A few years ago, Umbria was known, if at all, as Tuscany's less alluring sister. Not any more: these days Italy's "green heart" is every bit as celebrated as its more famous neighbour. The reasons are simple: the region has all Tuscany's attributes – and a few more.
True, it doesn't have the big set pieces of Florence and Siena, but it does has a coronet of far more intimate and easily visited hill-towns – Gubbio, Todi,. Each has enough to keep you busy for a day or more, and none is more than a few miles from the next, making Umbria manageable and straightforward to explore.
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