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Building Itinerary

Posted by (Darmouth, MA, USA) on

I am starting to build an off season trip to Florence, Siena, Assisi, and Bologna. I intended to use Florence as a base, but Assisi is close to a 3 hour train ride. Would an over night in Assisi be the answer? We are not keen on driving, age is becoming a factor, but perhaps, we could do a car rental from Siena to Assisi and back in a day , making Siena a 2-3 day stop. We try to avoid staying one night stops. Any suggestions? Any special knowledge I am missing?

Also, i am open to adding anything to our itinerary that might be an easy train ride. Would it make sense via train Florence to Perugia and spend 2 nights there, short train ride to Assisi?

Posted by
1026 posts

Hello Ellen,

Siena certainly stands up as a multi-day stop over in terms of atmosphere, restaurants and things to explore. I agree about single night stays and only arrange them when necessary for transportation purposes.

Other possibilities for hilltowns with slightly better access to Assisi are Arezzo - 1.5 hours direct when you catch the right train - or Cortona at 1 hour by train. Both are Tuscan hilltowns with all the usual steep climbs and ancient buildings but are smaller than Siena.

Both Cortona and Assisi have train stations that are near the base of the hilltowns and the last section up or down the hill needs to usually be filled by bus or by taxi (if available). The Arezzo train station is in the middle of the new town and a 15 or so downhill walk from the old town.

I've never been to Perugia but it does seem to offer a 50min bus that goes to the Assisi hilltown proper itself rather than the lower town train station so it is convenient for that.

Hope that helps some,
=Tod

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