Area guide · Umbria
Umbria
Two banks, no sea
- Where
- Umbria, provinces of Perugia and Terni
- Airport
- Ancona, 1 h 54 min by car
- Train
- 14 of 21 towns on the railway
- Best months
- June
- Towns
- 21, 20 we have written about
The green middle of Italy, and the only region in it with no coast: Lake Trasimeno on the Tuscan border, Perugia on its hill, and the stone towns along the Tiber and down the valley below Assisi. The river splits it in two, Etruscan country on the west bank and Umbrian on the east, and the roads between the towns are good enough that a circle of them fits in a day from Perugia.
21 towns
The towns of Umbria
Each card opens the town's own page, with the drive time from the nearest city and whether the train stops there.
- ✷ We've been
Magione
Where: Inland
A hill town east of Trasimeno built around a medieval Order's fortified base.
- ✷ We've been
Passignano sul Trasimeno
Where: Inland
A near-peninsula on the northern shore of Lake Trasimeno, on the road Hannibal closed when he ambushed the Romans in 217 BC.
- ✷ We've been
Castiglione del Lago
Where: Inland
Trasimeno's western promontory, once the lake's fourth island, fortified in 1247 and later frescoed for a marquis of Corgna.
- ✷ We've been
Panicale
Where: Inland
A walled hill town at 431 meters on Monte Petrarvella, where a 1505 Perugino fresco covers the back wall of San Sebastiano.
- ✷ We've been
Paciano
Where: Inland
Walled hill town of 957 people at 391 meters above the lake, three parallel streets, eight towers and three medieval gates intact.
- ✷ We've been
Città della Pieve
Where: Inland
A red-brick hill town at 508 meters above the Valdichiana, the birthplace of Perugino and the home of Italy's narrowest alley.
- ✷ We've been
Allerona
Where: Inland
A stone borgo at 472 meters between the Paglia valley and the Valdichiana, an Orvieto outpost whose Monaldeschi castle fell to Charles V.
- ✷ We've been
Orvieto
Where: Inland
Etruscan Velzna on a 325-meter tufa butte, later a medieval refuge of popes.
- ✷ We've been
Montecchio
Where: Inland
A small hill commune at 377 meters above the Tiber, sitting on top of one of Umbria's largest Etruscan-tied necropolises.
- ✷ We've been
Bettona
Where: Inland
A hill town at 353 meters between the Topino and Chiascio rivers, the only Etruscan settlement ever built east of the Tiber.
- ✷ We've been
Assisi
Where: Inland
A pink limestone town at 424 meters on the western flank of a mountain above the plain, the birthplace of Francis and a UNESCO site since 2000.
Gubbio
Where: Inland
Pre-Roman Ikuvium of the Umbri, where seven bronze tablets carry the longest text of the Umbrian language.
- ✷ We've been
Montefalco
Where: Inland
The hilltop wine capital of Umbria at 472 meters, where Sagrantino is grown almost nowhere else.
- ✷ We've been
Trevi
Where: Inland
A walled town at 412 meters above the Spoleto valley, ringed by 200,000 olive trees that make it the Umbrian capital of olive oil.
- ✷ We've been
Foligno
Where: Inland
A valley town at 235 meters on the Topino, where Dante's Divine Comedy was first printed in 1472.
- ✷ We've been
Campello sul Clitunno
Where: Inland
Springs of the Clitunno and the Lombard Tempietto on the valley floor at 290 meters, the temple inscribed by UNESCO in 2011.
- ✷ We've been
Spoleto
Where: Inland
Lombard ducal capital at 396 meters under the Rocca Albornoziana, where a 230-meter aqueduct bridge crosses to Monteluco and Menotti founded the Festival in 1958.
- ✷ We've been
Todi
Where: Inland
A walled hill town at 398 meters on the Tiber, with Etruscan, Roman, and medieval rings stacked one above the other.
- ✷ We've been
Amelia
Where: Inland
A pre-Roman hilltown ringed by polygonal walls, with ten barrel-vaulted Roman cisterns beneath its main square.
- ✷ We've been
Narni
Where: Inland
Narni is a hilltop town on a travertine outcrop above the Nera valley whose Latin name, Narnia, gave C.S. Lewis a word for a fictional kingdom he never set foot in.
