Things to do in Umbria, Italy: best places to visit!

Wondering what to do in Umbria? Here are places to visit and best things to do in Umbria Italy that you need to include in your itinerary.

What are the must-see places in Umbria, Italy? This region located in the center of the country and formed by the provinces of Perugia and Terni is often left aside when planning a trip.

Being next to the famous Tuscany can take away many visitors, but I assure you it has nothing to envy. The landscapes, cities, and towns are just as beautiful, even with some advantages as listed below!

So in this article, I’m going to tell you about some of the main destinations to visit in Umbria, with the help of a map so you can locate them well!

Advantages of visiting Umbria, Italy

I was there for more than two months and I loved it. When I returned to Italy a few weeks ago, I decided to come back to this region because it has many details that I like and consider them a plus:

✅ The medieval towns of Etruscan origin (like in Tuscany), without being so crowded.
✅ Accommodation is cheaper.
✅ You can get to know better what the daily life of Italians is like.
✅ There are good train combinations for the main places.
✅ The food is delicious… but that happens all over Italy!

Many times when we think of traveling to Italy and we only have a few days, we only concentrate on visiting Rome, dedicating a few days to Florence and getting to know the canals of Venice, and time is never enough!

If you let me give you some advice, focus on just one part of Italy so you get to know other unique places that most people overlook. Trust me and you won’t regret it.

How to get there and explore Umbria?

You can visit Umbria by public transport without any problem, since both Rome and Florence are well connected with Perugia, its capital, and the train line passes through most of the places I mention in this article.

Even so, it’s a good idea to travel around Umbria by car as it will give you more flexibility and you can combine it with a few days in the neighboring region of Tuscany. To rent a car, we have always done it using different companies through RentalCars website, which gave us the best price among several rental companies.

Another option, if you are in Rome and you don’t have enough time, is to make this one-day excursion from Rome that visits two unique places in Umbria, which we will talk about in this article.

Things to do in Umbria, Italy: 8 places not to be missed!

1. Perugia, the capital of Umbria

When speaking about other destinations in Umbria: Perugia always comes first! Not only because it’s the capital of the region, but because that’s where I spent more than a month and I really grew fond of it. The truth is, the city is fantastic. A university town with years of history, where you will see Italians living with foreigners, and an awesome architecture.

This private guided tour in English will help you get to know the city.

⭐ Tip: Please, don’t leave without trying a delicious Baci Perugina chocolate!

🚩 On my last visit to Perugia, I stayed at Signa Hotel for a couple of days, by the walls and a few steps from the center, with excellent service. I totally recommend it!

2. Spello

Spello was love at first sight and from a distance! I was traveling by train to Perugia, and I saw from the window a town on top of the hill that dazzled me. The train stopped at the station and I wrote down the name to visit it later: Spello.

Then I discovered that this little medieval town is even prettier when you get closer. Streets and stone houses, flower pots, and some viewpoints that allow you to observe the amazing Umbrian fields.

If you happen to visit the Umbria region during May or June, you should keep in mind that for the Corpus Christi Feast there’s the Infiorata or the Flower Art Festival, and for this occasion, Spello is filled with natural flower carpets!

⭐ Book a tour to Spello and Assisi from Perugia and other places. 

3. Spoleto

Although not so visited by foreigners, Spoleto is one of the most beautiful cities to see in Umbria.

The most touristic place in Spoleto is its cathedral, but there are also two other distinctive locations within the city that you will recognize from a distance. One is the Ponte delle Torri or Tower Bridge, of over 80 meters high. The other one is the Rocca Albornoziana fortress.

A curious fact is that today Spoleto is perhaps more visited by Italians because it’s the scene of one of the most famous series on Italian television: Don Matteo, a program about a priest-detective starring the well-known Terence Hill. The first seasons took place in the town of Gubbio and the last ones in Spoleto.

⭐ Book a tour to Spoleto from Rome here.

4. Lake Trasimeno

This lake that draws everyone’s attention when looking at a map of Italy is located in Umbria. You can either walk around it in a few hours or do it by bicycle.

To visit the lake, the best places to stay and make base are Castiglione del Lago or Passignano Sul Trasimeno, as they are both pretty, situated on the shore of the lake (the first one to the west, and the other to the north) and have many services for tourism. Perhaps you can choose one or the other, depending on how your itinerary through Umbria continues.

Passignano Sul Trasimeno has a fortress on top and is an excellent choice if your trip coincides with the Palio delle Barche, in July. During this peculiar festival, there’s a boat race in 3 stages: the 1st and the last in the lake (the usual), but the second stage is running through the streets of the town carrying the boats on shoulders!

As for Castiglione del Lago, you can see there the only mansion in Umbria, the Palazzo della Corgna, and there is also a jetty from where you can make excursions to navigate the lake and even to some of its islands, such as Isola Maggiore. In case you like festive atmospheres, Castiglione will be a good option in April, when they hold the festival of the Tulip and Spring.

