Assisi & Umbria in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Assisi & Umbria covers 13 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Assisi & Umbria rewards a detour.

The Assisi & Umbria route at a glance

• Day 1
• Day 2

Day 1

Day 1 covers 7 stops and about 1.9 km on foot, from Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Porziuncola to Piazza del Comune and the Temple of Minerva. 2 longer hops are best done by public transport or taxi. ≈ 1.9 km of walking, about 25 min

Morning

1. Santa Maria degli Angeli and the Porziuncola: The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in the plain below Assisi, a huge church built from 1569 around the Porziuncola, the tiny chapel at the heart of the Franciscan order. 17 km to the next stop: take transport
2. National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia: The National Gallery of Umbria in the Palazzo dei Priori of Perugia, a great collection of Umbrian and Italian painting from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century, with Perugino, Piero della Francesca and Fra Angelico. 80 m on foot (1 min) to the next stop
3. Perugia: Fontana Maggiore and Palazzo dei Priori: The heart of Perugia, the capital of Umbria, where the carved marble Fontana Maggiore of the 1270s stands between the cathedral and the great Gothic town hall, the Palazzo dei Priori. 18 km to the next stop: take transport
4. Lower Church and Tomb of St Francis: The Lower Church of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, a low, painted church finished by 1230, with frescoes by Cimabue, Lorenzetti and Simone Martini, and the tomb of the saint in the crypt below. 10 m on foot (1 min) to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Basilica of St Francis, Upper Church: The Upper Church of the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi, a Gothic hall of light completed in 1253, with twenty-eight frescoes of the life of the saint traditionally attributed to Giotto. 1.3 km on foot (15 min) to the next stop
2. Rocca Maggiore: The Rocca Maggiore, the castle on the hill above Assisi, a fortress of pink stone first recorded in the twelfth century and rebuilt in the fourteenth, with wide views over the Umbrian plain. 0.6 km on foot (7 min) to the next stop
3. Piazza del Comune and the Temple of Minerva: Piazza del Comune, the main square of Assisi on the site of the Roman forum, with the columned front of the Roman Temple of Minerva, a medieval tower and the town hall.

Day 2

Day 2 covers 6 stops and about 1.3 km on foot, from Cathedral of San Rufino to Spoleto: Cathedral and Ponte delle Torri. 3 longer hops are best done by public transport or taxi. ≈ 1.3 km of walking, about 15 min

Morning

1. Cathedral of San Rufino: The cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi, with a Romanesque front of three rose windows begun in 1140, and the font where, by tradition, both Saint Francis and Saint Clare were baptised. 0.2 km on foot (3 min) to the next stop
2. Basilica of St Clare: The Basilica of St Clare in Assisi, a Gothic church of pink and white stone built from 1257, with the tomb of Saint Clare and the crucifix that, by tradition, spoke to Francis. 1 km on foot (12 min) to the next stop
3. San Damiano: San Damiano, the small church among olive trees below Assisi where, by tradition, the crucifix spoke to St Francis, and where St Clare lived with her sisters for more than forty years. 2.8 km to the next stop: take transport

Afternoon

1. Eremo delle Carceri: The Eremo delle Carceri, a hermitage in a wooded gorge on Monte Subasio about four kilometres above Assisi, where St Francis and his first companions withdrew to pray in caves. 8 km to the next stop: take transport
2. Spello: Spello, a small walled hill town of pale pink stone a few kilometres south of Assisi, with Roman gates, lanes full of flowers, frescoes by Pinturicchio and its famous carpets of petals at Corpus Domini. 29 km to the next stop: take transport
3. Spoleto: Cathedral and Ponte delle Torri: Spoleto in southern Umbria, with a Romanesque cathedral of 1198 decorated with a golden mosaic and frescoes by Filippo Lippi, and the Ponte delle Torri, a tall medieval bridge across a wooded gorge.

Walking distances and times follow streets and footpaths (routing by openrouteservice.org, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors). Times are walking only, at an easy pace; add time at each stop.

Updated: October 26, 2026

Full Assisi & Umbria guide and all stops →