hill towns.
How to get to Umbria
Arriving by train
Umbria is not served by Italy’s high-speed rail network, but rail connections to other parts of the country are still good and it’s fairly easy to reach the major towns if coming from Rome or Florence. Some trips, though, require a change.
For instance, the train from Rome stops in Orvieto (1 hr. and 15 mins.) and Spoleto (1 hr. 45 mins.), but you have to change in the town of Foligno if you want to continue on to Assisi (2 hrs.) or Perugia (2 ½ hrs).
Likewise, there are direct trains from Florence to Perugia (2 hrs.) and Orvieto (2 ½ hrs), but the trip from Florence to Spoleto (3 hrs.), for example, requires a change in Foligno or Rome.
All trains are operated by Italy’s national rail service, Trenitalia.
Arriving by car
The A1, Italy’s main north–south highway, skirts the western edge of Umbria, putting the region within easy reach of other parts of Italy by car.
The trip from Rome to Orvieto, in the south of the region, takes an hour and a half, and the drive from Florence to Perugia, in the north, takes just under two hours. Another fast road, the Raccordo Strada, connects Perugia with Siena, and that drive takes about an hour and 20 minutes.
If you’re flying into Rome and renting a car at Fiumicino airport, you can easily get onto the A1 from there and head up to Umbria.
Transportation and how to get around
The main Umbria towns - Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto, and Orvieto - are well connected to one another and to other places in Italy by frequent train service. Local trains also connect Perugia, Assisi, Deruta, and some of the other smaller towns.
That said, you’ll probably want to rent a car for at least part of your time in Umbria, especially if you want to get off the beaten track and explore some of the smaller towns and countryside.
Towns here are especially well equipped for parking. The old hilltop section of Perugia and Assisi are ringed with parking lots from which you can get up to the old towns via a series of escalators and elevators.
Parking lots below Spoleto are also connected by escalator and some have easy access to the series of moving walkways that run beneath the town. In Orvieto, you can park for free in the large lot behind the train station and take the funicular up to town.
Renting a car
You have all the big rental companies in Italy and Umbria too. The easiest two places to pick up a car are in Orvieto (at the train station) or at the airport in Perugia, but you also have agencies in Terni, Spoleto, Foligno, and Città della Pieve.
Because most visitors to Umbria first arrive elsewhere in Italy (and are sure to have their departing flight from elsewhere as well), it may be more convenient to pick up and drop off your car at your arrival/departure airport. You also may get better prices in a larger city like Rome or Florence.
DiscoverCars is an online aggregator that I always recommend checking in order to look for rentals and compare prices. They include offerings from all the major international rental companies as well as lots of smaller local agencies, which often have much better pricing. You can often find terrific deals.
AutoEurope is another aggregator that I really like. It tends to be more expensive, but they only list options from large, well-reviewed companies and their customer service is excellent. Their deals often include “zero deductible” (i.e. full coverage) rental insurance and they’re the best option if you want the easiest experience and are ok paying a little more for it.
Connect with Umbria travel expert Marco for help perfecting your itinerary, answers to all your travel questions, and fabulous local tips for a better visit!
Best time to visit
As in much of the rest Italy, Umbria’s busiest tourist months are April through October.
May is especially pleasant, when temperatures are mild (often around 21℃ (70℉), days are long, wildflowers are in bloom across the green landscapes, and the sights are not yet crowded.
Early fall is also nice, with lots of sunshine and fewer crowds, and October temperatures are still around 19℃ (66℉) or so.
November and December can be dark and rainy, and some snow is not uncommon between December and February. For the most part, though, winters are milder here than they are in more northerly climes, with daytime highs even in January and February around 10℃ (50℉).
In fact, winter and early spring are good times to travel in Umbria, since locals retake their towns and most restaurants and hotels remain open to serve them, sometimes with just a short winter break.
In Umbria you won’t encounter big crowds as you will in Florence, Venice, and Rome, but there a few short-lived exceptions. Assisi is packed, uncomfortably so, at Easter and on and around October 4, the feast day of Saint Francis.
Perugia hotels tend to be booked solid during Umbria Jazz in mid-July and for EuroChocolate Festival events in March and October.
And the Festival del Due Mondi seems to bring much of the civilized world to Spoleto in late June and early July.
