Verona or Assisi

Though both are smaller cities, I think they're quite different. Assisi is a religious pilgramage site and so a lot of what there is to see revolves around St. Francis and is heavily touristed. It's a beautiful hilltown.

Verona is on a river, not particularly oriented to chuches and is more of a lived-in city, though it certainly attracts tourists. I think it has more markets and neighborhood cafes, etc. of interest.

Neither is particularly known for remarkable architecture.

I liked them both. Verona is a city and I think has much more to do over two days than Assisi, which is a smaller hilltown. Guess it depends on what you are into. You should check out the general info on both and go for the one that seems to appeal to you the most. You won't make a bad choice.

I loved Verona, haven't been to Assisi. Google "Verona Card" to see what's there. If you go, do buy the Card, which includes bus travel around the city.

Verona is very Roman and after spending time in Rome, Assisi would offer a bit of diversity. Assisi is a beautiful Umbrian hill town.

I loved Verona. It had a great medieval town center and great Roman ruins including one of the largest Roman ampitheaters in the world (still used for concerts and operas). We skipped the Romeo and Juliet stuff, since it's fiction, and focused more on other sites.

I haven't been to Assisi and really want to catch it on one of my future trips.

Brad, I enjoyed the Juliet house. No, I don't think Juliet really lived there, if, indeed she lived at all. It was interesting to see the inside of a medieval home, since I was walking right past it and had the Verona Card.

On the other hand, I would not recommend going to see the Roman Theatre if one has seen any other Roman ruins. I missed the Arena - they closed early to set up for a pop concert that evening. Next time...

Haven't been to Verona, but Assisi really is beautiful. Do the Rick Steves Walking Tour for several treats that you might miss otherwise. And you HAVE to ride the shuttle bus that loops in and out of town. It's like a roller coaster and was one of the highlights of our time there! (BTW, taxis in Assisi cost an arm and a leg.)

We just returned from Italy 2 weeks ago and we stayed in both Assisi and Verona. Like others have indicated these towns are very different.

Assisi is definitely the smaller of the 2. We really liked the medieval character it has and that we were able to walk everywhere. Assisi does have very strong religious roots/ties but there is definitely a full days worth of other sights to see - plus just wandering around there was fun.

Verona is considerably larger then Assisi so of course there is much more to see and do there. We also walked around Verona but it is definitely more spread out. Like someone has already mentioned, there is a Roman amphitheater to explore in Verona, which incredibly is still being used today for concerts, so if you could attend an event there would be wonderful.

Whichever town you visit will depend on the amount of time you have as well as your interests. We spent 5 weeks in Italy, and Assisi definitely rated higher on our favorites list, but it is much quieter with less to see and do. With a more limited amount of time in Italy I would recommend you go to Verona. There is so much character and uniqueness to all of the towns in Italy that where ever you go I am sure you will enjoy it.

Have fun planning.

Thank you for your replies. My question is then, we will have a car while we are in Florence and Siena for a week. Is it possible then to do a day trip to Assisi while in Florence and is Umbria much different than Tuscany?

If you have a car in Florence then be careful of the restricted zones! Do a search here and you will see that lots of people have had expensive tickets show up a few months after they returned home for driving in restricted zones in Florence.

You could drive from Florence to Assisi for a day trip, but its a lot of driving. Figure 2.5 hrs each way.

My suggestion would be to base yourself in Assisi for a few nites and use the time to explore some surrounding hill-towns or the Chianti area since you'll have a car. One or two towns per day is a relaxed pace so you have time to explore, browse in shops, linger over lunch, etc.

Lastly to answer your question, although I'm sure the native Italians draw a distinction between Umbria and Tuscany it wasn't very apparent to this American tourist.

There is a "Travel with Rick Steves" audio program titled "Tuscany & Umbria" from 6/4/06 that can be downloaded for free. Rick interviews a woman who grew up in Umbria but lives in Tuscany (or was it the other way round?).

I think Siena also has restricted traffic zones.

I would go to Verona, or somewhere on Lake Garda like Sirmione. You will get a taste of hill towns in Siena, so Assis (though beautiful) may be a repeat. Sirmione is a little town in southern lake garda. It would be a nice place to relax and enjoy Italy. I think you can catch ferries from the town to other parts of the lake, and there is a train stationso you can get there from Venice with little problems. Or you could go to Bassano del Grapa. It is near Venice at the base of the Alps.

There is ferry service from Sirmione to the other towns on Lake Garda, but Sirmione does not have a train station. It would be another good option.

Umbria is much greener and less developed than Tuscany, but to most tourists, you won’t discern that much difference between the two.

We enjoyed both Assisi(2x) and Verona.

As another poster stated--Assisi is a pilgrimmage site and there is, I think, quite abit to see if you go to the different churches in the town. We spent a week in 2007 at an agriturismo about 2 miles outside of Assisi and did daytrips around the Umbrian countryside. Very beautiful!

Sirmoine is also very beautiful as are many of the little villages on Lake Garda. We spent a week at an agriturismo near Lake Garda in 2007 and enjoyed this area immensely.

You can't go wrong with Verona or Assisi. I think you will enjoy either of them!