Assisi day trip from Florence

The train from Florence ("Firenze" in Italian) to Assisi is about 2.5 hours--if you get the direct "regionale veloce." Some trains aren't direct; you have to change a Terontola/Arezzo. So you might have time to walk around Assisi, but I doubt you could do much else. The train station is down the hill from centro; you can take a bus or cab. Don't try to go anywhere else; you're trying to fit too much in. Perugia, for example, isn't a little town, it's a city of about 170,000 and merits a few days on its own. (Ok, I'm prejudiced, I live there part of the year.) Seriously, though, Assisi has enough to do in the timeframe you're thinking of.

Thanks for the reply! It's hard to know how much to try and do and see. I have heard Assisi is wonderful so if we just go there I think that will be a long enough day. Jeff.

Assisi is wonderful. We spent several days there last March and did some day trips. The original church is outside the town and I highly recommend seeing it if you have time - Basilica of St Mary of the Angels.

Assisi. The train station is in the valley below, but buses run up to the town every few minutes. Go to the Piazza Matteotti bus stop at the top end of the town, most of your walking will be downhill from there rather than uphill.

Assisi is so very different during the day and at night. This would be a long day but you might make it work: early train to Assisi; taxi up to the Piazza Comune (visit Basilica Santa Chiara, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Foro Romano, Cathedral Church of San Rufino, art shops, beautiful vistas, great people watching); then head downhill to the Basilica San Francesco (amazing frescos will take a couple of hours to see); meander around and enjoy the shops; around sunset head back up to the Piazza Comune (to begin seeing Assisi without the tourists); facing Minerva walk to the left and head UP (breathtaking vistas); at the ancient Roman gate turn left and you're facing San Francesco (all lit up at night is a photo you will want to keep); at the intersection turn left and head uphill back to the Piazza Comune. From here you can catch a taxi back down to the train station for a late evening ride back to Florence (don't take the last train in case it cancels, not that unusual). Don't forget to stop to relax, eat, drink something and spend time savoring the experience. I'm in Assisi for a music festival every July - the after nightfall walk (up from Minerva and up again from San Francesco) is our daily routine. Our mantra: Assisi is uphill in both directions! Good walking shoes!

I would start even further up than Robert suggests, although his plan is excellent: begin at Rocca Maggiore, then walk downhill for the sights Robert suggested.