Hello everyone, My husband and I are staying in Perugia for a week but would like to perhaps visit different towns nearby, within an hour of public transport. What towns would you suggest for wandering, history, and beauty? We know Assisi is nearby, and Spello, so are thinking of those two if its worthwhile. Orvieto is too far away. Gubbio is tempting but I think its a long long 70 stops bus ride. The Lago Trasimeno, not sure where to train to on the lake, can anyone make a suggestion?
Thanks for your help and knowledge of this Umbrian area. We really appreciate it!
Darla
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
8260 posts
We had a car, but if train or bus transport worked for you, both Spoleto and Bevagna were highlights when we stayed in Umbria.
Posted by
North Carolina
2512 posts
If you’re interested in pottery, you might want to visit Deruta - it’s a 15 minute bus ride.
Posted by
London
305 posts
We visited this area last summer and had a wonderful time (tho we had a car). To visit Lago Trasimeno, I recommend getting the train to Passignano sul Trasimeno. From there you can get a ferry to Isola Maggiore. We had an amazing lunch there at L'Oso, outdoors and right on the lake- one of my favourite memories from that trip.
I also highly recommend Assisi, but be prepared for a lot of climbing. One of the highlights, the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli, is at the bottom of the town, far from the Basilica di San Francesco which is at the top.
Posted by
CA, USA
1303 posts
Gubbio is tempting but I think its a long long 70 stops bus ride.
Perugia is a regional transit hub and has longer-haul bus lines to towns in the area. The name for buses on longer routes in italian is "pullman", You can try your luck as researching online. The winter schedule shows buses from Perugia getting to Gubio in a little over an hour. See https://www.fsbusitalia.it/content/dam/fsbusitalia/documenti/umbria/orari/invernali_2024-2025/012-Extra_Perugia_Ann_Bacino1.PDF You'll want to confirm bus times because they're largely scheduled around taking people to/from work and school.
We found the staff at the Perugia TI to be very helpful, but that won't help you much now before your trip.
Posted by
Arizona
132 posts
We loved Gubbio. The bus ride had lovely scenery. It does take a little more than an hour to get there. We did spend the night in Gubbio. Maybe you could spend the night and break up your Perugia stay,
Posted by
OP
Oregon
18 posts
My goodness thank you everyone for your help and suggestions! This is marvelous. We have a restaurant to go to on the lake island and the town to train to before the ferry, thank you!!!! Perhaps Gubbio but can't stay overnight this time, but understanding now how its the regional hub, I understand now why the bus station is so large. We came in on it from Lucca a few days ago, but that was a Flixbus. Thank you for the link to figure this one out this morning. And definitely Assisi is on the short list for this week too. We won't miss the church at the bottom now. Thank you again so much. As to Bevagno, its not possible via public transport.