How long to spend
A lot of travelers only get a brief glimpse of Umbria as they pass through on the trip between Florence and Rome. They might make a short stop in Assisi or Orvieto, spending just enough time for a quick tour of the sights. Don’t make the same mistake: this is an engaging and easygoing part of the world that should be savored at leisure.
With even five days or a week, you can see a lot at a fairly relaxed pace with time to seek out those pretty squares where you can linger over coffee in the morning and a glass of wine or two in the afternoon.
Settle into Perugia or nearby Assisi for a few days and spend some time in each, maybe with a side trip to Spello. Then move on to Spoleto, before ending your trip in Orvieto.
If you’re traveling by car you can take your time as you cross the countryside. Distances aren’t very far - it’s only about 45 minutes from Assisi to Spoleto, and another hour and a half from there to Orvieto - so you will never lose an excessive amount of time driving from one place to the next.
As you travel between the region’s major cities, you can make stops in lovely towns like Bevagna, Montefalco, Todi, and some of Umbria’s other appealing smaller towns.
If you have a little more time, you can get off the beaten track for a couple of days and make the trip east from Spoleto to Norcia and the Parco Nazionale dei Monte Sibillini. Or, head north from Perugia through the mountains to Gubbio and make a loop to the south from Spoleto, following the River Nera and seeing the Cascate delle Marmore.
Where to stay - best bases
Many of the major towns of Umbria are extremely pleasant places to spend time, with good hotels and restaurants and plenty to see and do. For the most part they are also handy bases for seeing other places in this relatively small region.
The outlier on the list below is Orvieto, a beautiful and unusual town on top of a volcanic outcropping that’s a bit set off from other parts of Umbria in the far south of the region. Even so, it’s only an hour from there up to Perugia, and Orvieto is also close to Lago di Bolsena, in the neighboring Lazio region.
You might want to settle into one of the other towns that are more convenient for touring for most of your time in Umbria and spend a night or two in Orvieto at either end of your trip.
Perugia
Perugia is the capital of Umbria, and with 160,000 residents, the largest city between Florence and Rome. Busy and cosmopolitan as this bustling city is, Perugia is a medieval hill town at heart, and the old city crowns a ridge high above the Tiber Valley. Adding to the appeal of the beautiful squares and palaces is the youthful buzz of many university students.
Spend a day visiting the excellent museums and beautiful churches and exploring the twisty lanes that lead on and off the main street, Corso Vannucci. From Perugia it’s an easy day trip to Assisi, half an hour by car or train. You can also head west to Lago Trasimeno (pretty lakeside Passignano is half an hour away) or north to Cortona, a beautiful hill town in southern Tuscany, a drive or train ride of about 45 minutes.
Where to stay in Perugia:
You’ll want to stay in the atmospheric upper town, where choices include the luxurious Brufani Palace (from 210 euros double, with breakfast) and the modest but comfortable Primavera Minihotel (from 85 euros double).
Assisi
Assisi is the birthplace of Saint Francis and as such one of Europe’s most popular pilgrimage sites. Visitors from around the world come to Assisi to pay homage to the humble saint at the imposing medieval basilica where he is buried and colorful frescoes by Giotto tell his life story.
Despite the onslaught of visitors, the town of honey colored stone cradled on the flanks of Monte Subasio can seem peaceful and almost other worldly, and this moody atmosphere is enhanced by dreamy outlooks across the misty valley below town.
A stay in Assisi can be a highlight of a trip to Italy, and the town is also convenient for visiting many nearby places—Perugia and Spoleto are both within easy reach, and so are some of Umbria’s most appealing smaller towns—Spello, Montefalco, Gubbio, and Bevagna among them.
Where to stay in Assisi:
Among character-filled hotels are Hotel Il Palazzo and Hotel Umbra (both from 120 euros double, with breakfast).
Spoleto
Spoleto is known around the world as the home of the Festival del Due Mondi, a festival of classical music, opera, and dance in late June and early July, but for the rest of the year this appealing place is just another typical Umbrian hill town.
Actually, there’s nothing ordinary about this remarkable assemblage of Roman remains and medieval churches and palaces that cling to a steep hillside beneath an imposing fortress. One of the attractions is of recent vintage, a series of moving walkways beneath the steep streets.
Emerge at different levels to see yet another sight - what might be Italy’s most beautifully situated cathedral, at the bottom a wide flight of stairs; a Roman house and theater; and knockout views into the gorge of the Tessino River, spanned by the Ponte del Torri.
