My family and I (all adults) will be traveling from Pienza (2 night stay) and staying in Perugia for several nights. I'm looking for suggestions on what to see in the town of Perugia as well as nearby. We'll have a rental car for this segment of our trip so side trips by car are doable.
Also, does anyone know if overnight parking at the main Perugia station (Stazione di Perugia Fontivegge) is available and what the cost is?
Thanks in advance!
We popped into Perugia on our drive through the area to enjoy a cappuccino ! It is a college town and we enjoyed our stroll through the old town.
Explore the lovely villages around there:
Spoleto
Spello
Deruta
Assissi
There is a wonderful fine arts museum with many paintings by Perugina.
Thank you Becky and Carla! Any recommendations on restaurants in Perugia and in nearby towns that you really enjoyed?
I'm pretty sure you can combine Spello, Montefalco, and Bevagna into one day trip. They're are small, scenic hill towns, and very close to each other.
Gubbio is a lovely town with interesting sites and history. If you go, do not miss taking the funicular "cages" up to the Basilica of Saint Ubaldo. Spectacular views and interesting exhibits upstairs in the shop.
Restaurants worth going to in Perugia: Osteria A Priori, Pizzeria Mediterranea, L'Officina, Dal Mi' Cocco. If it's NOT Tuesday, stop in at Il Panaro on the way to Gubbio from Perugia for incredible torta al testo. Just walk around the old city of Perugia, it's very pedestrian-friendly. Walk up Corso Garibaldi to the Tempietto di Sant'Angelo, our neighborhood church. It was built in the 5th or 6th century on the site of a Roman temple using columns from that temple. It's got an aura, and the grounds are peaceful. Go down the little staircase to the right as you leave it and stop in at the shop Il Tempio. You can buy stuff--a terrific wine selection--or you can have a snack.
We stayed several nights in Perugia a few years ago. We asked the TI office for suggested day trips, and they suggested Gubbio, Spoleto, and Assisi. We did all 3 and enjoyed them all. Each offered a different glimpse of Italy and its long history. We didn't have a car so also relied on the TI advice for best transport...bus or train...to each destination. Perugia is one of the few places where we didn't run amuck from dawn to dusk searching out museums and cathedrals (our usual a modus operandi) but pretty much just wandered each evening having a great time. There is a large student population which added to a fun vibe.. (Disclosure: retired teachers). We spent hours chatting with homesick American students one evening at dinner, watched graduation events (none as rowdy as in Padua, though) and just meandering. The mini metro was great for moving from town to stations below for bus or train. We just missed a giant chocolate festival in Perugia. Have a safe trip.
Thank you everyone for the input and suggestions. I appreciate it very much.
A couple of nice museums in Perugia, don't skip the Duomo complex.
Montefalco has a couple of very good restaurants on the main piazza, I would make that a lunch stop.
FWIW, I now recall our hotel was the Sant Hercolano Perugia which we found comfortable, friendly and well priced. A rather modest but nice little hotel. No idea if they offer parking facility, but it was very close to the convenient mini metro that swooshed us down to the bus and train stations for our daily sojourns.
