We'll be in Rome Dec. 25-Jan. 5 and would like to spend 2-4 days during that period seeing Siena and Assisi. Any suggestions on the easiest way to go – train, bus, car rental? Thanks!
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1883 posts
Simplest, least expensive way is train, then bus. You will need to use both to visit these towns. In Assisi, the train station is just in the valley below. The bus is 1Euro if bought in advance, .50E more if you buy from the driver. The bus will drop you off at one of the gates to the city, and you pick it up there as well. I believe the gate is Porta Nuova. Same in Siena, the train station is a ways from the city center. Train it, then maybe a taxi here. Renting a car is fine, but it will certainly cost you a lot more than taking the train and bus. Renting a car, you now have to buy gas, figure out the roads, and find parking. Seems like a hassle to me for just these 2 locations.
Posted by
OP
Boston
2 posts
Many thanks!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15172 posts
....However 4 days is a hell of a lot of time for just Assisi and Siena. With a car in 4 days you can hit several towns: In Umbria: Todi, Orvieto, Spoleto, Perugia, Assisi, Gubbio.
In Toscana: Cortona, Siena, Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Volterra, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, Chianti road, and more. I'm not saying you should do all of the above, you might like Assisi so much that you want to spend the entire time there. But in a day you can see everything in Siena. You need even less time in Assisi. With a rental car you have more flexibility and it's faster. Trains and Buses aren't as frequent to small towns. It's up to you. How much you want to spend and how comfortable you are driving in Italy. But you live in Boston, so it won't be much worse. And the hard part in Italy is driving in the big cities, not the smaller towns.