Most of the towns and sights of central and northern Umbria are within easy reach, and it’s also easy to drop south from here to the Cascate delle Marmore and River Nera.
Where to stay in Spoleto:
Among the top hotel choices are the stylish and comfortable Hotel San Luca, at the foot of the hill below the old town and near a terminus of the moving walkway (doubles from 100 euros, with breakfast) and Palazzo Leti, facing a Renaissance garden on one side and the gorge of the Testino River on the other (doubles from 120 euros, with breakfast).
Orvieto
This outpost in southern of Umbria, almost on the border with Lazio, is not short on wow factors. First is the location, atop a volcanic plug high above the green countryside 1,000 below. Then there’s a remarkable mosaic façade of the Duomo, and one of Italy’s most masterful fresco cycles inside. Below ground are a labyrinth of Etruscan tunnels and caves.
Orvieto is not terribly convenient to some other places in Umbria—Spoleto is a twisty, 1 ½-hour drive to the east—but Perugia is an hour north, and the alluring natural attractions of Lago di Bolsena, Cascate delle Marmore, and the River Nera are all a drive of an hour or less away.
Where to stay in Orvieto:
A good place to settle is the Hotel Duomo, just steps from the landmark from which this pleasant and welcoming place takes its name (from 90 euros double, with breakfast).
Orvieto is a very pleasant stopover as you enter or leave Umbria on your way to or from Rome, only 90 minutes south.
Connect with Umbria travel expert Marco for help perfecting your itinerary, answers to all your travel questions, and fabulous local tips for a better visit!
Best places to visit in Umbria
1. Assisi
The birthplace of Saint Francis, Assisi is one of Europe’s most popular pilgrimage sites. Visitors from around the world pay homage to the humble saint at the imposing medieval Basilica di San Francesco, where he is interred in the Lower Church in a sarcophagus beneath colorful frescoes.
A sublime fresco cycle by Giotto in the Upper Church tells the life story of this man who nine centuries after his death is still beloved for his kindness. One of his followers, Clare, is honored - and her body is on eerie wax display - in the nearby Basilica di Santa Chiara.
A walk into the upper reaches of this attractive town of honey-colored stone climbs to the Fortezza, on a hillside that affords views far across the Umbrian plains.
2. Gorges of the River Nera
The scenic Nera River rushes through gorges and deep green valleys. You can enjoy the spectacle on scenic riverside paths and from the town of Narni, where a portion of a Roman bridge spans the waters.
3. Gubbio
With its crenellated palaces set against dark hillsides, Gubbio is a thoroughly medieval-looking place, though the Romans who conquered the Etruscans settled here 2,000 years ago and left behind one of the largest theaters from the ancient world.
The town’s movie-set-worthy showpiece is Piazza Grande, a dramatic expanse of brick anchored by the heavily Gothic Palazzo dei Consoli (town hall) and opening on one side to soothing views across Umbrian landscapes. Hop onto the Funivia Colle Eletto for a ride up Monte Ingino for more outlooks.
Saint Francis often retreated to these hillsides, and he did Gubbio a great service when he made a bargain with a ferocious wolf - the beast agreed to stop devouring townsfolk the moment they stepped outside the city gates provided they fed him any time he sauntered into town.
4. Lago Trasimeno
This splash of blue among the Umbrian greenery is a soothing as the surrounding landscapes of forests, vineyards, and olive groves. Passignano and Castiglione del Lago are medieval lakeside towns where you can rent boats and bikes, swim from pebbly beaches, or catch a ferry to the enchanting Isola Maggiore.
5. Montefalco
Photo: Umbria ws, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This lovely town is most famous for wine, especially the reds made from the Sagrantino grapes that grow in vineyards that run right up to the walls. Even without the benefit of a glass or two the place is intoxicating, and a maze of lanes surrounds a circular piazza lined with proud medieval palaces.
Just off the Piazza is the town’s other treasure, a fresco cycle in the deconsecrated church of San Francesco that portrays the life of the saint in touching vignettes. Detailed scenes capture the magic of the Umbrian landscapes that stretch in all directions beneath the town.
6. Narni
Photo: Wikiriello, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped from original
What’s above ground here is quite a sight, a medieval warren that clings to the edge of a gorge above the Nera River. Below ground are the remains of an even earlier city, a warren of early churches and secret rooms carved out of the stone.
