Assisi overnight or Siena overnight?

Gosh - what a choice to have to make. I love them both.... but if I could only pick one , it would be Assisi - loved walking all over the town, the wall, took the bus down to the bottom of the hill to see the church there.
Spent 3 days in Assisi , but also spent 2 in Siena....... still my #1 is Assisi
Happy Travels

I would go with Siena, because it is so different after the day trippers leave and you have the early morning and evening to enjoy it. But this is true for most destination hill towns.

However, Assisi is further from Roma than Siena is from Firenze, so that may be a small factor to consider.

I agree on Siena. We were there this past October for five nights and it was a nice experience. The above poster was correct about after the dat trippers leave. We stayed at the terrific Hotel Athena, which was very clean and provided free parking. It's located about an 8 minute walk from the Piazza del Campo.

We had plans to make some day trips, but we only went to Florence to meet some friends, Otherwise, we just kicked back and didn't do too much.

Buon viaggio,

Rather than backtrack, why not go to Assisi from Florence, spend the night in Assisi then continue on to Rome.

I vote for Assisi... love it. Not a fan of Siena.

Such good info. Like the idea of traveling straight to Assisi from Florence. Looked at Rick Steves' train fare map and we should save a fair amount on train fares as well. Am now looking into flying to Florence rather than to Rome to begin our trip which may actually afford an overnight in Siena as well. Appreciate the hotel recommendations very much. Gladly accept any additional hotel or restaurant recommendations in either Siena or Assisi.

We stayed at Borgo Grondai in Siena. Loved it so much we went back next trip just so we could stay there again. It is wonderful, large charming property, grass areas, flowers, beautiful pool, free washer/dryer, nice patio, nice rooms/bathrooms, good beds, excellent breakfast and Happy Hour, great staff.

This the Air BnB apartment where we stayed in Siena last month. Centrally located, nicely decorated and spotless.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/12442284

I second gerri's idea. A sunset in Assisi is one of life's rare pleasures.

As you can see different people have different likes.

I therefore will base my suggestion not on which town I like better (both are gorgeous) but strictly on logistics. And based on logistics, if you have to make a choice on where to use that night, you should spend it in Assisi.

The reason is that Siena can be visited very easily from Florence on a day trip. All you need is 75 min on a bus (or 90 on a train) and you are there.

Assisi however is not so close to Rome and therefore it would be a very rushed day trip. The train trip is over 2 hours, could possibly require a train change in Foligno (although there are direct options) and the Assisi train station is not even in Assisi, it's down the hill in nearby Santa Maria degli Angeli from where you will need to transfer to Assisi by bus or taxi. So, when everything is said and done, you will spend over 6 hours on the way there and back with very little left to see Assisi itself. Spend one night in Assisi, and you will have time to properly visit St. Francis' hometown.

If you don't want to spend a night in Assisi, visiting it as a detour on the way from Rome to Florence would be a better option. Assisi to Florence is still 2.5 hours but at least you avoid backtracking.