- ✷ We've been
Terni
Where: Inland
Umbria's second city, rebuilt around its steelworks, home of Saint Valentine and seven kilometers from the Cascata delle Marmore.
Air, rail, road
Getting there, and around
Fly to Ancona, take the train, or drive. Road minutes from the catalogue.
By air
- Ancona (AOI)1 h 54 min to Magione
By train
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
A station in the commune
By car
- Magione20 min from Perugia
- Passignano sul Trasimeno25 min from Perugia
- Castiglione del Lago50 min from Perugia
- Panicale45 min from Perugia
- Paciano41 min from Perugia
- Città della Pieve45 min from Perugia
- Allerona1 h 21 min from Perugia
- Orvieto1 h 14 min from Perugia
- Montecchio1 h 12 min from Perugia
- Bettona25 min from Perugia
- Assisi33 min from Perugia
- Gubbio46 min from Perugia
- Montefalco51 min from Perugia
- Trevi45 min from Perugia
- Foligno40 min from Perugia
- Campello sul Clitunno49 min from Perugia
- Spoleto1 h 3 min from Perugia
- Todi38 min from Perugia
- Amelia1 h 25 min from Perugia
- Narni1 h 8 min from Perugia
- Terni1 h 7 min from Perugia
Climate, sea, calendar
When to go
The comfortable months are June. Measured at Magione: the daytime high, the sea, the rain days.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day °C | 10 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 28 | 32 | 31 | 26 | 21 | 15 | 11 |
| Sea °C | ||||||||||||
| Rain days | 9 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
The tinted months are the comfortable ones for the day, and the ones where the sea reaches 20 degrees.
Our tables first, then the guides
Where to eat and sleep
What the printed guides rate along this coast, with the guide named beside each place.
What the guides rate
Somebody else's recommendations, the guide named beside each. The town pages hold the full lists.
Osteria Rosso di Sera Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi
Da Luciano Ristorante
Gambero Rosso listed · Michelin Selected
Il Molo Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 81/100 · Michelin Selected
L'Acquario Ristorante
Michelin Bib Gourmand · Slow Food Chiocciola
Lillo Tatini Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 78/100 · Michelin Selected
Rastrello Boutique Hotel Hotel
Michelin Guide selection
Da Gregorio Ristorante
Michelin Bib Gourmand · Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi
Coro Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 83/100 · L'Espresso Top 300 · Michelin Selected
I Sette Consoli Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 81/100 · Michelin Selected
La Palomba Ristorante
Slow Food Chiocciola · Michelin Selected
Une Ristorante
Michelin 1 Star
La Locanda del Cardinale Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 78/100 · Michelin Selected
Benedikto Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Re Tartù agli Orti Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 81/100
Ristorante Taverna del Lupo Ristorante
Locali Storici
Tenuta Borgo Santa Cecilia Ristorante
Gambero Rosso listed
La Fornace di Mastro Giorgio Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 80/100
Officina dei Sapori Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 77/100
Camiano Piccolo Ristorante
Michelin Bib Gourmand
L' Alchimista Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 78/100
Locanda del Teatro Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 77/100
Osteria Il Sagrantino Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Gambero
La Cucina di San Pietro a Pettine Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Forchetta · 79/100
Une Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Forchette · 86/100 · L'Espresso Top 300
Osteria Bacerotti Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Gambero
Cucinaa Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 1 Tavola
Osteria Dodici Rondini Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Tavole
Apollinare Ristorante
Michelin Selected
San Lorenzo Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Il Capanno Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 3 Gamberi · Slow Food Chiocciola · L'Espresso Top 300
Fiorfiore Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Tenuta di Canonica Hotel
Michelin Guide selection
Tenuta del Gallo Ristorante
Michelin Selected
Lillero Trattoria Moderna Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Gamberi · Slow Food Chiocciola
Oste della Mal'Ora Ristorante
Gambero Rosso 2 Bottiglie
Go deeper
The letter
This page is the where and when. The long version, and the towns' own letters, are in the letter's archive.
The letter
Umbria got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
The button takes you to the letter's own page on Substack, where you leave your email. About the letter
The long version, in the letter
UmbriaTwo banks, no seaOur other guides