My wife and I (ages 76 and 72) want to spend several days seeing the hill towns around Perugia/Cortona/Gubbio/Assisi, etc. We will have been in Bologna and would like to use one of the towns as a base and day trip by train or bus to see the others.

Which town would you suggest using as a base considering bus/train possibilities to the others?

Perugia. Great town, lots of connections. You're going to love Umbria.

Thanks, that is what my research indicates.

If you don't want to rent a car, you might find this trip report helpful.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...in-and-bus.cfm

The link on that thread for the FCU train line is no longer valid. You can find that info here.

http://www.umbriamobilita.it/it/orar...io-ferroviario

If using public transportation Perugia is probably the best base for the northern portion of Umbria, and Foligno for the southern portion. Since you want to see the northern portion, then Perugia looks to be the best bet.

Thanks.