massimop

I wanted to add that Novara could also be a fascinating day trip from Turin (with the opportunity for a risotto lunch)

http://www.visitacity.com/en/novara

If you have an intense interest in ceramic art, Faenza is an important destination within reach of Bologna.

http://www.visitacity.com/en/faenza/...-2-hours-day-1

If you have an intense interest in Fellini (and Vassari & Roman history), then Rimini is easy to reach from Bologna, although you do need to (arguably) cross the Rubicon

https://www.tripsavvy.com/rimini-travel-guide-1547819

http://en.riviera.rimini.it/situr/di...o-fellini.html

Jean

limmy, have you visited the museum adjacent to the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena?

annw

Glad you are including Ravenna for sure -- it is about an hour on a regional train from Bologna.

Not only does it have the World Heritage site mosaics around town (and one slightly out of town); it also has a very walkable old city center, a wonderful passagiata, aperitivo hours all over town (Aperol Spritz for around $5 with a cocktail buffet included) -- I recommend a table on the main piazza) and very good Emilia-Romagna cuisine in the restaurants for lunch or dinner.

I personally like Perugia very much and enjoy the spectacular views as well as the Umbrian cuisine, walkable main corso, and Etruscan and Umbrian art and antiquities. You can take a mini-metro from train station up to the ancient center.

However, if you have to choose one, I would choose Assisi -- I would spend a little time at the Santa Maria Degli Angeli church which has St Francis's original small church inside it as well as amazing art. Then catch a taxi to the upper town and the upper and lower basilicas; walk about town a bit and enjoy Umbrian cuisine from any number of trattorias.

Have a wonderful time!

goddesstogo

Many thanks, everyone. There are lots of good ideas here that I hadn't even thought of!

PalenQ

http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/chap...ket-bolts-bad/

russ_in_LA

We lived in Bologna for 2-1/2 years and I can second Mantua (Mantova), still one of our favorites. Be sure to see the Palazzo Ducale and the Palazzo del Te. The Sala dei Giganti is stunning!

I will also 3rd Ravenna, which contains some of the best mosaics we've seen anywhere.

We love Siena. It's worth giving a second chance if you go in the late afternoon and stay for dinner (after day trippers have gone) or very early in the morning (before they arrive). Or spend the night and see it at both times

Have fun!

goddesstogo

Thanks, russ. I'll put Mantua down on the list. Siena's at the outside edge of my time limit (2 hours by train) but it's going on the list anyway.

massimop

But if you have a car in Cortona, it's easy to go to Siena from there. I would no go from Bologna.

massimop

(Also, for what it's worth, I would not re-visit Siena without a very specific list of a handful of things to see or experience, to avoid a repeat of an unhappy experience of Siena. Check opening times, have an efficient itinerary, and if you are enjoying yourselves you can linger, and if not, plenty else to see nearby in the stunning le crete senese.

kybourbon

I agree with Russ about Ravenna and Siena. I've stayed in Siena multiple times and always enjoy it (ditto for Orvieto). You didn't say what you were planning with your friends in Orvieto, but perhaps head to Civita di Bagnoregio.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civita_di_Bagnoregio

I wasn't that crazy about Gubbio, but had a nice meal there. I also didn't care much for the towns around Lake Trasimeno. I would probably head south of Perugia to some of the smaller cities near Assisi - Deruta, Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco (the Sagrantino), Trevi. Some of these will probably be further than you want to drive for day trips from Cortona.

goddesstogo

Thanks, kyb. I don't know if the friends are coming with any plans but at least lunch and/or dinner will be in the schedule. I'll suggest Civita di Bagnoregio. Thanks for the idea.

I think Orvieto, Perugia and Assisi may be our day trips from Cortona, perhaps more than one stop that day since they seem to be more or less in the same direction.

