Heart of Umbria: explore the mystic towns of Orvieto and Assisi

based on 226 reviews

Duration:11 hours (approx.)
Location: Florence, Tuscany

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Let’s head to the heart of Umbria and explore the medieval town of Orvieto and the city of Assisi, which lies at the foot of Mount Subasio.
A daily excursion to the gems of the Umbria region: a deep dive into art, nature, and historic towns.
Let’s roam around in Orvieto’s streets and fall for its glorious past: take your time to admire the Duomo or to visit its landmarks.
Enjoy the chill atmosphere in Assisi while your local guide will tell you everything about the city of the Saints.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

WHAT TO EXPECT

1.
This tour is perfect for those of you looking for a unique, meaningful, and truly unforgettable day! Meet your friendly and history-loving tour guide at Piazzale Montelungo Bus Terminal. Piazzale Montelungo is located 5-10 minutes walking distance from Santa Maria Novella train station. Find your seat on the comfortable coach bus, and you will depart shortly! During your journey south towards Assisi, your guide will share some interesting information about this gorgeous, hilltop town. The drive will take about 1.5 hours.
2.
Next, you will cross the regional border into Umbria, heading to the mesmerizing town of Assisi. Filled with white buildings and incredible churches, the town also naturally overlooks the green, beautiful valley below. Assisi is known as one of the most sacred places in Italy, as it is the home of Saint Francis and Saint Clare. Before learning more and discovering the city, you will have an hour of free time to indulge in a delicious lunch wherever you would prefer. Assisi is known for its fragrant truffle pastas, hearty vegetable soups, herbed meats, and nut and dried fruit crostini desserts.
3.
Next, meet your professional walking guide of the city. As you explore the natural beauty and medieval alleyways, your guide will share fascinating information about Assisi. Take a step back in time, as you explore the ancient architecture and walk down the same cobblestone streets in which Saint Francis walked generations ago. The tour will begin at Basilica di Santa Chiara, then head through the main square of the city to the ancient Roman Temple of Minerva, then to the birthplace of Saint Francis, and finally to Basilica di San Francesco di Assisi. Your guide will bring you inside both of the churches, so you can discover the innate beauty, timeless art, and extreme sacredness throughout the city and its churches.
4.
Your walking tour will begin at Basilica di Santa Chiara, dedicated to Saint Clare. Outside of the Basilica, your guide will point out the interestingly colored materials - the church is decorated in white and pink striped marble from a mountain near Assisi. You will also notice the belltower, which is the tallest in Assisi. When you walk inside the church, you may discover there is an unexpected emptiness - the church has only one aisle. Your guide will explain that although it once was decorated by intricate frescoes, these were all lost through time. Beneath the church, you can find the tomb of Saint Clare. For a woman who helped and influenced so many, this Basilica is a beautiful memorial. Entry is included.
5.
Your guide will next lead you to Basilica di San Francesco, not only one of the most important religious sites in the city, but also in the entire country of Italy. Your guide will explain that it is the oldest Gothic church throughout the country, built above the tomb of Saint Francis. The church technically consists of two parts - a lower church and upper church. In the lower half, you will find the incredibly sacred tomb of San Francesco, as well as important frescoes by Cimabue and Simone Martini. The upper part of the church allows a heavenly light to glow upon ancient frescoes painted by Giotto. These colorful 28 frescoes depict the life of the Saint, forever representing a vivid celebration of life. It is said that the Basilica di San Francesco di Assisi has the best collection of art of any church in Italy. After exploring the inside of Basilica di San Francesco, your guide will lead you to exit onto a green lawn overlooking the skyline of Assisi. Entry is included.
6.
After discovering the most of Assisi, you will head about ten minutes away to the nearby Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. It is located about two and a half miles (four kilometers) from the city center. Your guide will lead you into Santa Maria degli Angeli, but it is actually more famous for another much smaller building inside - “Porziuncola.” This very small, stone chapel once housed Saint Francis and his followers, and it is where he started the Franciscan order. Now, you will see the Porziuncola has been decorated in Gothic style frescoes, glorifying the small building. Enjoy some time to appreciate the beauty and importance of “Porziuncola.”
7.
Let's continue this incredible journey to discover the beauties of Umbria region! The first stop of our adventure will be the city of Orvieto. Although it is not well known abroad, this town perched on a tuff cliff and that perfectly combines history, art and natural beauties, is one of the most fascinating Italian villages.
8.
Marvel at the grandeur of the gothic architecture of the Duomo, whose facade is enriched by precious mosaics and sculptures that will take you to another world. Don’t miss the chance to visit also the inside of the church, with its colorful stained-glass windows and one the most famous frescoes of Luca Signorelli (please, note that the entrance ticket to the Duomo is not included in the price of the tour).
9.
Another major attraction of Orvieto is Saint Patrick’s well: a true engineering masterpiece designed to provide a reliable water supply during sieges.
10.
After a day of fascinating sightseeing, beautiful landscapes, and plenty of photos… It will be time to return to Florence. Hop back onto the comfortable coach bus, and the drive will take about 1.5 hours. You will arrive back in the early evening.

