Umbria Escape Cycling tour

Assisi- Spello-Foligno-Spoleto-Montefalco-Bevagna-Torgiano

Cycling through the Valle Umbra

This cycling tour leads you over quiet country roads among the sunny, colourful fields with a beautiful backdrop of hills covered with silver-green olive groves and fertile vineyards. Your discovery of the Valle Umbra starts in Assisi, a small jewel that attract millions of tourist each year, but you visit also Spello, Foligno, Spoleto, Montefalco and Bevagna which are by no means minor attractions. It are towns offering a blend of art, history, food, wine and nature.

Spello and ASSISI are hill towns striding up a spur of Monte Subasio. These splendidly intact towns are still walled-in and offer a maze of small alleys, which often, unexpectedly offer fascinating views of the surrounding green landscape. You continue your ride through the valley and reach Spoleto, ancient capital of the Lombard dukes. It is a friendly and welcoming town to tourists and walking up the small streets, you will have suddenly a surprising view of the 12-13th century cathedral S. Maria Assunta, which houses the stunning frescoes by Pinturicchio and Filippo Lippi.

First stop of the next day is the wine town Montefalco. It stands on a hilltop carpeted with vineyard and silver green olive groves. Montefalco was one of the very few Italian cities where wine growing was also practiced in the urban centre. The town has a medieval setting, surrounded by medieval walls and towers. Don’t leave it without tasting one of its excellent wines. A relaxed downhill ride brings you to Bevagna, included among the most beautiful villages in Italy. You come to the piazza Silvestri overlooked by the Gothic Palazzo dei Consoli and the Romanesque churches of San Silvestro and San Michele Arcangelo. Interesting are the splendid mosaics depicting mythological or marine subjects such as dolphins, octopuses, lobsters of the Roman baths. On the last day, you can decide to visit Torgiano with its fascinating wine museum or to go directly to Assisi, to spend some extra time in this lovely town.

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Daily program of

5-day / 4-night tour

Day 1 | Individual arrival at your hotel in Assisi

Assisi is a Unesco Heritage site. It is overlooking the Valle Umbra and it is a place in which history, traditions and art are harmoniously combined. A leisurely stroll through the town first is a good way to start your holiday. Take your time to absorb the town’s atmosphere. Sit down on one of the cozy squares, where cafés are inviting you and enjoy an ice cream, cappuccino or a good glass of local wine. There is much to see: the Basilicas of St. Francis and of St. Clare, the fortress, museums and the Roman Forum. Overnight stay in a **** or *** star hotel

Day 2 | Assisi – Spoleto (51 km / 31,6 mi or 53 km / 33 mi)

Along the panoramic road ‘Via degli Olivi’ (olive grove road) you reach Spello, a charming ancient town pleasantly situated on the southern slopes of Mount Subasio. In urban, architectural and artistic terms, Spello is an extremely interesting town, containing many features dating back to the Roman age. Spello is also called the town of flowers, because of its many colourful little alleys embellished with plants and flowers. The town is well known for its Flower Festival (‘infiorata’) for Corpus Domini. From Spello you descend in the valley and it goes up to Foligno, which contains a good number of interesting monuments and artworks, but has also a nice ‘restaurant road’ and is a local shopping centre. Quiet country roads and the Assisi-Spoleto cycle path bring you to Spoleto, a pretty hill-town filled with beautiful medieval and Renaissance architecture and there are also very interesting museums. The town is surrounded by an evergreen woodland and a hilly countryside. Your *** or **** hotel is situated in the historical centre of Spoleto.

Distance: 51 km/31,6 miles (starting Viole) or 53 km / 33 miles (starting Assisi)
Ascent/Descent: + 326m –338m

Day 3 |Spoleto - Bevagna (35 km / 21,7 mi or 37 km / 22,9 mi or 39 km /24,2 mi)

The route of today has different versions. There is the easy cycle path route without up and downhill cycling and which goes directly to Bevagna. Or the more strenuous route with biking through a slightly undulating landscape with olive groves. You will already see Montefalco from a distance. At the foot of this town you can choose to continue through the valley directly to Bevagna or to visit first Montefalco (470m a.s.l.)…, but to get to this town you first have to conquer a severe climb. Montefalco is also known as the ‘balcony of Umbria’, because of its fantastic panorama over the Valle Umbra. Artists like Benozzo Gozzoli and Perugino decorate the Franciscan church, now a museum, with magnificent 15th and 16th century frescoes. Montefalco is well-known for its excellent wines, Rosso di Montefalco d.o.c. and Sagrantino d.o.c.g , produced on the sunny slopes around the town, and of course, it is almost impossible to leave the town without tasting them in one of the many wine bars. From Montefalco you have a nice downhill ride to Bevagna, where the medieval square with the two Romanesque churches is a real meeting place for the friendly inhabitants. Your overnight stay is in the centre of the town or just outside the town walls in a *** hotel. (35,3 km / 22 mi along the cycle path or 38 km / 23,6 mi passing Montefalco or 40 km /25 mi not passing Montefalco)

Cycle Path / easy route
Distance: 35 km / 21,7 mi
Ascent/Descent: + 42m –206m

Hilly route passing Montefalco
Distance: 37 km / 22,9 mi
Ascent/Descent: + 395m –517m

Hilly route NOT passing Montefalco
Distance: 39 km / 24,2 mi
Ascent/Descent: + 292m –456m

Day 4 | Bevagna-Assisi (37 km / 23 miles or 51 km / 31,6 miles passing Torgiano)

Today a nice ride through the green valley. You can choose to visit Torgiano, which in medieval times was a fortified village. It is situated on the confluence of the rivers Chiascio and Tiber (Tevere) in a fertile area. Torgiano is certainly worth stopping off, which like Montefalco is famous for its excellent red and white wine. You could visit the wine museum with (next-door) the ‘osteria’ of the Lungarotti family, where you can taste the wines produced in this area. After Torgiano you will cross the valley, cycling along quiet country roads. The first sight of Assisi, perched halfway up the slopes of Mount Subasio is extraordinary. Before reaching Assisi, you can stop for a moment to visit the Franciscan basilica in S.Maria degli Angeli. Under its impressive dome still lies the humble little chapel Porziuncola, where St. Francis once came to pray. To get to the beautiful historic centre of Assisi you have to make a short but steep climb, but wandering through the town you will agree that it was worth effort. After your visit to Assisi you return to your starting hotel.

Distance: 51 km / 31,6 miles (passing Torgiano) & 37 km / 23 miles (not passing Torgiano)
Ascent/Descent: + 463m –264m

Day 5 | End of tour after breakfast

End of your tour through a wonderful valley.

Umbria Escape