Too Short in Assisi?
 

Continental airlines has decided to no longer fly into and out of Rome from EWR on Wednesdays for some unknown reason. Imagine my shock when I discovered that they changed my travel dates without notice. I was on their site making other reservations and went into my saved reservation for the heck of it. There was a notice that there were changes to our itinerary marked in red ( no big deal the first flight was leaving 30 minutes later). BUT, what wasn't in red was they changed the DAYS we were leaving for and coming back from Rome! Good thing we reviewed the itinerary carefully.

At the end of our trip, we were going to be in Assisi for 3 nights and the last 2 nights in Rome. We'll be arriving in Assisi by bus from Siena around 4PM (Friday) so we'll have some time to explore before sites close for the evening . On Saturday I've planned visiting Perugia for the Chocolate festival. Sunday was to be spent further exploring Assisi then off to Rome on Monday.

So because of the date changes we're now leaving Italy a day earlier than originally planned. I'm now considering leaving for Rome on Sunday so we'll still get 2 nights in Rome, but I don't want to shortchange Assisi. We were in Rome last year, but there are still places to go/meals to be eaten, etc that I'd like to do.

IYO, will we have enough time to explore Assisi to at least get a feel for it? Are a lot of sites closed on Sunday?

I think you can see Assisi in one day.

With the merger with United flights in Continental are in turmoil. They keep changing planes and in the process erasing asigned seats. You're smart to continue checking your reservations.

I have been to Assisi only as a day trip for a few hours and was able to get a feel for the town plus visit the beautiful Basilica di San Francesco. I think with two evenings there , specially if you don't get back from Perugia late, you should be fine. Be aware the Basilica closes by 7 PM. Are you going during the summer? How early are you leaving for Rome on Sunday? Unless you have visited Rome many times I wouldn't recommend to stay one less night in Rome.

One day is just fine for Assisi.

I spent two (2) days in Assisi and those were nowhere near enough days. The difference is that I actually researched Assisi and the neighboring village (town next to the train station) and confirmed that there are quite a number of really phenomenal places to visit. Most people are clueless of the amazing, easy hike they can do from the area of Templo di Minerva up to Villa della Rocca, a 14th Century medieval fortress built for defensive purposes. The views from the Rocca Maggiore are SPECTACULAR, on a clear day it is possible to see as far as Perugia. Apart from the views, the fortress acts as a museum with medieval towers and ramparts, various military artefacts and a series of recently restored rooms. That's just in case you do not want to visit the dozens of St. Francis-related sights......A day in Assisi barely scratches the surface....

the only things of interest outside the compact but hilly town center is the place where Saint Francis talked to the birds and a major church way down below by the train station. Othwerise Assisi is an ABC town - Another Bloody Church at every corner.

There is never enough time in Italy! We were in Rome for a month last year & I still missed sites I really wanted to see.

My list for Assisi include Bascilica de San Francesco (my favorite saint), Bascilica de Santa Chiara, Temple of Minerva, Roman Forum, Church of San Stefano, San Rufino and Rocca Maggiore.

We'll be there in October and it looks like most things are open until 6 or 7. We'll be back from Perugia around 3 (we are traveling by train and bus so I spend a lot of time researching schedules). Speaking of trains/buses - we'll be taking the Sena bus from Siena to Assisi. The site shows it arrives at Piazza Garibaldi in SMDA. I assumed this was the train station & we'd catch Bus C to Piazza Matteotti. On googlemaps and via michelin there's quite a distance between Garibaldi & the train station. Ut oh. Any tips or perspective?


Hmmmm. My husband tells me to stop being so anal & make the decision to stay or move on once we're there and have a better feel for our time constraints.