Assisi Itinerary help needed

Posted by kathyw. (North Carolina) on 03/10/17 11:45 PM

We will be spending 3 nights is Assisi in April after visiting Siena. We have reservations for a cooking class while in Assisi and I'm pretty excited about this! I have found some suggested places to visit: San Damiano, Eremo della Carcieri and the Basilica of St. Frances. In order to both "breath" and visit sights, how do you suggest we schedule our time? Any other places we should not miss? I am having a little trouble finding 3 day itineraries. Also, because we are renting a car for this part of the journey with plans to return it in Orvieto, should we venture outside Assisi while there? If so, where?

Thank you.

Posted by Zoe

Toledo, Ohio, US

03/11/17 12:10 AM

11613 posts

You could spend an afternoon visiting Spello and Trevi, two cities very near to Assisi.

The sights you mentioned are lovely. Add Santa Ciara and San Rufino to the list. Also stroll through the medieval side streets, and drive up to Rocca Maggiore to visit the castle and look out over the valley; if you see the Rocca Maggiore and arena in the morning, you can easily continue to Spello and Trevi and also stop at some of the Franciscan sights along the way.

Posted by Claude C.

Laval, Québec, Canada

03/11/17 02:54 AM

336 posts

Gubbio, not too far is one of the best preserved medieval small town/village.
You'll feel going back in time when walking the streets. It's just a couple of hours visit and well worth it.
Also Perugia, much bigger, has a great center and wonderful streets and buildings

Posted by Jeff

Phoenix AZ

03/11/17 05:00 AM

635 posts

Take a couple of hours to go down to Santa Maria degli Angeli and visit the Basilica, with St. Francis' tiny 9th Century chapel -- his "little portion" ("Porziuncola") -- nestled inside. As a resident of Southern California this should be especially significant for you. 18th Century Franciscan friars named a remote New World settlement in reference to this chapel. The Spanish version of the name ("El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula") was eventually shortened to ... Los Angeles. In recognition of this, the street in front of the basilica has a Spanish, not Italian, name -- "Via Los Angeles".

For Assisi itself, the walking tour in Rick Steves' Italy guidebook is very helpful. Audio version of the walking tour is available online here.

Posted by Michael

Seattle, WA, USA

03/11/17 09:22 PM

7737 posts

For some reason, Rick says "Assisi is worth a day and a night." That's crazy. He devotes 40 pages(!) to it in his Italy book, so it's pretty easy to enjoy three nights there. (I spent two weeks there in May 2015, going to language class in the mornings.) One place that might not occur to you to visit is the Rocca Maggiore (castle overlooking the town and valley, with stunning views, weather permitting). There are great opportunities for photos all over the place. Def. go down to Santa Maria degli Angeli to see the place where St. Francis died.

Beware that weekends can get very crowded as Italian tourists arrive in droves in buses. A taxi between Assisi and to the lower town SMDA is 15 euros, fixed price. Don't tip the driver.