Perugia, Corciano and Oscano (around the city)
Perugia has the largest group of our Umbrian villas, mostly in the hills around the city rather than in it. The old town sits on a ridge and is reached by escalators and a small driverless metro from car parks below. Corciano is a walled village to the west, and Lake Trasimeno is around 20 minutes beyond it. Perugia airport is about 20 minutes away.
Best for: A central base with Lake Trasimeno and Assisi both close
Not for you if: You want a quiet village: the outskirts of Perugia are suburban and the ring roads are busy at rush hour.
Umbertide, Montone and Città di Castello (upper Tiber valley)
North of Perugia the Tiber valley narrows between wooded hills. Umbertide is a working market town with supermarkets and a riverside castle, and Montone, on a hill above it, is a small walled village that holds a film festival each summer. Città di Castello has a museum of the painter Alberto Burri in old tobacco-drying sheds. Gubbio is around 40 minutes east. Perugia airport is 30 to 45 minutes away.
Best for: Walkers and families who want space, woods and a pool
Not for you if: You want famous sights on the doorstep: Assisi and Orvieto are an hour or more away.
Assisi, Bevagna, Foligno, Spoleto and Torgiano (Spoleto valley)
The broad valley south of Perugia links most of Umbria's best-known towns. Assisi has the basilica of St Francis, with Giotto's frescoes in the upper church. Bevagna is a small, flat walled town with a Roman mosaic, and Montefalco and its Sagrantino vineyards are on the hill above. Torgiano has a wine museum, and Spoleto hosts a music and theatre festival in early summer. Perugia airport is 15 to 45 minutes away.
Best for: Sightseeing, Sagrantino wine and flat valley cycling
Not for you if: You want to avoid crowds: Assisi fills with pilgrims and day-trippers from Easter to October.
Orvieto, Monteleone d'Orvieto, San Venanzo and Castel Giorgio (south-west)
Orvieto sits on a cliff of volcanic rock, with a striped cathedral and caves cut into the stone beneath the town. A funicular climbs from the station, which has direct trains to Rome in just over an hour. Monteleone d'Orvieto and Fabro are hill villages near the motorway, and Castel Giorgio is on the plateau above Lake Bolsena. Rome Fiumicino is about an hour and a half by car.
Best for: Wine, Etruscan sites and easy access to Rome by train
Not for you if: You want lively evenings: villages such as San Venanzo and Fabro are very small and close early.
Todi, Acquasparta, Marsciano and Spina (middle Tiber)
Todi is a compact hill town with a large medieval piazza and the domed church of Santa Maria della Consolazione below its walls. Acquasparta, to the south, has a Renaissance palace and mineral springs. Marsciano and the hamlets of Spina and Monte Vibiano Vecchio are farming country, with olive estates that sell oil direct. Orvieto and Perugia are each about 40 minutes away.
Best for: Couples who want one good hill town and quiet country roads
Not for you if: You want to be close to an airport: Perugia is around 45 minutes and Rome nearer two hours.
Amelia, Narni and Penna in Teverina (southern Umbria)
Amelia is a hill town ringed by huge polygonal stone walls that predate the Romans. Narni stands over a gorge of the river Nera, with a Roman bridge below and tours of underground rooms used by the Inquisition. Penna in Teverina is a small village above the Tiber. The Cascata delle Marmore near Terni is a man-made waterfall whose flow is released at set times. Rome Fiumicino is about an hour and a quarter away.
Best for: Short drives from Rome and day trips to the Marmore falls
Not for you if: You want classic Umbrian sights nearby: Assisi and Perugia are over an hour north.
Sigillo (Monte Cucco, north-east)
Sigillo sits at the foot of Monte Cucco, a regional park with beech woods, marked trails and one of Italy's deepest cave systems, visited on guided tours. The open slopes above the village are a well-known paragliding site. Gubbio is around 30 minutes north and Perugia airport about 45 minutes away.
Best for: Hikers, cavers and paragliders
Not for you if: You want to tour the main towns: Sigillo is out on the eastern edge, well away from the Spoleto valley.
