Perugia

I would visit Bevagna as well, a pretty village with ancient Roman and medieval heritage. You can visit the Roman amphitheatre and baths and medieval workshops where trades are carried out the ancient way. The food is great and so is the wine (Sagrantino di Montefalco). We stayed at Palazzo Brunamonti (http://www.brunamonti.com/) and liked to be in a frescoed renaissance palazzo for a few days.

We were in Perugia in 2003 and will be returning this summer for several nights. We found Perugia and Umbria offered everything Tuscany offered minus hoards of tourists. The restaurants were good, the waitstaff was friendly, and they had great gelato. We stayed at Hotel Fortuna, located just 50 meters from the two main piazzas. The hotel was great and we will be staying here again this coming May.

Nearby is Assisi, Gubbio and Deruta, all worth a visit. Assisi has the Basilica de San Francesco, which is GIGANTIC. The town is also nice to explore.

Gubbio is a medeval hill town, which is also nice to browse through. They have a unique funicular that takes you to a mountain top, but you must hop on because it doesn't stop, or it didn't in 2003. At the top you will find a cafe and a really nice view.

Lastly, Deruta is famous for Italian ceramic dinner ware, etc.

Go and have fun.

Buon viaggio.

I love Perugia! It is very centrally located in Umbria. My wife and I did several day trips (by either train or bus), but the most memorable one was to Guibbio. We loved it so much that we're going to visit it again when we stay in Le Marche this year. We went to two other small towns (Spello and Spoletto), but they were not as memorable, and one we simply did not think was worth it (can't remember which one, though).

There is a great pizza place right off one of the main piazzas which was fantastic. RS recommends it, and there's usually a long queue already there by the time they open, but the food is really good (and cheap!).

Assisi is a 20 min train ride away. Florence is 2 hours. The train station is conveniently located at the bottom of town, the Mini-Metro is a quick ride down and up to the old center.

Not a bunch of stuff to see in Perugia itself, other than chocolate! It will be a wonderful place to base yourself though...quiet at night for sure.

Not sure about getting there by train, but Urbino isn't too far, either; and it's a wonderful small city.

About the funivia that goes to Mont'Ubaldo in Gubbio, there is someone at each end to help you on and off.

You would have to take a bus from Perugia to Urbino. See rome2rio.com. It's an hour and a half of winding roads. Don't do it if you get motion sickness.

The Touring Club of Italy puts out an excellent guidebook to Umbria with loads of daytrips from Perugia. I highly recommend it. (Don't get their "Heritage Guide"; get the one called "Authentic Umbria."

We enjoyed our stay in Perugia. We took daytrips to Assisi, Spoleto, and Gubbio. The folks in the TI office were very helpful and suggested towns and their optimal transportation connection..train or bus..from Perugia. The mini metro is terrific, especially to get down to the train and bus stations. Perugia put the "hill" in Italian hill town. Perugia itself is nice, no killer-diller sights IMO, but made for a nice place to return to and wander for several days while touring the area. The University attracts many students. We spent a lot of time kibitzing with Italian and American students about their experiences. Retired teachers here, so it was fun. Safe travels!