Small towns close to ASSISI

Roger: will this be your first time in Assisi? My husband and I were there this past June and it was spectacular. I am so envious . . . one whole week in Assisi . . . what a wonderful treat!

Deruta is close by. The big touristy pottery shops are along the main road below the town. The town itself is less touristy and filled with small artisan shops. I enjoyed my one-hour walk around town. If you enjoy pottery, you might want more time to window shop or buy.

Perugia is a hilltown I've always enjoyed visiting.

Since you have a week, I'd encourage you to venture farther afoot than 30km. There are lots of great places to visit!

Try Bevagna. Great town with at least three really good restaurants. Don't have the names handy but believe one was Podesta. Superb !! It is also a flat hill town, if that makes any sense.

We were in Assisi in 2004 but just for one day. On that trip we headquarted for the week at Celle sul Rigo and drove through a lot of Tuscany. This time wanted to spend more time walking and using public transport in the Assisi area.

Spello is about 10 kilometers from Assisi....wonderful Etruscan artifacts and museum along with a great Michelin one star restaurant (and hotel) http://www.labastiglia.com/eng/home.html and my favorite, a museum dedicated to a local artist,
Norberto: http://www.museonorberto.com/

We stayed at La Bastiglia for our home base and explored Umbria from here...lots of surrounding hill towns.

Our favorite town near Assisi is Gubbio. The drive between the two is spectacular and especially if you go on a clear day be sure and take the lift up the hill. There are also interesting Roman ruins at the edge of town with a small museum nearby with some beautiful mosaics. Spoleto was also an interesting town with a medieval bridge. As others have mentioned, we also enjoyed Spello and Bevagna.

Try Trevi - a hilltown a short train ride from Assisi.