Umbria Things to Do

  Looks good from any angle
by iandsmith
 
  • Looks good from any angle
      Looks good from any angle
    by iandsmith
  • Gubbio, Loggia dei Tiratori
      Gubbio, Loggia dei Tiratori
    by Trekki
  • Delicious Calabria - olives, onions, peperoncino
      Delicious Calabria - olives, onions,...
    by Trekki
  • Horses in Piano Grande
      Horses in Piano Grande
    by Trekki
  • Nativity - Filippo Lippi
      Nativity - Filippo Lippi
    by tim76
 

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Gubbio – a city full of passion

by Trekki

Apart from many churches and a really hilly if not mountainous position at the slopes of Monte Ingino Gubbio is famous for a most special treasure: the Eugubine Tables , a set of 7 bronze tables with inscriptions (once it was nine, but the two who have been sent for translation to Venezia got lost). The inscriptions are in Umbrian language, 4 tables in Umbrian letters (which are said to be similar to the Etruscan one and is written from right to left) and two in Latin letters. One has both letterings. Some sources describe these tables as the Italian version of the Rosetta stone. The tables describe religious rituals of the native Umbrians during their autonomous existance in Ikuvium (= Gubbio’s name before Romans took over) from approx. 4th century BC. These rituals were often based on the flight of the birds, which was seen as will of the gods. While I was in Gubbio, a fascinating...

Tip Photo
Orvieto – tuffa and a magnificent cathedral

by Trekki

Oh and now Orvieto. Despite that it was full of tourists when I was there I really liked the town. Maybe it was the location high on a tuffa plateau, maybe it was the very much contorted maze of streets or maybe it was the “underground”, as the whole town is hollowed out (or was by Etruscans and later continued by the locals). I would set Orvieto very high on the list of a tour through Umbria but looking back it was good that I have visited it at the end of my travel. Somehow it gave me the chance to arrive in reality, in a beautiful reality, just before I had to go back to catch my flight back home. The small villages of Umbria’s centre and its eastern part have so much of a spiritual atmosphere that it would have been hard to come back into my daily world. It is difficult to describe (would be even in my native language) but anyone who has been here in Umbria will understand what I...

Tip Photo
Very enchanting Fonti di Clitunno

by Trekki

Fonti di Clitunno was one of these unexpected finds which are close to a main road but not easy to find and once one gets off the car, bike or bus – provokes this special wow factor and one feels as if on another planet. When I was driving along the street next to SS3 (the one that links Assisi to Spoleto) I suddenly saw a little temple, but it was too late to turn off the street. So I continued down south to look for a place to turn around. I found one, but then I saw this sign “Fonti di Clitunno” and decided I stop here and look what this is all about. Oh my…. Such an enchanting place!! At the entrance I got a little leaflet (Italian only) with the history of this spring and garden and was let onto the grounds. Ducks were greeting me and they seemed to be happily living here and happy to share their home with the visitors.This place got its name from the spring of river Clitunno, which...

Tip Photo
Marmore waterfalls, manmade and strange

by Trekki

Cascata delle Marmore are something strange! They are really beautiful – but artificial. Well, not actually artificial, but they won’t exisit without man’s interference. This interference began already in Roman times when it was decided to drain the plains of Rieti (which is the region around Lago Piediluco) by directing river Velino over the cliff down into river Nera (the one which gave name to Valnerina). Those days it must have been a constant waterfall, but since 1924 it is used to generate energy in the nearby Galleto hydroelectric powerplant. Thus it is controlled now and can be viewed in its splendor only at specific times per day. These change constantly depending on month and day of the week, but they are published on the Marmore website: waterfall timetable.I came from San Pietro in Valle and was on my way to Lago Piediluco when I drove past the waterfall. Originally I didn’t...

Tip Photo
Montefalco – home of famous Sagrantino wine

by Trekki

For me, Montefalco didn’t live up the hype, which seems to have been created around the soo famous “balcony of Umbria” phrase. The balcony thingy is a clever marketing idea and certainly attracts many tourists, but I didn’t see the balcony, even if I walked around the northern part of the village. Yes, it is nice, a nice view, but the view I had from my room in Poggio dei Pettirossi above Bevagna is thousand times better than what I saw in Montefalco. When I was there, in the middle of April, on a sunny day, it was almost deserted and I found that it had a kind of artificial flair, it definitely lacked the quirky daily life I saw in Bevagna and Norcia and later in Orvieto. The city has several churches, some quite easy to find, some tucked away in side streets, and it is surrounded by the typical Medieval city wall with many entrance gates. Unfortunately, the famous Chiesa San Francesco...

Tip Photo
Piano Grande – magic atmosphere

by Trekki

Ever since I’ve read Simone’s page about Piano Grande I wanted to go there even if I didn’t have a clue of where it is exactly located or what a fantastic sight it must be in late spring. But when I prepared my trip I realised that it is just north of Norcia (which I wanted to visit). Furthermore I read about and saw photos of fioritura which gave me another desperate reason to go there. And finally, when I was browsing more websites (in fact I spent a whole weekend looking up websites about Piano Grande, mostly photo sites) I found the ultimate matter to make sure that I must go there, no matter if sky falls on my head before or not (to quote Majestix/Vitalstatistics/Abrarac(o)urcix…). And this was “Italy in Italy”. Now this might sound weird, but look at my main photo and enlarge it. What do you see? Italy, right? Yes, it is indeed a forest or a wooded slope where trees have been cut...

