I have travelled to Assisi twice and have loved the wonderful ambience that it offers within the hilltop medieval town. The first visit was in 2003 with my family and we based ourselves in Assisi for 4 weeks. This allowed us to explore not only Assisi but the regions surrounding it. The train travel from Rome Termini is very easy and takes about 2 hours changing only once at Foligno where you change lines for your trip to Assisi. Once you arrive at the train station Assisi/S.Maria degli Angeli, the local buses take you to the top of the village where you can walk down the cobble stone paths to the main square.
Having stayed in the town for 4 weeks this allowed us to explore without having to rush each day, we were able to visit areas nearby like Perugia, Spello, Spoleto and Lake Trasimeno all by train. There were many wonderful food, wine and cheese shops to buy our produce from as well as markets each week. Shops selling ceramics, leather, clothing and religious souvenirs were plentiful. Both times my visits coincided with the yearly Calendimaggio Festival held each year in May. This is a wonderful festival covering days of activities with beautiful medieval costumes, decorated homes and shops, music and food to celebrate this exciting festival. It can also be a very busy time in the town of Assisi with streets closed off and a little difficult to move around, but if you love the idea of seeing history played out in front of you and the colouful richness that goes with this tradition join in for a few days.
Some other great adventures to do whilst staying in Assisi would be a visit to the The Basilica of St. Francis, the ancient castle of La Rocca Maggiore taking you through long dark passage ways peeking out through the arches until you reach the top with wonderful views over Assisi and Umbria. One of my favourites is the little church ( the Porziuncola chapel) inside Santa Maria della Angeli just at the base of Assisi near the train station, this is fascinating to see and such a peaceful, serene moment to sit inside the chapel used by St. Francis as the base of his Franciscan order. On my second visit I stayed at the Hotel Umbra which was near the main square, very central to everything and yet very quiet with a wonderful courtyard to enjoy a glass of wine. This was a lovely Hotel and I would recommend a stay there.
I hope you enjoy your visit to Assisi.............
http://www.assisionline.com/assisi
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