PalenQ

Ambitious - Orvieto and Perugia fairly large hill towns.

goddesstogo

I'm not committed to that plan. Just thinking. We'll probably spend most of one day and evening in Orvieto with our friends so will go back to visit one of the other towns. Or both.

massimop

Nether Perugia or Assisi is worth seeing as a "sytoll around" hilltown. They are only worth the hassles of getting there or the crowds if you are really motivated to see their outstanding art sites. Doing so requires a plan., knowing where to park, when he sights are open, etc. I'm sure there are some people who have gone to these places and just strolled around and were greatly impressed, but it is so much easier to go to one of the smaller hilltowns like Spello if you don't want to wrk out a sightseeing tour of a town in advance.

Many people go to tuscany and do nothing but spontaneous stops while focusing on scenic driving, and have a fantastic time. In fact, the original popularity of "going to Tuscany" was all about going without a plan, following one's nose, and being rewarded at every turn with he surprise of a great church fresco in a tiny village, or a beauiful ancient bridge, etc. As "Tuscany" became more crowded, and making "discoveries" was harder, lots of tourists headed into neighboring Umbria, hoping to replicate that other experience. You can do that, but not if you aim your car at meg-tourist magnets like Assisi or Perugia (or Siena).

Of course these towns have been on the tourist trail for more than a century, and they are absolutely worth visiting. In particular Perugia is a unique mothership of Italian history, dating back to the Eruscans and still with its own ambitious agenda today. But it is quite a challenge to navigate the modern highway traffic jams into Perugia & still be having fun, and you almost miss the point if you don't visit the extraordinary National Museum of Umbrian art, or Perugia's 500 year old mercantile sites.

Anyway, there is a great case to be made for larking about the small towns & villages of both Tuscany & Umbria, whimsically, and a great case to be made for investigating Siena, Perugia & Assis, 3 of Italy's most formidable art cities. Just hard to do a mash-up of the two syles & have a satisfying experience of either.

goddesstogo

We often get church-and-museum fatigue and are quite happy to stroll around a sweet small town, have a meal, browse the shops, sit in a cafe. I wouldn't miss something like the mosaics in Ravenna but after a while pretty much every church begins to look like every other church. And we decided long ago that we were through with walking castle ruins. Palaces, yes, ruins, no.

Anyway, that's why I'm not committing to lots of day trips right now. I just like to know my options.

PalenQ

I really like Perugia and Siena despite being whatever Styoll places means?

PalenQ

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/tr...y.html?mcubz=0

massimop

It really sounds like Perugia and maybe even Assisi are not your cup of tea. Personally, I have an allergy to Siena, and while I find many aspects of Perugia fascinating and even thrilling, I would not go there to simply stroll around. It's a city. It's fascination is its excavated underpinnings & museum sights and churches. If I wanted to stroll I'd pick some place more relaxing and less formidable to do it, where there are cozy piazze and children playing. Like Bevagna, or Montefalco (which is steep) for its views.

Even that aside, if you want to know what your options are, I don't think combining Perugia & Assisi in a single afternoon is a realistic option. You cannot park close to the sighs of main interest, and they are larger than most other towns in the area. It looks doable on a map, but once you actually confront the size of these places, and the large numbers of people, conquering 2 in the same afternoon means getting back to Cortona quite late.

PalenQ

Personally, I have an allergy to Siena, and while I find many aspects of Perugia fascinating and even thrilling, I would not go there to simply stroll around>

Loved strolling around each - better than some small hill towns where after one stroll around I'm ready to leave.

Perugia -I really like bopping thru the prestigious university's older buildings.

massimop

goddestogo wrote "We are quite happy to stroll around a sweet small town, have a meal, browse the shops, sit in a cafe."

That is a different activity than going to a large city and "bopping" through history rich antique interiors. In fact, she wrote: "We often get church-and-museum fatigue" .

Bevagna and Montefalco are not villages or hamlets. They are each a "sweet small town" where one can have a meal, browse shops, sit in a cafe along with finding treasures of art & history