Before Cervinia: Pre-trip to
Assisi, Italy:
In the heart of the Umbria region
March 3-8 four nights, four days, flight from Milan to Rome, charter bus Rome to Assisi, hotel $689 double occupancy, $179 single occupancy upgrade*
*If you would like us to find you a same-sex room mate to avoid this added cost, just let us know. We cannot guarantee it, but we almost always are able to match people up.
Assisi, an Umbrian hilltop village, at sunset. This hilltop village sparkles as does the region it is in. We will spend four days exploring this fascinating cousin of Tuscany.
Domes, winding streets and alleyways, cathedrals, fortresses… Assisi has all these elements and much more.
Umbria is full of hilltop villages. This is the walled town of Spoleto. We spent a full day there and could not see it all.
The region of Umbria is directly west of its more famous cousin, Tuscany. It has the same beautiful rolling hill terrain of Tuscany but is even more dramatic. It is also populated by a lot less visitors. It is Tuscany without the tourists. We are staying in the heart of Umbria in its most famous city: Assisi, named after St. Frances, the kind of hippie dippie animal-loving monk who would be credited with a kind of “back to nature” movement. Assisi is a magnificent hilltop town that, like all the other Umbrian hilltop towns, is stunning. Skiman and Deb went for a visit last March after our ski tours were over to check out the Umbrian scene and we fell in love with the place. Deb’s impressions of our stay are recorded below. The must-see item in Assisi is the cathedral. It is one of the most famous and beautiful in all of Europe. The frescoes, paintings, and statues inside are stunning. Skiman happens to love the medieval artist, Giotto, and his best paintings adorn much of the facades of this cathedral. You will spend a day and a half easily just walking around Assisi. It is a wonderful place full of history and beauty.
What a fun place to get lost in! Just take a day to walk the back streets and you will discover all kinds of cool things!
We are also going to offer two optional day tours that are must-dos. Deb and I visited a nearby ancient hilltop town of Spileto and it blew us away. Amazing architecture, a 6th century church built over the graves of 20,000 early Christians killed in the Roman Amphitheater that stood near by, a large ancient aqueduct… so worth a day! Another day will be spent visiting another hilltop wonder, the town of Spello. We did not get there on our visit because we ran out of time, but we sure wanted to. So, we will discover it together with you all! We will also visit an amazing winery. It is called “The Turtle” and it was designed by a famous Italian architect. It is unlike anything you have ever seen. We will go there for a tour and wine tasting. Why not?!
This tour will give you a wonderful taste of a region of Italy off the tourist grid. You will experience true rural Italy at its best. We are confident you will enjoy it!
At the end of this 4 day/night journey, we will charter a bus to take us up to Cervinia at the base of the Matterhorn for the ski week. The cost of this move is NOT included in the package price. We will calculate the cost per person once we know the exact number of participants and it will be added to the tour cost. It will probably be around $90 per person, but that is just a guesstimate. Final amount t.b.a. at time of final payment.
Umbria is Italy pretty much unchanged. It is a journey back in time. It is a journey to the heart of essential Italy. We look forward to shaing this special place with you.
One of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe is here in Assisi.
Deb’s Take on Assisi and Umbria:
” I could not have anticipated how overwhelmingly delightful it was”.
Assisi…..I only knew of this town because of the story of St Francis. Even in that I did not know the story well. Yet I was excited to see and learn more about this hilltop village in the province of Perugia in the Umbria region. Dan and I were told it was much like the Tuscany but much less traveled. I could not have anticipated how overwhelmingly delightful it was. The small avenues winding through the ancient buildings, the church spires rising high above the roof tops, and the genuine friendliness of the locals encouraged us to just set out and discover. We had a guidebook to give us a smart perspective on what to see and do. But we also allowed ourselves to just get lost a time or two. Those times were rewarded with finding a hidden gem of a café, and a little known path that led to the highest point of Assisi and an ancient fortress. I am sure others knew about it too but it was fun to venture on our own without a map. Assisi is small enough that one can never really get lost but large enough to keep one discovering for days. We loved the evenings watching the sun set over the valley and hills beyond. Those were times to reflect and appreciate. Assisi captured my heart. I cannot wait to return.
We will do an optional day tour to another nearby Umbrian hilltop town of Spoleto. Outside of this village is an anceint aqueduct that still stands and still amazes.
Cost and logistics page for all European segments
Photo Gallery of our visit to Assisi