Umbria minus Orvieto & Assisi?

Try Todi or Gubbio.

thanks

We have three different friends (couples) that have stayed in Todi, and absolultely loved it. We even looked at renting an apartment there (thru VRBO...we use them thruout the EU) but decided that we; 1. did not want to stay in a city
2. that we would like to find a quiet rural place, with complete facilities, that was close to our planned "have Hertz-will travel" Umbria explorations. We picked an Agritourisimo. Yes, it was a few miles outside Orvieto (Ficulli) , and yes, we did do some of our dinners in Orvieto, but the agri was absolutely beautiful, only had two quiet , private and very large apts in sections of the owners house, and had some wonderful owners that were an absolute deilght to talk with. The bonus; it was only $75 EU/nite, had a pool, and we were the only guests; so we got to spend some quality time with the owners. And the owners wife would have also done cooking classs if we had wanted them. We spent four nites at Agritorisimo Frallarenza (check reviews on Trip Advisor) while we did day trips to all of the surrounding places of interest. Agris are a fun way to meet the people, and a great value. Many even offer home cooked meals.

Agree. We stayed at an agriturismo place outside of Orvieto and drove around the hill towns of Umbria like Todi and Gubbio. Avoid Perugia, we found it a driving nightmare. But it would be a shame to be in Umbria and not see Orvieto and Deruta.

"(yup, me and Hannibal)" Honey, is that YOU?!? ;-) The 'Hannibal Hootenanny' will probably make an appearance in some form on our next Italian trip; I've already got the agriturismo picked out at Lake Trasimeno... Sorry - I've got nothin' that is actually helpful.

We are going to Umbria meno Orvieto later this year. After considerable research I settled on Spello and will train to Spoleto. Gubbio, and Assisi, with an emphasis on hiking. Also planning a winery tour (guided).

this are some very good ideas, just what I was hoping for, thanks everyone (keep them coming?)

Try Montone...a small traditional village in Umbria. La Locanda del Capitano is a beautiful place to stay and the owner is also the chef in its delicious restaurant! I thoroughly enjoyed it!!!!

La Locanda del Capitano thanks wow the food looks amazing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbIKqqaY47w

URBINO is a must. It is really a lively, university town like no other in Umbria (or in Italy for that matter). Gubbio and Città del Castelo are also nice places to explore. Indeed, any mountain town in the Appenines is nice. Now, if you are not fond on geographic borders (like crossing from Toscana to Umbria would mean a completely different World), I'd go for villages on the Marche side of the Apennines, just few km east of Umbria borders. Camerino is one of such places, another university town with a large restored medieval area that is mostly NOT devoted to tourism.

thanks, I hope that my passport will be accepted in le Marche :)

Do not miss the town of Gubbio. There is a "bird cage" tram to the top of the mountain. At the top is a Duomo from the 4th century with a pope interred in a glass coffin. From there you can hike down or take the tram down. In the center of town is a square where residents bravely fought against the Nazis and were massacred. I wish I had allotted more time as this is a wonderful little town.

Gubbio is on my radar. I have a YouTube of the lift. Thanks