An arch from one of the longest Roman bridges ever constructed remains in place, and a stone marks the town’s position at the north–south center of the Italian peninsula.
7. Norcia
This ancient town tucked into the flanks of the Apennines at the edge of the Parco Nazionale di Monte Sibbillini seems a world removed from the rest of Umbria, and the 45-minute drive east from Spoleto seems like a journey to another world.
The road rises through green mountain plains carpeted with wildflowers in warmer months and the domes and towers behind a circuit of walls, with a curtain of peaks behind, appear like a lost kingdom.
Earthquakes in 2016 destroyed some landmarks in the town’s medieval center, but rebuilding continues, and Norcia’s specialties are on full display - ham and sausages made from pork and wild boar and known throughout Italy as norcineria.
8. Orvieto
This extraordinary hill town sits quite atop a volcanic plug, and you’ll see the Duomo gleaming in the sunlight some 1,000 feet above as you approach across the green countryside.
The best way to get up to town is on a funicular across from the train station, and once up there you’ll see that the glistening façade of the black-and-white marble Duomo is an intricate assemblage of mosaics and statuary that depict familiar scenes from the Bible.
Inside is one of the great Renaissance fresco cycles, by Luca Signorelli, full of winged devils and terrified doomed souls. In the soft rock beneath your feet is a labyrinth of more than 1,000 caverns that have been used over the millennia as tombs, storage vaults, refuge in times of siege, and chicken coups.
Another look at the underside is provided by the Pozzo di San Patrizio (Saint Patrick’s Well), an ingenious construction in which a pair of spiral staircases form a double helix for a deep descent to the town’s medieval water source.
9. Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini
Photo: Alessandro Mangione, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
This swath of mountain terrain sweeps across forests and remote valleys and rises to peaks as high as 2,000 meters (6560 feet). Eagles and falcons soar above pristine lakes and a network of trails and paths for mountain biking and horseback riding.
One of the most scenic sights is the upland plains of Castelluccio di Norcia, beautiful at any time but especially between May and late July, when flowering lentils burst into colorful bloom.
10. Perugia
The capital of Umbria, Perugia is by far the region’s most cosmopolitan city, yet the old town is also one of Italy’s most beautifully preserved medieval enclaves. You’ll get swept into the city’s storied past on a walk from Piazza Italia, a balcony above the valley far below, up main street Corso Vannucci to the Duomo on Piazza IV Novembre.
One stop is the Piazza dei Priori, occupied in part by the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria, a repository of many of Umbria’s finest art works. Another is a very well preserved office suite from the Renaissance, the Nobile Collegio del Cambio, the frescoed headquarters of a moneychangers guild—you’ll never be content with your cubicle again.
A meander through twisting and turning cobbled lanes brings you to the Via dell’Acquedotto, a scenic walkway across the top of a 13th-century aqueduct. Shops around town sell Perugina chocolates, and if you have a craving for more, you can plan your visit to coincide with the EuroChocolate Festival in spring and fall.
11. Spello
The flower-filled lanes and sunny piazzas of this little town on the flanks of Monte Subasio near Assisi charm anyone who steps through the gates to see the main attraction, the Cappella Baglioni.
Pinturicchio (the Little Painter) filled the chapel with delightfully detailed frescoes portraying the boyhood of Christ set against Umbrian landscapes. Apart from their technicolor beauty, the scenes stand out as a bit of medieval damage control.
The powerful Baglioni clan commissioned them to get back into the good graces of the church after a family feud devolved into the so-called Red Wedding, a frenzied bloodbath that left behind a pile of butchered corpses.
12. Spoleto
It’s all uphill in this very steep hill town that flourished under the Romans and was fought over fiercely throughout the Middle Ages - from the impressive remains of a Roman bridge at the foot of town to the impressive Rocca Albornoziana fortress at the very top.
No need to exert yourself, though - a nifty network of subterranean moving walkways whisks you around town, from the lively Piazza del Mercato, to the picturesque Duomo, to overlooks along the deep gorge of the Tessino River, spanned by the dramatic Ponte Delle Torri, a 13th-century aqueduct.
13. Todi
For a surfeit of magical charm It’s hard to top this little town that teeters at the crest of a tall hill. The Duomo and formidable palaces that were the seats of medieval government surround Piazza del Popolo, one of Italy’s most handsome squares. The views across the plains far below are eye-catching, too.