In case you choose Passignano Sul Trasimeno to base yourself, the Lido hotel is next to the lake and has incredible views from some rooms. Highly recommended! If, on the contrary, you are going to stay in Castiglione, the Hotel La Torre has excellent references.

💯 In case you choose Passignano Sul Trasimeno to base yourself, the Lido hotel is next to the lake and has incredible views from some rooms. Highly recommended! If, on the contrary, you are going to stay in Castiglione, the Hotel La Torre has excellent references.

5. Orvieto with an incredible location, a must-see in Umbria

Many visit Orvieto from Rome because it’s 120 km away. But it’s worth the stop for a considerable time in the walled city of Orvieto since although it’s a small city, it offers some of the most beautiful sceneries to see in Umbria due to its location over a rock that stands out in the whole landscape. You will find many viewpoints to enjoy the views.

In addition, the 14th-Century Orvieto Cathedral is a marvel in itself, an Italian Gothic architecture.

To go down the city, you can do it on your own without any problems, but if you want to learn more about the history and other things, one option is to take a private guided tour of Orvieto or, a slightly different alternative is to take this tour to visit the city underground.

Although you can visit it during the day, I recommend if you could, to stay there at least one night, so that you can see the surroundings that are really incredible. I will soon write an article with the places I liked the most in this city, to help you organize your trip and decide whether to include it in your itinerary or not.

🚩 If you’re not planning to stay long, there is an excursion from Rome that visits both Orvieto and Asís on a one-day trip. Book it here!

6. Assisi, an essential destination to see in Umbria

I must admit that I went to Assisi almost out of obligation: the thing is, my mother had been there 30 years before, and she was so fascinated with its beauty that she insisted that I visit the town of Saint Francis. And how glad I didn’t ignore her advice! This place is unique with a special atmosphere that captivates its visitors.

Saint Francis was born in Assisi in 1181 and today his Basilica can be visited among other places of interest for many parishioners.

Assisi is very well connected by train with Perugia, and even with Rome. In my case, I got there from Perugia but I liked it so much that I recommended it to some relatives who stayed there for one night, and they loved it! Anyway, they preferred agroturism and stayed on the outskirts, in this agritourism with an amazing view and swimming pool.

⭐ I recommend you to read our article on the best things to do in Assisi to organize your visit to this city of Umbria.

7. Marmore waterfall, in Terni

The Cascata delle Màrmore is more than 160 meters high, divided into three sections. It’s located on the outskirts of the city of Terni and is one of the highest in Europe, though its flow is artificially regulated since it’s used to generate electrical energy. I discovered this by chance when I was photographing the large waterfall and it suddenly switched into a small cascade.

Arriving by public transport requires some combinations: go by train to Terni and then take another to Marmore (these are the trains that continue towards L’Aquila) and walk a few 600 meters.

If you are touring Umbria by car, the Marmore waterfall should definitely be on your itinerary, because the environment is extraordinary and highly different from what you will find visiting central Italy.

8. Gubbio

Gubbio is the only place that is still on my pending list. Always for one thing or the other I had to leave it aside, but I consider it an excuse to return to this region again and finally visit it.

Gubbio’s case is like many of the cities that we have talked about on this list of places to see in Umbria: it’s well known among Italians, for its attractiveness, history and more, but not so much by foreign tourists.

The city provides a tourist card with discounts on admission to museums and a panoramic funicular, plus an audio guide in English. Book it here!

Where to base when visiting Umbria

Personally, I have to confess that I like more the trips in which I am advancing and sleeping a night in each place, rather than to take a city as a base and always move from there. But that’s up to taste.

Concerning which cities to visit in Umbria, it will depend on how long you have available. For example, both Assisi and Spello can be easily visited from Perugia by train.

If I had to choose just one place, perhaps the best place to base yourself would be Perugia, because it’s a bigger city, has many accommodations and excellent places to eat delicious food, in addition to being well connected with other destinations. On my last visit to the city, I stayed in this hotel next to the walls.

In case you prefer smaller cities, as I said before, both Assisi and Spello are near Perugia and you can find very nice places to stay, such as some agritourism in Umbria where I’m sure you’ll be delighted to stay for several days.

But if you want to base in one single site, there are places that will be quite far away to visit in one day (considering that you have a car). That is why I believe that the best choice is to base in at least two cities: Perugia and Orvieto would be a great combination. Because they are far enough from each other, and although Orvieto is rather small, both are really worthwhile to spend a few days. I personally really enjoyed my days in Orvieto.

On the other hand, if you want to enjoy Lake Trasimeno, the ideal thing is to stay a couple of nights in Castiglione or Passignano, instead of traveling from another location.

Map – Things to do in Umbria, Italy

Here is a map with all the places to visit in Umbria that I recommend in this post. As you will see, many destinations are very close to destinations in Tuscany, such as Cortona, Montepulciano or Siena, which I will talk about in future articles.

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I hope this Umbria travel guide was useful to plan your trip. Do you have other suggestions for cool things to do in Umbria Italy that I missed? Let me know in the comments!