ADDITIONAL INFO

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Posted By : Margaret_B
Moving experience at the Tomb of St a Francis - would recommend more time but a wonderful memorable visit. Marguerite was a very good and informative guide, thank you.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-07-05 16:02:59

Posted By : Rose_S
Orvieto was MAGNIFICENT! I could have easily stayed there 1 to 2 more hours. That part of the trip was much too short. We had a guided tour of a church there and then 2-3 more churches in Assisi. I recommend scaling back of the number of churches and allowing more free time in these beautiful towns. Also, the guide didn't factor in bathroom bresks, which I found to be a problem.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-18 13:59:23

Posted By : Clara_A
Sebastian our guide was excellent managing two groups of people who spoke English and Spanish, he was very knowledgeable and did a great job keeping the group engage. We also had a guide in Assisi who was very good. In general the tour was excellent!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-13 16:10:29

Posted By : LeeAnn_C
We enjoyed getting to see these towns. To be fair, we really were looking to just see Assisi. Orvieto was lovely but we would have preferred to skip this and have more time in Assisi. We also went to one church at the very end that we all thought could have been skipped.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-06-03 01:43:25

Posted By : Joan_G
The bus pickup in the morning went well, and we left on time even though we had a smaller group and they switched us to a smaller bus at the last minute. Our tour director was curt and directive, and her commentary in English en route wasn’t very engaging; it seemed like she’d done it too many times and it had become mechanical, though she seemed more comfortable and was a little more animated in Spanish. Orvieto was a nice town but we couldn’t get into the cathedral because a funeral was being held. That left us wondering what else we could do besides walk the town and shop. Assisi was the highlight, especially the upper and lower basilicas. Our local tour guide was sweet but conventional in that she told us a lot of names and dates but didn’t draw us into medieval time and place. St Francis and St Clare offer many good stories and details which could be used to give a better framework to the tour. We were about 5 hours on the bus and made three stops, so there wasn’t a lot of time at each stop. I heard several people say they would have preferred to go only to Assisi. All in all, I found it to be too much travelling and not enough time in Assisi. The bus driver was very good though. And I should add that our tour director became better humoured as the day went on so I guess she just had a rough start to her day, as we all do sometimes.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-21 16:59:46

Posted By : Tim_H
The best part of this trip is that you get transportation from Florence to Assisi and Orvieto in one day and back at a reasonable time (before 8PM).

Our "guide" was just there to tell us where to meet. We had a separate guide for the cathedrals at Assisi, who provided some basic background.

Not a terrible experience, but I've had much better tours.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-20 13:09:45

Posted By : Travel39054586388
The first attraction was only an old church, which didn’t seem to be of much value. I even forgot the name of the place. I suggested that I delete this itinerary in the future and just spend more time in Assisi!
The tour guide in Assisi is very detailed and professional! It’s great! The local scenery and food are also diverse, making it a very suitable place for a one-day in-depth tour.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-12 23:06:55

Posted By : Stephen_E
We loved Orveito for its beautiful Duomo and its quaint buildings and shops , we were lucky enough to spend some free time to walk around and shop at some of the lovely boutiques, very friendly locals and it was just so picturesque, sadly we didn’t have enough time to see inside the Duomo but the exterior was magnificent!! Onto
Assisi it was a bucket list of ours to see this place and we were definitely not disappointed it was just beautiful and had so much light in the buildings and we were very lucky to have been there when the Medieval Festival was on so we got to see all the Pomp and Ceremony, we loved our guided tour of the Cathedral of St Francis it was awesome and definitely worth the time in Assisi to witness the Crypt and the Lamp and his favourite followers !! Would definitely recommend this tour it was quite a long day from start to finish but soo worth it !!
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-10 16:53:38

Posted By : Michael_H
Worst tour I’ve ever been on. Guide didn’t even care we were there. Was told we would have a certain amount of free time when we started the tour and didn’t even get half the time. This tour was run by Ciao Florence. I will be requesting some sort of refund for this. Be careful booking thru Viator as you may get this tour group. Assisi was great but we were not able to see it properly.
Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-09 00:58:14

Posted By : Christina K
Assisi was spectacular, and the guide was very warm and knowledgeable. Our tour leader was also fantastic. This company is organised and definitely better than the competition as far as large groups go. Assisi is an exceptional place with a very high vibration, and the people are treally nice and friendlier than the Tuscans

Rating : full ratings
Posted On : 2024-05-06 02:37:34