Things to do in Umbria
Missing from the list below is the suggestion just to slow down and relax. In Umbrian towns you’ll come upon quiet squares where you will want to give in to the temptation to sit and have a cup of coffee or glass of wine, and it’s easy to find a remote spot on the green mountainsides to perch and enjoy the views.
1. See art and architecture
Umbria is endowed with medieval and Renaissance art treasures that rival those of neighboring Tuscany. Many of these are on display at the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria in Perugia, where standouts housed in the medieval town hall include an altarpiece by local boy Perugino and a magnificent series of panels by Piero della Francesca.
Other acclaimed masterpieces are frescoes by Giotto in the Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi that portray the life of Saint Francis. Another fresco cycle in the Duomo in Orvieto, this one by Signorelli, depicts scenes of the last judgement and damnation that can quite literally scare the hell out of you.
The façade of Orvieto’s Duomo is itself a work of art, a mesmerizing collection of statuary and mosaics.
2. Follow in the footsteps of Saint Francis
The humble saint was born in Assisi in 1181 and spent most of his life praying and preaching in Umbria. Modern day pilgrims pay their respects in Assisi’s Basilica di San Francesco, where the saint is buried.
Others follow the Via di Francesco, a walking and biking route that traverses the region in the saint’s footsteps.
An especially evocative trek is along the 50km (30-mile) stretch between Assisi and Gubbio, a medieval town where the saint also lived and preached. His spirit still seems to be a presence on the green hillsides where he often spoke with birds and other animals, in whom he said he saw God’s presence.
3. Participate in ancient festivals and celebrations
While Umbria’s famous music festivals in Perugia and Spoleto cater to an international set, other events draw a largely local crowd. Assisi ushers in spring with Calendimaggio, a medieval, multi-day bash in early May with costumed lords and ladies, crossbow competitions, and a lot of banner-waving pageantry.
Spello follows suit a few weeks later on the Feast of Corpus Cristi with the Infiorata, when townsfolk create a mile-long carpet of fresh flowers along the streets, fashioning the arrangements into biblical scenes.
Gubbio celebrates spring with the Corsa dei Ceri, when costumed teams shoulder huge statues of saints mounted on battering ram-like platforms and race up the slopes of Monte Ingino. In December, townsfolk deck out Ingino with lights in the shape of the world’s largest Christmas tree.
4. Go wine tasting
Wine enthusiasts set their sights on three towns. Vineyards in the heights around Torgiano yield whites and reds that include the highly respected ruby-red Torgiano Rosso Riserva DOCG, to some tastes on par with the finest Chiantis. Montefalco is famous for its red Sagrantinos.
You can taste them at wineries along the Strada Del Sagrantino wine trail, and the town celebrates the local output at the Settimana Enologica (Wine Week) in spring, with a repeat of this popular tasting event in September.
Vineyards flourish along the banks of the Paglia River below Orvieto and yield famous Orvieto Classico whites that you can taste at bars and enoteccas in town.
5. Explore the Small Towns
Bevagna was once a Roman outpost on the Via Faminia and flourished in the Middle Ages, and the town is still completely walled and gives you the sense that you’re stumbling into a scene from a fairy tale. The River Teverone courses through a picturesque mill race near the main gates, and another charming presence is a stone in the church of San Francisco that’s said to be the very one upon which Saint Francis stood to preach to the birds in a meadow outside town.
Montone is another walled gem, in hill country north of Perugia. Trevi is a beautiful assemblage of houses and churches climbing the slopes of Monte Serano, north of Spoleto, while medieval Narni hangs over a gorge of the Nerva River in the south of the region.
6. Buy Ceramics
Pretty little Deruta, about a 20-minute drive south of Perugia, has a few worthy landmarks, but for most visitors the frescoed Gothic churches take second place to the town’s famous ceramics, or maiolica.
About 300 workshops in the little town create the beautiful pieces, using age-old firing, glazing, and painting techniques. The output is for sale in shops and studios around town.
7. Hit the Heights
While much of Umbria stretches across river valleys, to the east the landscapes rise to the high level Plains of Castelluccio di Norcia then into some of the highest peaks of the Apennines.
Much of the territory is protected as the Parco Nazionale dei Monti Sibillini and is crisscrossed with trails for hiking, mountain-biking, and cross-country skiing.
8. Get out on the region’s lakes
Landlocked Umbria does not have the beaches and dramatic coastlines that lure visitors to some other regions of Italy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of places to get into the water.
