perugia

I agree. We found Perugia quite difficult to get around in, and got very lost when we tried to leave. I wouldn't go back. The museum was great and a couple of other things were interesting, but it was certainly not as fascinating as many other places we went on the same trip, and there was a LOT of walking and climbing to get to the points of interest listed in our guidebook. I know a lot of people love it.

Just my opinion, but for us, Perugia is a bit of a challenge - especially for driving and parking. It is hilly but there is are escalators that can take you to the city center from the parking areas. We had a rental car and parked in one of the designated lots - we just didn't feel that it was a good base for exploring this region partly because of the driving and parking situation. Here is a link to some information about parking that indicates which lots have escalators or elevators: http://www.perugiaonline.com/parchepgus.html Perugia wasn't our favorite Italian city but hopefully others with a more positive impression will respond as well!

If you have a car you should choose a smaller town as a base, or a farm house. Perugia, like many other towns in Italy, such as Florence and Siena, does not allow cars in much of the city center, therefore they don't make an optimal base for car drivers, unless your accommodations are outside of the restricted traffic zone. If you don't have a car, then Perugia is a good base for Umbria because, as Umbria's capital, it's the public transportation hub for that region. Perugia's historical city center is perched on a hill, however there are escalators and the minimetro connecting to the bottom of the hill (if you need to go to the bottom of the hill). The escalator connects you all the way down to Piazza Partigiani, where the bus station is located, in case you want to take day trips via bus. The train station of Perugia Fontivegge (the main station) is connected to the city center by bus or minimetro. The minimetro is a sort of people mover that opened just a few years ago. I guess the transportation solution of the future. The minimetro station in the historical center is underground at the Pincetto, take the escalators down from Piazza Matteotti. This is an article about the minimetro: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/27/umbria.italy I find Perugia to be very pretty, but apparently some disagree. What can I say? "de gustibus non desputandum est".

We spent a month in Italy. By the time we got to Perugia, we realized that when the Italians say " hill town", they mean it. Once you ascend into town you are pretty much OK as far as walking goes, but thankfully we have no mobility issues. We did not have a car but used public transport to easily visit Assisi, Gubbio, and Spoleto on day trips by bus and train. The mini metro is great, and once discovered, we dumped the escalators. We liked the modest but well priced Hotel S. Ercolano just 5 minute walk to the mini metro stop. Perugia may not offer as much as other cities in Italy, but as base for visiting the area we were quite pleased. There were lots of students which gave a fun vibe to our few days there.