Assisi - Day trip or Overnight?

It's 7 hours roundtrip by train from Siena to Assisi, that's too long for a day trip. Unless Assisi is on the way to your next destination I wouldn't bother staying overnight. You can't see everything on your trip so cut it from this vacation.

Assisi is an absolute delight in the evening after the day trippers leave, so I'd definitely recommend staying overnight if it fits into your itinerary. I like staying at La Pallotta, with dinner at the family's nearby restaurant with the same name.

How are you planning to get there? You can do it as a day trip from Siena by car, but the 7hr train journey is a non-starter. Assisi is even more charming after the crowds have gone, as Frank says. Another advantage of going by car -- you can drive back whenever you like in the evening. Mathew

There are buses between Siena and Assisi that are faster than the train. I would still stay there for a night though.

It is fantastic at end of the day when about 95 percent of the tourists leave and you feel like you have the town to yourself.
If you can do it, spend the night.

Assisi is magical as is La Palotta B&B and restaurant. Definitely worth an overnight if not longer

Thanks for the replies! I think we'll go by bus as was suggested, the train trip is way too long. I'm thinking of staying at Assisi for two nights at Hotel Ideale to give us time to unwind, is that a good place? We'll head on to Rome after that.

Two nights is even better. We did that and loved every minute. We were there in July '08 and didn't think it was particularly crowded with tourists at all. Don't know Hotel Ideale, and wouldn't recommend the hotel we stayed at, but why not stay at La Palotta B&B two posters have recommended?

Last Dec, we spent 2 nights in Assisi. We stayed at Hotel Ideale. We had the whole town and hotel to ourselves....it was a ghost town.......and we loved that. Hotel Ideale was fine, the owners do not speak any English but the daughters do, if they are around. OUr room was small....That was a bit disappointing because, we were the only people staying there....give us the best room dammit! But the view makes up for the smallness of the room as we had a balcony view of the country side. The 2 nights we were there, we dined at Tratorria Palotta. We had our food epiphany with the big fat spaghetti and truffles. And I usually frown upon mushrooms. If I return to Italy, I would totally return to Assisi. It is my bag of tea....Rome, on the other hand, it just didn't sing to me. I would rather visit Assisi over Rome any day.....I know I am a minority on that concept. Here is my tripadvisor report on the hotel and Tratorria Palotta. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187905-d447228-r90228972-Hotel_Ideale_Turisti-Assisi_Umbria.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187905-d1198745-r90252053-Trattoria_Pallotta-Assisi_Umbria.html#REVIEWS

Assisi is well worth two nights. Here are some reasons: Assisi pics 2008

We spent two wonderful nights at the Pallota and recommend it highly. Charming clean rooms, friendly host, great breakfast and a discount at their family restaurant.
We took the bus from Siena which was a pleasant trip. Took the local bus to the stop at the top of town and it was a short, downhill, walk to the Palotta.

La Pallota comes highly recommended on this site! But I was hoping for something that has more of a view. My mother is a huge fan of sweeping views and our budget won't let us have a good view in the big cities like Rome, Paris and London. She also has arthritis in both knees and doesn't want to deal with stairs in the hotel (I know that's a lot to ask of the hill towns..) I've made an inquiry at Hotel Belvedere, it's further away from the main sites, but it has both and elevator and views for under 100 euros (according to the italy book). Has anyone stayed there before?

Assisi is not a walking friendly town for those not in shape or have joint issues. If there isn't a 30 degree incline hill to walk up, there are stairs that function as a sidewalk to get you to the next level. I have a bad back so I couldn't just zip up and down those hills and stairs; I had to take my time and boy, what a workout Assisi is. I know that there are mini buses that could help one get around town. I just wanted to let you know this now as opposed to not knowing this fact and then have your Mom with arthritis suffer.

I must agree with the earlier post, Assisi isn't a great town for someone with mobility issues.

Emily, regarding getting around Assisi, I wouldn't avoid the town because of mobility issues, unless your mother's problems are dramatic (eg, she couldn't get on a bus or into a taxi). There is a bus line that runs between the top and bottom of town, with key stops along the way. I didn't use it, but the RS guide gives the details about the bus. I also found taxis readily available to get me to places that were a longer/steeper walk than I wanted to attempt (eg, San Damiano and the Eremo delle Carceri). And I simply arranged lodging at the end of town that was of most interest to me, where I knew I'd spend more time. As noted above, it's a lovely town and early morning there is magical.

A word of caution about the Assisi mini bus lines that circulate through the upper town - it's like riding a roller coaster, with the driver careening through and around tiny streets with really sharp turns. We road it and thoroughly enjoyed it as an amusement park ride, but had to brace ourselves to keep from flying off our seats. I'm not sure if the same is true for the bus line that runs up from the lower town. You can take a taxi from the lower town, but they're pretty pricey. Something like 25 euros, if memory serves.

Mom has arthritis in her knees. She can get around fine with semi-frequent breaks, but stairs and steep inclines can be very taxing on her stamina. Assisi is a really vertical kind of place so we will be using the buses a lot, even if they are scary in a rollercoaster kind of way. At long last I booked a room on the ground floor of Hotel Ideale for two nights. We can't wait to get there!

When you get off the bus on its last stop, Hotel Ideale is pretty much right there, maybe in front of you but at least on the side of you. The views from this hotel is breath-taking. But make sure you try to eat at Tratoria Palotta.