Lago Trasimeno is the fourth largest lake in Italy, and the shallow, blue waters set against green hills lap onto pebbly beaches at Passignano and Castiglione del Lago, both within easy reach of Perugia. Boaters set their sights on Isola Maggiore (served by ferry), a charming little outcropping with some nice cafes and places for a refreshing dip.
The Cascate delle Marmore is a spectacular but entirely manmade affair, created by the Romans 2,000 years ago to divert the waters of malarial wetlands over a cliff. Today, the 165-meter (541-foot) waterfall is an on-and-off phenomenon - a local utility company turns on the taps a couple of times a day but otherwise conserves the waters to power an electrical plant.
No such shenanigans with the River Nera, which flows out of the mountains and rushes into the narrow gorges of the Nera River, in the south of Umbria.
Lago di Bolsena, the largest volcanic lake in Europe, is not in Umbria but just across the border in Lazio, and the beaches, marinas, and lakeside promenades are an easy drive from Orvieto.
Umbria itineraries - from 5 to 10 days
5-day Itinerary: Highlights of Umbria
Day 1: Since Perugia and Assisi are so close, you can base yourself in either one for two days, depending on whether you want to enjoy Perugia’s cosmopolitan buzz or Assisi’s smalltown atmosphere.
In Perugia, spend a day exploring the medieval town, with visits to the Galleria Nazionale dell’Umbria and the Nobile Collegio del Cambio. Spend some time wandering through the back lanes, then join the locals on their evening passegiatta on the Corso Vannucci.
Day 2: Assisi, birthplace of Saint Francis, is only half an hour from Perugia. The Basilica di San Francesco, where the saint is buried, is the main attraction, but it’s also a delight just to wander around this attractive hill town with its views across the Tiber Valley.
On the way back to Perugia, make the short detour down to Spello, a smaller and attractive town nearby.
Days 3 & 4: Move on to Spoleto, in the center of Umbria. The drive is well under two hours, so you should have plenty of time to stop in Trevi or Bevagna along the way to experience smalltown Umbrian life.
You’ll have the rest of the day and most of the next to explore Spoleto and stretch your legs with an easy walk along the top of the Testino River to see the Ponte dei Torre.
In the afternoon of Day 4 make the short drive out to Montefalco, to taste the local wines and see the charming Saint Francisco frescos in the old town.
Day 5: Make the drive over Orvieto, a remarkable town that tops a volcanic outcropping. With a stop in medieval Todi you’ll still get to Orvieto in time to settle in and do some exploring, You’ll be there to see the beautiful façade of the Duomo floodlit at night.
7-day Itinerary: Off the Beaten Path
Days 1 & 2: See the 5-Day itinerary above for ideas on how to spend your first two days in the region.
Day 3: Head up to Gubbio, less than an hour from either Perugia or Assisi. Explore the medieval center then ride up Monte Ingino on the Funivia Colle Eletto. You’ll have time on the way back for a stop in Passignano, for look at Lago Trasimeno.
Days 4 & 5: See the 5-Day itinerary above for ideas on how to enjoy your time in Spoleto.
Day 6: Head east for a day in and around Norcia. Spend some time walking around this pleasant town, and stock up on the famous smoked pork products.
Then drive through beautiful upland scenery across the plains of Castelluccio di Norcia into the Parco Nazionale dei Monte Sibillini.
Day 7: Make the drive over to Orvieto; see the 5-Day itinerary above
10-day Itinerary: Umbria at Leisure
Days 1-3: See the 7-Day itinerary above for ideas on how to spend your first three days in the region.
Days 4-6: See the 5-Day itinerary above for ideas on how to enjoy your time in Spoleto. Take a little extra time, though, to slow down and enjoy the surrounding region. You might want to spend a day wine tasting in the Sagrantino vineyards around Montefalco and climbing around the steep lanes of Todi and Trevi.
Days 7 & 8: Head east to Norcia and spend the night. This will give you time to explore the Parco Nazionale dei Monte Sibillini and enjoy the upland scenery.
Days 9 & 10: Make the drive to Orvieto, but take your time with a loop south to see the Cascate delle Marmore, the narrow gorges of the Nera River, with the town of Narni, hugging a cliff above the fast-moving waters.
End your trip with a full day in Orvieto, time to see the sights above and below ground.
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