Best way to travel to Spello from Assisi?

The bus is the best option as it drops you further into the town at Spello and leaves from the upper part of Assisi. The train stations for both towns are a bit of a slog away from the centers.

Thanks Laurel.

Assisi is indeed up the hill from the train station my b&b host picked me up from the station. But the station in Spello is not far at all from the center. If you are a walker from Spello it is not far to walk back to Assisi about 11 kilometers a pleasant walk.

just a caution about buses. The intercity lines are there for locals, students going to school and workers getting to their job. Tourists are welcome to ride, but be sure to check with the TI or at your hotel to be sure you understand the times the bus runs. Since they are oriented for the locals they frequently have pauses in service for holidays, the school calendar, etc. And they may only run in the mornings and late afternoon. You may not be able to find route timetables online; I couldn't with a cursory search.

The best way to travel between them may be by car, or taxi if you aren't renting one.

Please translate "a bit of a slog" in distance.

John, I came to the same conclusion after doing some research this morning. Thanks for the information and confirmation.

I've done the Assisi-Spello-Assisi day trip, using trains. We took a taxi from our Assisi hotel to the train station. The train to Spello only takes about ten minutes. The walk from the Spello train station to the gates into the old city is about a ten minute stroll, tops. On the return trip, we found a couple of taxis meeting the train in Assisi, hoping for customers. Actually each time I've taken a train into Assisi, I saw at least one taxi meeting the train. To give yourself some insurance, get the phone number of the Assisi taxi driver who takes you TO the train station, and confirm that he will be driving at the hour when you expect to return, so that you can call him for a pick-up if he isn't there. Or, ask your hotel for the name and number of a recommended taxi driver that you could call at that hour. I believe that the taxi was approx. 10 (maybe 15) euros each way in January 2018. (This all in case the bus schedule doesn't work out for you.)

By "bit of a slog" I mean in Assisi it is a longish uphill walk (50+ minutes) or you can take a bus or taxi. I think we paid about Euro 15 for a taxi.

In Spello, that slog is 2-25 minutes from station to town hall on the main piazza.

We enjoyed riding the bus with the students going from Spello to Assisi and the bus piazza in Assisi is very convenient.

according to Rome2rio it is about 8 miles and a taxi will cost $18-24 See https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Assisi/Spello

Spello is a nice town; we stayed there a few years back. At night the streets are quiet and it feels like you're back in the middle ages!

There are lots of hilltowns in the area besides Spello. We particularly liked Spoleto. A car is a real convenience in the area (just watch for the ZTL), but one year we did a trip to the region using just trains. Hilltowns can have bus service to/from the train station to the top, Perugia even has an mini metro line. You'll need to work with guidebooks and websites to figure out which offer buses. The train is a bit limiting because it's schedule becomes your schedule. If you arrive at 10am there may be a train out at noon and then 4pm, so those become your options.

When I visited Assisi in October 2017, I took the public bus, Linea C , from Piazza Matteotti to Assisi's train station (below the city) then I took the train to Spello.

BTW, the public bus "C" also stops at a Piazza Unità d'Italia; this is the closest stop to St. Francis Basilica.

I'd considered taking the bus to Spello but the woman at the TI office didn't know if the bus would be running because the city was celebrating The Feast of St. Francis.

If you end up taking the train to Spello, make sure you buy your tickets (including your return tickets) at the Assisi train station. If the ticket counter is closed, you can buy your tickets at the small shop within the station. You can also buy your bus tickets at this shop.

The train station in Spello was closed when I was there.

Here are a couple of my trip reports in case you're interested: Beautiful Assisi... And... Beautiful Spello...

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Turnong out to be a good thread, thanks to all.

Where do I purchase the bus tickets to take the "C" bus to the Assisi train station?

What is the bus schedule to the train station and back, and the travel time? Thanks

dgrieco,

Where do I purchase the bus tickets to take the "C" bus to the Assisi train station?

What is the bus schedule to the train station and back, and the travel
time? Thanks

I actually purchased extra bus tickets when I first arrived at the Assisi train station.
However, I think you can also buy bus tickets from the bus driver.

You can see the bus schedule on the link I provided on my first reply above. Here it is: Assisi bus linea C

The website is in Italian but it's not difficult to decipher if you know a bit of Italian, or with the help of Google Translate.

