Umbria is a fascinating region--I would be inclined to stay in that area, because you could easily spend five days in Florence alone. Todi and Spoleto were interesting, plus there are a lot of tiny towns that would tempt me if I had a car. A bit further afield, you could visit Deruta, Gubbio, and Urbino--all worth the time.

Posted Mar 12, 2011

I agree -- plenty to do for five days in the "green lungs" of italy!  We found plenty to see for 3 days in Orvieto itself.  And then there's the rest of Umbria!

Have fun.

Posted Mar 13, 2011

Patty,  Umbria is wonderful, just as beautiful as Tuscany in its own special way

and fewer tourists.  We stayed in a wonderful tiny little stone farming town called Messanano between Aquasparta and Spoletto.  Not even a store, nice people.  The young woman who owned the apartment’s family was from there and she has bought and renovated three apartments there and named them after the women who lived their lives in them.  It was cheap and wonderful.  We spent the mornings walking the country side

and the afternoons driving around exploring.

You can check it out at  http://www.italianvisits.com/umbria.messanano/index.htm

What did we like on our explorations?  Spoletto where we went to shop.  Wonderful, nice museums, restaurants and sites.  Montefalco  a beautiful town (aren’t they all)  Trevi in the heart of olive oil country.  Todi on the way over from Orvieto is wonderful as well.

For our money you could skip Assisi which is a giant tourist trap.  Beautiful from down on the road but we just wanted to escape after we drove up.  Perugia is supposed to be nice but who wants to visit a town they are crucifying an American Student in?

One place we stumbled on amongst the myriad cool little towns which all seem to be worth getting out and walking around in was Amelia.  Just a beautiful hill town sort of south of Orvieto.  Just a very lovely and very real Italian hill town.  We thought it as pretty as most of the others but best of all there were ZERO tourists.  No famous cathedrals or world class painting that are own everybody’s must see list.

Posted Mar 14, 2011

If you're interested in the Etruscans  and you have a car, you can go westward around Lago di Bolsena and see Bagnoreggio and go down the area of northern Lazio known as the Tuscia - lots of necropolis etc. Tuscania is a particularly great little town.  There's also Todi, as was recommended, and Assisi and Perugia are quite nice if you want to stay in Umbria and prefer to get around by train.  I think Tuscany is a beautiful region but if you don't have a car, not the easiest to explore (except the cities like Siena, Florence, Lucca etc).  Umbria is definitely beautiful too and often overlooked.  I guess it depends on whether you want to see small hill towns or bigger cities and whether you want to go around by car or not.

Posted Mar 17, 2011

If you're a wine drinker, as most travelers to Italy are you should consider Monalcino and Montepulciano in Tuscany.  I was actually just there a year ago.  Both are quiet, quaint medieval towns with cobblestone streets.  They are hilltop towns so the views are stunning!  All of Tuscany is laid out before you.  If you go to Montepulciano there is a store that sells wine, olive oil and grappa produced in the region.  It's called Croce de Febo.  They will allow you to taste everything that they offer.  My favorite was the olive oil!!  If you need any help with booking hotels, transportation, activities or even just want restaurant recommendations I can help as I'm a travel agent.  Have a great time!

Posted Mar 18, 2011