Tip Photo
Valnerina – most enchanting valley :-)

by Trekki

Although it was mostly raining and the sky was greyish while I drove through Valnerina, I did feel the magic of this part of Umbria. I will definitely come back, explore more of the wonderful little villages and go for some serious hiking. The mountains here are just too precious to ignore them. The name Valnerina derives from the river Nera which has its spring in the Sibillini mountains, and after a detour around Piano Grande it flows gently in southwestern direction through this part of Italy until after 120 km it feeds river Tevere. But only the approx 50 km between Visso in the north and Ferentillo in the south are called Valnerina, as only here the landscape really looks like a gorge (val = gorge, canyon). It is now a protected mountain and river landscape, called Parco Fluviale del Nera and ideal for any kind of outdoor activities. Of course you can explore the river with canoe,...

Tip Photo
Out of this world light scenarios!

by Trekki

Retrospectively, this was one of the most permanent impressions why Umbria caught my heart and soul and makes me want to come back again and again and again. I already mentioned in my intro that the weather wasn’t “the best”, but then what is best and what would be worst? It was raining very often, but then it was April and we all didn’t have splendid Aprils here in Europe’s 2008. When I look at the photos now, I am still caught by these light scenarios Umbria presented to me. Umbria is called the green heart of Italy. And it seems that it is so lush and green not without a reason – which is the rain. I was a bit worn out anyhow before I started my April holidays, so the rain didn’t matter much to me, plus I had some very interesting books in my luggage. It was most fascinating to watch the weather. During the rainy days it was not grey at all, but the days started with shining sun but...

Tip Photo
Valle Umbra – discover the hidden gems

by Trekki

During my almost one week stay in Bevagna (resp. in the hills above the town) it was raining quite often so I often stayed at home and relaxed. But when the weather cleared up I started to do some exploring of the surrounding hills. Once in Umbria, I could not help but adapt to the very slow atmosphere and life, it just grabs you and is part of the enchantment of visiting Umbria. So I didn’t race through the hills but drove very slowly around and stopped many times for photos or just for exploring some village or backstreet. Almost every hour I found another gem like a church or a cute little village with fountains, an old temple of 5th century or an old spring with a lovely park and landscape around. I will mention some in my off-path section.Others I drove through or stopped briefly at are:In the valley:Viepri,Massa Martana,Gualdo Cattaneo,Castel Ritaldi,Cannaiola,Bastardo.At the...

Tip Photo
Undiscovered Umbrian jewels and festivals in July

by Valentina82

http://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/spellothis is a real undiscovered jewel as well as Narni, Collepepe, Montone and so on...The Umbria jazz festival is the most popular and worthy music festival of the area, but Narni Black Festival http://www.narniblackfestival.it/ in September is notable, too.Festival dei Due Mondi - Spoleto - with gorgeous exhibitions of art, ballet and classic music performances, that lasts from the 30th of June to the 16th of July.

Fun things to do in Umbria

Top 3 Hotels in Umbria

La Terrazza  Assisi

 1 Review and 191 Opinions  Nice quiet hotel. The dinner in the hotel was very nice and so was the breakfast. Very nice, homey... 

 Hotels in Assisi

Palazzo Piccolomini  Orvieto

 2 Reviews and 96 Opinions  This hotel was really neat and very fun to stay in. The staff was very accomodating and the rooms... 

 Hotels in Orvieto

Brufani Palace  Perugia

 1 Review and 191 Opinions  We stayed at hotel "Park", which is four stars hotel on outskirt of the town. Our Umbria Jazz... 

 Hotels in Perugia

532 Hotels in Umbria
 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
Travel Highlights

The Place

Reviews and photos of Umbria attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Umbria sightseeing.

Experience Umbria
Things to Do: Cities in Umbria
  1. Orvieto Things to Do
  2. Assisi Things to Do
  3. Perugia Things to Do
  4. Gubbio Things to Do
  5. Todi Things to Do
  6. Spoleto Things to Do
  7. Bevagna Things to Do
  8. San Leo Things to Do
  9. Norcia Things to Do
  10. Passignano sul Trasimeno Things to Do
  11. Lago Trasimeno Things to Do
  12. Spello Things to Do
  13. Terni Things to Do
  14. Le Marmore Things to Do
  15. Piano Grande Things to Do
  16. Deruta Things to Do
  17. Colfiorito Things to Do
  18. Trevi Things to Do

More Cities in Umbria

 

Questions and Answers

oldmtnbiker profile photo

Q:  We are trying to make reservations for the Rezidenza di via Piccardi in Gubbio in Umbria for late September. We have gone to the... 

Beausoleil profile photo

A: On their web site where it says Contatti, click and send them an e-mail unless you want to telephone. If you don't speak Italian, write in English and I'm sure they'll... 

Read 3 Replies

postQuestion_button

Umbria Members Meetings

May 27, 2012 
IT'S OUR MEET: Palio della Balestra in Gubbio

see all Umbria member meetings