• Scroll down to "Linea C", the first table is for the bus going on the
  route V. Ermini to Piazza Matteotti. This is the bus one can take
  from the train station (Assisi Stazione) up to Assisi.

• The second table for "Linea C", shows you the schedule for the bus
  going from Piazza Matteotti (Assisi) to V. Ermini. This is the bus
  one can take from Assisi back down to the train station (Assisi
  Stazione)

• "Feriale" (top left of each bus schedule) means weekday- usually
  Monday thru Saturday

• If you scroll down further, you'll see the bus schedules for
  "Festivo" which means holiday or Sunday

• Check at the bottom of each schedule to see what all the initials above the timetables mean:

• SLS = Scolastica da lunedi a sabato: School from Monday to Saturday

• NSLS = Non scolastica annualle da lunedi a sabato = non school annually from Monday to Saturday

• SLV = Scolastica da lunedi a venerdi = school from Monday to Friday

• 26 = ASSISI STAZIONE FS COINCIDENZA CON BUS PER RIVOTORTO = arrival to train station coincides with bus to Rivotorto.

According to the bus schedule, the journey from Piazza Matteotti to the train station takes 14 minutes, however, this time will be affected by traffic, and thus may take longer.

If you tell us where your accommodation is located, I can help you figure out which bus stop you'll need.
You can also ask your hotel or B&B staff about this information.

Hope this helps!

edited to add...

I forgot to tell you that the bus schedules on the website given are effective from July 7 to September 10, so there will be new bus schedules after this date.
You can check new schedules after September 10 on the official website here: fsbusitalia.it

1. click on: "Umbria"
2. then on: "Orari e linee"
3. then on: "Per consultare gli orari web accessibili clicca qui"
4. then on: "Urbani", then click the appropriate city, in this case, "Assisi"

One more important fact: Many buses do not run on Sundays within Umbria.

We want to spend a week in Umbria. Should we base our time in Assisi or Perugia?

We want to spend a week in Umbria. Should we base our time in Assisi or Perugia?

We've stayed on Perugia as a base. Easy connection down to the train station via the mini metro. Car rental offices at the train station (but make your reservation in the US before you go). Free parking lots just below the hilltop, at least as of a few years back. A moderate sized town so plenty of choices for dinner at nite. It is also the terminus of a private railway (really more like a streetcar) that you can take to Todi and a few other towns. So it worked for us.

Priscilla,
Thanks for all of this information!

We are staying at: Via Giorgetti, 5, Assisi, Umbria 06081, Italy

Thanks

You're welcome!

It looks like the closest bus stop is the one at Piazza Unità d'Italia.
According to Google Maps, this piazza is about a 5 minute walk from your lodging.

So... If you're going to the train station, it's the 4th stop on the Line C bus schedule and it's listed as "P.U.ITALIA ASSISI"

When will you be in Assisi?

Thanks again for the assistance.

We will be there in early October.

Is Spello a good day trip, or possibly a better option?

We are taking the train in from Perugia. Any advise on taking the bus C up to Assisi?

Any suggestions for things to see and do...we have already seen the Bascillica and a few other churches last year.
Also some small local eateries, where the locals eat... for a good sense of the regional food.

Spello has a large number of excellent restaurants for the size of the town. We loved staying there and exploring the nearby villages and towns. There are convenient parking lots surrounding Spello including at the top where we kept our car. Umbria is much less crowded and less touristed than Tuscany.

We are taking the train in from Perugia. Any advise on taking the bus C up to Assisi?

If you’ll be arriving with luggage, you may consider taking a taxi to your hotel.
I took the bus C when I arrived to Assisi by train but I remember it was very crowded.

You can buy bus tickets in the small shop within the train station.

If you’ll be in Assisi at the beginning of October, you may partake in the festivities surrounding the Feast St. Francis.

Enjoy your trip!

Depending on your budget and amount of time available, you might benefit from choosing a taxi. It's a short 15-20 minute drive. PM me if you want the phone number of a tax driver that I used there in 2015. Great guy named Glauco. His English is quite good and he's very entertaining. And you can arrange for him to meet you at a certain place and time for the return trip.