Perugia and Orvieto help requested

Hello,

We are trying a new region in Italy for us in early November. Staying in Orvieto and in Perugia for 3 nights each.

I did a search here and found only a few bits of firsthand info from several years ago…anyone been and willing to share some what to do, what to eat, what to see (and anything else) tips?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

I really enjoyed Sorano, Pitigliano, and Tivoli for day trips in the area. We stopped at the stepping well in Orvieto but didn’t stick around long.

We stayed in orvieto for a long weekend a couple of years ago. Stayed at La Badia di Orvieto. Should have been an absolutely stunning hotel as it’s set in an old monastery just outside the town. Reality was it hadn’t been looked after and was a bit faded. Still, I don’t recall there being anywhere better and it really had a lovely faded glory to it. It wasn’t a problem being out of town either as it was a short taxi ride in/out. In terms of things to do/places to eat. All the below are must sees:

  1. Duomo obviously. It’s up there with Florence’s. We stood there for nearly an hour just admiring the incredible carvings on the front. Nice restaurant in the corner of the piazza called Trattoria Vinosus with a lovely terrace to dine out on. I had an aged Orvieto there that was among my top ten white wines of all time!
  2. a tour of the caves under the city. Fascinating way to understand the history of the city.
  3. Assisi is just over an hour away by car. Definitely worth a day in itself. Very nice little restaurant where we had a lovely meal outside, away from the crazy crowds in the main square - osteria la piazzetta dell erba, La piazzetta delle erbe, Via S. Gabriele dell’Addolorata, 15, 06081 Assisi PG, Italy
  4. Marmore waterfalls. The hike up is quite strenuous but well worth it.
  5. Civita di bagnoregio. Incredible citadel. Please, please, please, don’t look at any pictures online before you go or tell anyone you’re travelling with about it. Just trust me - it’s utterly incredible and far more impactful if you just turn up. It’s top 3 most stunning places I’ve visited anywhere in the world. The Trattoria “Osteria al forno di Agnese” was decent and had a lovely garden courtyard.

Wonderful, thanks gents!

Had a few minutes to sketch out our time in Umbria and thanks to input here and in older threads (and the interwebs), here is our basic itinerary (comments welcome). After a weekend of eating and drinking in Rome, next up Umbria:

Day 1 = train from Rome to Orvieto late afternoon. Arrive in time for dinner in town (tbd).

Day 2 = Tour the town (Doumo and caves), dinner booked at I Sette Consoli

Day 3 = Tour Civita di bagnoregio and lunch, dinner back in Orvieto (tbd)

Day 4 = Trains to Perugia (leave the rest of the day open)

Day 5 = Tour Perugia town

Day 6 = Tour Assisi

Day 7 = Fly back to the UK from Perugia

Looks like 3 dinners in Orvieto and 3 in Perugia, and only 1 is booked as of now…

Are you hiring a car? Might as well as much easier to get around. I’d also consider Trying to squeeze in the Marmore waterfalls.

Not getting a car. I’ve done enough driving in Italy to fill my lifetime and I have the mailed tickets and dented rental cars to prove it :slight_smile:

We don’t mind the train and will hire a driver/private car if/when warranted. I try to avoid driving there if at all possible. It often isn’t (Tuscany and Sicily to name but two), but I never rent in Rome area or Amalfi or Santa Margherita for example. Umbria does seem to lend itself to a car though, but I just decided to live without on this trip.

Thanks again for the recs, I will look into the waterfalls.

Sitting in the Piazza della Republica (Orvieto), now, just having had a great (caffè Vergnano at cafe dolceamaro) start to the day after driving over early this morning from Assisi/Spello.

In Orvieto I can strongly recommend Antica Cantina, and Trattoria del Moro Arrone.

don’t miss the falls, if possible. don’t miss the caves, if possible. Definitely visit Assisi, be sure to eat outside at Osteria La Piazzetta dell’Erbe if the weather holds (mostly sunny and 24C in this moment). Just next door (5m) to that is an outstanding wine bar/Enoteca Bibenda Assisi run by a very knowledgeable woman/owner/somm. Yesterday there was Valentini Cerasuolo, and Trebbiano on the shelf; small plates, wine pairing, etc. A must visit for a true wine geek; impressive selection! If you can take lunch at Nonna Nini, do so. I’m here till 3 Nov. when I move back into Chianti Classico for another 10 days before leaving for Roma for 5 days with my wife.

Thank you so much. Sadly the weather is going to turn by the time we arrive. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Are you going to hit up Da Enzo 29 in Roma? (its my fav pasta place in town).

Have you already figured out a way to Civita? It’s an expensive taxi ride, but worth it. If you are going by bus need to be aware of the school or non school schedule. I would have suggested Montepulciano and Montalcino for great wine side trips. Not sure if any of the tours start in the cities mentioned though. At both of the main valle d’or wine towns the views and drive are lovely, within the towns they have wine shops that you can have tastings and also buy from. Leave time to explore the church in Orvieto which is lovely outside and in. The photos in the main square are fantastic. The small shops off the main shopping arteries may have better pricing and some have very good quality balsamics etc. I can’t remember if Orvieto had a good wine shop, but it likely did. Not a well priced as the wine villages, but I’m sure they are still good. Lunch can be had on the go at one of the delis. (Definitely plan ahead for civita as it is a much smaller tourist local, but very beautiful as a result. (Still have tours via buses so there are waves of crowds.)

Get to civita early!

In Perugia, have had good/very good successes:

Osteria a Priori
Locanda del Morlacchi
Il Cantinone
Antica Trattoria San Lorenzo Simone Ciccotti

weather begins to really change tomorrow, as you know. I think the rain here (I’m near Spello just now) will begin in about 36 hours - and at this point it’s forecast to continue for a week, at least.

I’ve decided to move to Rieti on Wednesday - a particular Cesanese has me very curious.

Having driven over 100,000km here in Italia, I don’t blame you one bit for not wanting to (any longer) rent a car, bravo!

You all are the best, thanks to all for chiming in with thoughts and advice. Greatly appreciated.

In perugia definitely go to Societa’ Anonima for dinner and/or drinks

How was the trip Dave? Anything that stood out. Wish I had seen this sooner to share some info. Looks like Tim and the rest had you well covered.

Thanks for asking. The trip was good. I had typed a nice summary of where we stayed, where we ate, what we drank and what we saw…but this site is so littered with several pop-up ads at the same time that its unusable for me and some weird “swipe” noise just happened and literally cleared what I had typed. So, that’s not happening.

Dave, I agree about recent pop-up annoyance when not logged on to the “cru”, but please give the trip report another go. -Jim

Am with you with the crazy levels of pop-ups all over the pages these days. I’m not a cru (paying) member myself and I understand the need for revenue, but the content-covering pop-ups also had me posting less reports than I used to do.
I hope you can post your trip report, though.

Hope you’re able to post Dave - would enjoy the read. Did you make it to Todi by any chance? Looking for a lunch recommend.