The best things to do in Perugia, Italy

Surrounded by rolling, green hills in the center of Italy, the city of Perugia – capital of the Umbria region – rivals the cities of Tuscany when it comes to history, food and culture, but you can enjoy the top things to do in Perugia without the crowds.

Halfway between Rome and Florence, Perugia rose to prominence in the Etruscan era, and the city has long been a pilgrimage site for music lovers, with an impressive program of musical festivals. People gather here every summer for the Umbria Jazz festival, attracting global jazz talent, and Music Fest Perugia, an important showcase for young classical musicians.

It's worth coming year-round for the food. As the capital of the so-called “green heart of Italy,” Perugia overflows with everything from truffles, olive oil and fine wine to chocolate. This is, after all, the hometown of Italian chocolate maker Perugina. Perugia's sweet treats are backed up by delicious, homestyle menus drawing on fresh, seasonal ingredients.

With a busy train station, an airport just outside of the city, and driving routes that connect major cities across Italy, Perugia is an ideal base camp for exploring central Italy away from the crowds. But a word of caution: the city is enchanting to the point of being seductive, so you may just want to stay a while!

Whether you're drawn here by history, architecture or food, here are the best things to do in Perugia.

1. Fall in love with the historic center

If you have a day to spend in Perugia, spend as much of it as possible outdoors. With Umbria's mild climate, the historic center is a joy to explore. Start from the Arco Etrusco on the north side of the center, a remnant of the city's 4th-century BCE Etruscan walls, and wander through streets lined with stone buildings dating back as far as the 13th century.

It's not just about history. Perugia has one of the largest ratios of students to residents in Italy, and on any given day, you’ll see scores of young people sitting in clusters on the steps of the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo in Piazza IV Novembre. Alongside studious types cramming for exams, you’ll find plenty of friends carousing and enjoying the fresh air.

Stick around for a while, and you may spot couples on first dates meeting in front of the distinctive Fontana Maggiore to enjoy a passeggiata stroll along the Corso Vanucci. Follow the throng towards the Giardini Carducci, a tiny park with great views, named for the poet who bestowed the title of “Italy’s Green Heart” on Umbria.

Alternatively, amble along Via dell’Acquedotto. Connecting the center with the Porta Sant’Angelo neighborhood, this narrow, impossibly romantic pathway is lined with historic houses and secret gardens. The lane takes its name from the 13th-century aqueduct that once channeled water into the center of Perugia.

Planning tip: Be sure to reserve a table at Punto di Vista on Viale Indipendenza near the Giardini Carducci, where the cocktails are the perfect complement to the panoramic views.

2. Take a shopping tour in Perugia's hills

Using Perugia as a base, you can roam out by hire car or local bus to other historic towns in the surrounding hills that are famed for their craft traditions. About 15km south, Deruta is one of the most famous centers for ceramics in the world. Since the Middle Ages, its artisans have practiced maiolica, a type of tin-glazed pottery, characterized by elaborate and colorful designs set against a white background.

You can visit one of Deruta's 200 workshops to see artisans at work, or drop into the Museo Regionale della Ceramica to learn more about this pottery tradition. Alternatively, experience maiolica in the center of Perugia by taking a stroll along Via dei Priori. Shops here range from Bettini, which specializes in the classical maiolica style, to more contemporary work at Maria Antonietta Taticchi’s Materia Ceramica and Mogré, where Monica Grelli uses ceramics as a form of art therapy.

If you require a more immersive form of retail therapy, visit Solomeo, the “hamlet of cashmere and harmony,” about 10km west of Perugia. Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli, who was born and raised in the town, has turned Solomeo into a monument to beauty and the art of living well, mirroring the philosophy of his own cashmere empire.

If you’ve got the funds to consider a purchase, you can book a private tour of the town, its flagship store, the factory and the nearby park, centered on the 22m-high Tribute to Human Dignity monument. Otherwise, visit independently and stroll at leisure, enjoying the peaceful setting and views across the hills.

Planning tip: Perugia is also known for its ironwork, woodcarving and embroidery. Look out for shops selling the work of local artisans amongst the fashion stores on chic Corso Vannucci and other shopping streets.

3. Fulfill all your chocolate dreams

Perugia's chocolate is famed across Italy, and for that, you can thank Luisa Spagnoli and Giovanni Buitoni. Together, these master makers created the “bacio” – one of the country's most iconic sweets and the symbol of iconic chocolatier, Perugina. If you’re a chocolate lover, pay a visit to the Perugina factory and museum, which organizes tours and classes where you can learn how to make their signature chocolate and hazelnut bonbons.

True devotees should plan a trip for the fall and buy a ticket to Eurochocolate, one of Perugia's biggest festivals. This 10-day celebration fills the streets of Perugia with chocolate art displays, chocolate-inspired street performances and chocolate sculpting. You’ll find plenty of Perugina chocolates on sale, along with labels from across Italy and the world.

Planning tip: If you fancy trying your hand at chocolate making, book ahead through Perugina's Casa del Cioccolato; they're open Monday to Saturday.

4. Take a stroll through Perugia's National Gallery

In the heart of the historic center, the Palazzo dei Priori was a masterpiece two centuries in the making. The stops and starts that made work so painstakingly slow also rendered it one of Perugia’s most evocative structures. Completed in 1443, this former palace is at once imposing and playful, and its massive scale both towers over and embraces the rest of the medieval city.

One of Perugia's most famous faces is Pietro Vannucci, a gifted Renaissance-era painter who adopted the name of the town, becoming the artist known as Perugino. Set inside the Palazzo dei Priori, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria is the home for many of his works, displayed in light-filled galleries on the palace’s upper floors.

Planning tip: The entire collection occupies 40 rooms of the palace and covers 700 years of Italian art. Give yourself a few hours to soak in all this Umbrian creativity.

5. Follow the pilgrims to Assisi

Located just a half-hour drive from Perugia, the town of Assisi is the birthplace and final resting place of St Francis, one of Italy's patron saints. The founder of the Franciscan order, St Francis is widely celebrated for his love of animals, but the core tenets of his teachings were humility, chastity and the rejection of material wealth.

Today, Assisi is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it serves as an important place of Catholic pilgrimage, filled with an extraordinary mix of pilgrims and tourists, who often overlap. Don’t be surprised to find backpackers walking alongside monks up on the approach to the Basilica di San Francesco and the accompanying Sacro Convento, the vast convent constructed alongside it in 1228. Both are visible for miles around.

Be ready to share the experience; Assisi attracts more tourists than almost anywhere in Umbria. There are plenty of restaurants, hotels and shops to visit, if you'd rather stop over instead of visiting on a day trip from Perugia.

Planning tip: If you want to get something really special from Assisi, look for the ubiquitous Tau Cross, a simple wooden amulet that Saint Francis used as his personal symbol. Pick one up at Tomassetti Arte Sacra in Assisi's historic center and get a history lesson alongside your purchase.