3 Umbria Towns in 24 hours!

3 Umbria Towns in 24 hours!

I have visited a few Umbria towns before but have always wanted to go to Norcia. Why you may ask? Well, if shops that sell salame, prosciutto and cheese are called “norceria”, this place must have great food!

Umbria Towns - Welcome to Norcia

Also, since there were so many Umbria towns along the route, we decided to make a quick stop at a few of them.  Let me share with you some of the interesting Umbria towns we saw in 24 hours.

Three Umbria Towns

Norcia

The drive to Norcia was scenic as you have to go through a mountainous area which is absolutely gorgeous this time of the year. It was a pleasant drive and when we got to Norcia parking was easy to find. Probably it was still Friday and not the weekend yet. The cost of parking was also very affordable at €0.50per hour.

Umbria Towns - Norcia

When I saw Norcia, my first comment was “It looks like one of the small towns in Disneyland!”. Ok, I admit that the town also caters to tourists with all the norceria they have along the main road but it’s a real place. It’s also one of the cleanliest places I have seen in Italy and very well kept. When we were there, it was not crowded at all but again, it’s a weekday and not the weekend.

For lunch, we decided to go local. We got a sandwich (panino) from one of the norceria with salame and cheese. We then sat in a small piazza (square) to have our lunch and was treated to this view. The panino was simple but so tasty. This to me is what Italy is all about! Good food and wonderful scenery.

Umbria Towns - View

The next hour we spent just walking around the place and saw the main sites such as Piazza San Benedetto but also found some interesting places like this chocolate shop. They claim to have the bestest chocolate.  Not really because we bought a chocolate bar and it was just average.

Umbria Towns - Norcia Chocolate Shop

As Norcia is small compared to the other places in Umbria, you could cover it in 2 hours. For more details about Norcia, click here for more information from Wikipedia about this city in Umbria.

This is really a cute town and if you are planning a visit to Umbria, make sure to include Norcia as a stop on your itinerary. It’s worth the visit!

Spello

This Umbria town is a jewel. We stopped here because my husband remembered that as a child, his family would come here to visit their grandmother.

Umbria Towns - Spello

However, we were pleasantly surprised at how charming this town is. Also, there were a lot of tourists here and my husband commented that he didn’t think that tourists would know about this town in Umbria. As we stopped here on our way to the bed and breakfast in Montepulciano, we just strolled through the streets of Spello.

Umbrian Towns - Spello Streets

I hope the few photos here of Spello give you a glimpse of the town and if you are interested, click here for more details on this town.

Umbria Towns - Spello Main Entrance

I was impressed with Spello because the residents have done a great job in maintaining the town and keeping it attractive.

Foligno

Of the 3 Umbria towns this was probably the biggest. We were there on a Saturday and the main square was packed with different events going on with school children. The town itself was quaint but not quite as charming as Norcia nor Spello.

Umbria Towns - Foligno

There is plenty of parking just outside the town walls and walking to the main Piazza (Piazza della Repubblica), the street was lined with shops to keep you busy. At the center, there are even more shops and nice cafes. It was unfortunate that we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the city but we got a good sense of it.

Click here for more information on Foligno.

Umbria Towns - Foligno Main Piazza

Additional Resources on Umbria Towns

While many people are fascinated by Tuscany, there are so many Umbria towns which I think are gems waiting to be explored. I have already visited a handful such as Todi, Amelia, Assisi and Orvieto and they are well worth the time to visit.

If you are interested, here are some links to other Umbria towns:

The Complete Guide to Umbria by The Independent

WikiTravel

Things To Do In Umbria by TripAdvisor

Over To You

Have you been to these three Umbria towns? If yes, I welcome you to share your experience!

What other Umbria towns do you know of that are worth visiting?

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26 comments

  1. Beautiful. I miss Italy – especially the Abruzzi. I love taking your “tours.”

    • Hi Thom,

      Glad to be giving these “tours”. I enjoy my trips around Italy and felt it was necessary to share the beauty of the places I have visited.

      Thanks for leaving a comment!
      Diana

  2. Amazing sights!! Italy, scenery and great food all seem to go together! You are very fortunate! :-))

    • Hi Joy,

      Yes there are some amazing sights in Italy 🙂 So far it’s been very nice but there will be days where the posts I write may not be as beautiful as the towns I have visited. I will try to give a more balanced view of Italy!

      Thanks for dropping by!
      Diana

  3. Well, in London sometimes you pay up to £4 per hour to park your car. Your post made me want to move to Italy. I miss the freshness of the food, you see

    • I am gad you enjoy the post and yes the food here is all about freshness 🙂

      Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
      Diana

  4. What struck me, besides the beauty of the locations? How CLEAN it all looked. Nice, really nice.

    • Hi Stuart,

      You sure are right about how clean it is. It’s shockingly clean and Rome is no way like this. When I am out in the countryside I always say “This is Italy!”

      All the best,
      Diana

  5. Funny that you mentioned Norcia being so clean because that was what sprang immediately to mind when I was looking at your first photo. Spello is the place I want to go. Your photo of the narrow street with the plants spilling over the arch has me sold.

    • You would love Spello. A nice charming quiet town. There were some bed and breakfast we saw located at the top of the town which had a gorgeous view!

      Thanks for adding your thoughts here 🙂

  6. Hi Diana –

    Your experiences there and the beauty, is breath taking. I miss my European days so much as it fits more into my own personal life style better than here in America. I may very well settle back in Europe in a couple of years from now as I have always planned to return for good :).

    • Hi Charlie,

      It’s ironic you should mention that because I would love to move back to the US! I think live here is good in the smaller towns but in a city such as Rome, life can be very hectic.

      However, I am taking this opportunity to explore as many places in Italy as possible and learning more about the culture!

      Good luck on your plans to be back in Europe within a couple of years.

      All the best,
      Diana

  7. PLEASE PLEASE pop me in your suitcase for next time!

    • Anytime!! There are so many things to discover and I hope you will join me on my journey through this blog 🙂

  8. I’ve never been to Italy but your post makes me wish I had. What lovely towns. The surrounding countryside reminds me a bit of my native California and the rolling hills of home.

    ~cath xx
    @jonesbabie on Twitter

    • Hi Cath,

      When we went to Napa Valley a few years ago, it reminded be a bit of Tuscany. There are many lovely towns in Umbria which are lesser known compared to its famous neighbor Tuscany.

      Hope you get the chance to visit Italy one day!
      Diana

  9. WOW!! You have so much to explore there in Italy, Diana! What a dream it must be to live there. As a salame-, prosciutto- and cheese-fan myself, I have to include Norcia on my must-visits! =P How disappointing about the “average chocolate” though. Maybe they have better hot chocolate than chocolate bars? =)

    • Hi Sam,

      It is a lovely place and even more so if you love salame, prosciutto and cheese! The chocolate was a huge disappointment but hey, their slogan got us to buy the chocolate – I think that’s what they wanted.

      Norcia and the nearby towns are absolutely lovely!

      Hope you do visit Italy one day – would love to meet you too 🙂

      Hugs,
      Diana

  10. You make a great tour guide. Now I know where to visit. Umbria, here I come – next time I go to Italy.

    • Hi Penelope,

      I hope you visit Umbria the next time you are in Italy. It’s definitely worth it! I hope you enjoy the other tours of Italy through my blog 🙂

      All the best,
      Diana

  11. OK, I need to go t Spello. Enjoyed being the armchair traveller today. Thanks for taking us along!

    • Hi Eric,

      I hope you will continue to be an armchair traveller on my blog 🙂 I will be taking you to many places and hope you enjoy the journey!

      All the best,
      Diana