Perugia
The capital of Umbria is a beautiful city surrounded by ancient walls and and a lush landscape. The city hides the best examples of Etruscan, Roman and Gothic architecture, as well as some paintings by famous artists. Piazza IV Novembre and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo are not to be missed. Rocca Paolina is also an interesting fortress that was built as a stronghold of the papal states. It has an escalator still functioning as a link between the lower parts of Perugia and the town center. The best time to be there is July, during Umbria Jazz Festival that transforms the city into an open scene for music performances.
Trasimeno Lake
The lake is surrounded by rolling green hills and small picturesque towns. It has 3 small islands that could be visited too. Maggiore Island is easily accessible by ferry from the town Passignano sul Trasimeno. A sleepy nice fishing village is waiting for you on this island.
Orvieto
Once an Etruscan city, Orvieto today is one of the finest towns of Italy, perched on a high plateau of tufa rock. As the city is completely traffic-free, it is a pleasure to explore its medieval piazzas and architectural marvels, including an exteremely beautiful 13th century gothic cathedral displaying some exquisite frescoes. A religious festival called "Corpus Christi" (Body of Christ) is celebrated in a spectacular manner here. The fields surrounding the city also produce some of Italy's best white wines, that adds upto almost three fourths of all the wine produced in Umbria!
Todi
This beautiful hilltop town is encircled by two layers of walls -one belonging to the Etruscan-Roman times and the other to the middle ages. Its Piazza del Popolo might be one of the most beautiful squares of all Italy! Visit the church of San Fortunato to climb its tower for spectacular views.
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Casa Vissani
A few kilometers outside Todi, an exceptional restaurant adjacent to a little hotel.
Bevagna
Unlike many other Umbrian towns, Bevagna is not set up on a hill, but on a plane. It has a single main street that was once part of a Roman road. To see the town's Roman heritage and mosaics, you could visit Museo di Bevagna. There is not much to do in the town, but it has a few surprisingly good hotels and restaurant at its backstreets. Every summer, at the last weekend of June, the town hosts a highly interesting medieval festival called Mercato Delle Gaite, where residents dress in 14th century costumes and each of the four quarters of the city opens a tavern that serves dishes made from medieval recipes. A large market is also set up, where goods made with old techniques are sold.
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Tenute Castelbuono
Famous wine produsing Lunelli family has an Umbrian estate near Bevagna, besides Tuscany and Trentino. The winery is an architectural marvel that deserves a visit.
Montefalco
This tiny Umbrian town, known as Coccorone in medieval times, sits on a hilltop with a unique panorama of the neighboring towns of Assisi, Spello and Spoleto. Driving the scenic route of Via Madame di Constantinopoli through the vineyards of Sagrantino is more than enough to fall in love with nature at this part of Italy. This amazing region, which has long been overshadowed by Tuscany, is now coming up as the new wine destination of Italy as well. This can be attributed to the rediscovery of the region’s signature grape Sagrantino, dating back to 16th century when it was cultivated by the monks. This tradition disappeared until the late 1970s, when it started to be produced again by a handful of pioneer winemakers!
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Il Coccorone
The history of the building of this restaurant gets back to 1270! They serve the regional specialty of "chianina" steak, cooked in woodfire of oak and olive branches
Spoleto
This beautiful medieval town with a dominating fortress is located on gently sloping hills. Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds), an annual summer music and opera festival held from June to July, is another good reason to visit this small Umbrian town.
Norcia
Norcia is one of the most touristic towns of Umbria and a popular pilgrimage destination as the birthplace of St. Benedict, the patron saint of Europe. The picturesque Piazza San Benedetto is the best spot to enjoy the town's vibe and gastronomical delights, like norcini (hams and salamis), truffles and cheeses. A local Black Truffle Festival is held every February, where over 100 exhibitors come together from all around the world.
Spello
This picturesque medieval town, set up at the foothills of Mount Subasio near Assisi, charms visitors with its ancient Roman town gate, ages-old churches and winding medieval streets decorated with flowers in the summertime.
Assisi
This is the town, where the patron saint of Italy St. Francis was born and set his religious order. St. Clare, who was also born in Assisi, is another important religious figure in the town's history. She is known to be a disciple of St. Francis and the founder of the "Order of Poor Ladies". Due to their legacy, Assisi is one of Italy’s most popular pilgrimage destinations and can really be busy during the day. The Basilica of St. Francis is of great interest with its wonderful interiors and sculptures, as well as its frescoes that are true masterpieces by the great Italian painter Giotto, who is considered to be one of the pioneers of Renaissance painting.
Gubbio
Known as "The Most Beautiful of the Medieval Towns", Gubbio is a little treasure keeping its medieval streets, houses and monuments still intact. Palazzo dei Consoli, the former seat of Gubbio government, is not to be missed. Some good examples of medieval and Renaissance art displayed here, as well as seven bronze tablets written in Umbrian language around the 3rd century BC, known as "Iguvine Tablets". The monumental Piazza Martiri, on the other hand, is where German troops sadly hanged 40 locals, when they occupied the city during the Second World War. Gubbio also continues a unique folkloric tradition called "Corsa dei Rei" (Race of the Candles), where candles are carried along the streets upto a hilltop church. It is thought to be a blend of pagan rites of spring with the cult of city's patron saint. Every December since 1981, the town sets a light installation in the shape of a Christmas tree as well. Starting from the foot of Mount Ingino and reaching to the top, this light installation entered Guinnes World Records list as the biggest christmas tree of the world!
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Taverna del Lupo
They make a fantastic lasagne with porchini mushrooms and truffles.