Drive or bus to Perugia from Siena?

We bused from Perugia to Siena. Very easy and not expensive. Perugia is a lovely town. It is quite hilly, but luckily there is a tramway that takes you up the hill from near the bus and train stops. If you go, be sure to visit the main Pinoteca. It has many beautiful painting by Peruginia. If you do drive there, I would try to park (? stay) at the bottom if the hill.

The historic center of Perugia is truly on the top of a hill and most parking lots are not. It should be easy enough to avoid the ZTL by parking in a marked lot, most of which have escalators to take pedestrians into town. Once at the top of the escalator, you can still expect hills as you walk around. Winding streets often indicate hillside switchbacks.

For visiting info, see also Michelin and Lonely Planet's single chapter downloads.

I usually park on Piazza Partigiani. There is a multistory covered car park next to the bus station. Then you cross the street and you take the escalators all the way up inside the Rocca Paolina, where the escalators end. As you come out of the fortress, you are on Piazza Italia at the beginning of the Corso Vannucci, which is the main stroll of old Perugia.
If you go by bus, I think you would get of at the same point, at the bus station. If you already have a car, you might as well drive. But if you don’t have one in Siena already, assuming the bus schedule is good for your needs, it’s probably just as fast by bus, once you take into consideration the paperwork for the rental pick up and return.

Thanks. Will have a car already. Just wasn't sure about logistics in terms of parking because when looking at Google maps of the town it looks like a windy-street mess and it took me a while to find the train station haha.

There's another alternative that's actually fun. If you're driving as you approach Perugia, exit the superstrada (the A1 connector) at the Madonna Alta exit. Look for signs directing you to Pian di Massiano and/or Minimetrò. The parking lot is huge and free.

You'll see the metro station, you can't miss it; it's a big blocky structure with a red elevated track leading to it. The fare is €1.50, and you buy tickets from the machine. Hold onto your ticket after you feed it to the turnstiles, because you'll need it to exit. The Minimetrò cars come every minute or two; they're small cable drawn vehicles. Take the metro to the last stop, Pincetto. Exit the metro and take either the sloping elevator or the escalators. You'll exit on Via Oberdan, right in the heart of centro. Turn right to get to Piazza Matteoti, Corso Vannucci and all the attractions.

The one drawback? The metro stops running shortly after 9 pm.