We will be spending 10 days in Perugia in late June / early July. We are arriving from California into Rome. Since that trip is so long we decided to spend the first day/night in Rome to recover from the long trip,then head on to Perugia by train the next day. I need some advice about the train.

This will be a Saturday morning. How crowded will the train likely be? Should I make a reservation now? Wait till the morning I'm leaving? Or, since we'll be spending that first night at a hotel near Republica metro station, we could pop over that day and get tickets for the next day?

Any other advice you might have to offer about taking the train from Rome to Perugia?

There are only two DIRECT (no change) trains from Roma Termini to Perugia on Saturday mornings: both are Regionale trains ("R") for which seat reservations are NOT AVAILABLE. However, because these trains ORIGINATE at Roma Termini, you'll have no problem finding seats as long as you board before departure time.

The first "R" train departs at 8:14 (arrival Perugia 10:55). The second "R" train departs at 12:12 (arrival Perugia 14:55).

A one-way ticket in second class costs 10.50 Euros. First class costs 16.40 Euros, a noteworthy surcharge.

First class seats are more comfortable than second class (padded cloth, pivoting (reclining), versus non-pivoting hard vinyl/rubber), and it's usually less crowded in first class. However, there is usually only one first class railcar (versus 5-7 second class railcars) in the convoy. The first class railcar is often placed in the center of the train. There is no food or beverage service on these trains.

Most railcars are air conditioned, although the air conditioning won't be turned on for the 8:14 departure. These are also non-smoking trains.

The first Eurostar ("ES") train direct to Perugia (all seats reserved) does not depart until 13:42. Moreover, the "ES" train costs twice as much as the "R" train, yet only saves 30 minutes in travel time. Skip the ES and take either of the two morning "R" trains.

If you purchase second class seats, try to board the "R" train soon after the doors are unlocked (usually 20-30 minutes before scheduled departure), since second class on both trains is likely to fill up on Saturday. If you purchase first class seats, you don't need to board much in advance. For a 2 hr., 40 mins. trip, first class is worthwhile, in my opinion.

I suggest that you purchase a bottle of water (and perhaps some snack items) for the trip.

www.ferroviedellostato.it

NOTE FOR SLOW TRAVELLERS:

There is also direct BUS service between Roma Tiburtina Station and Perugia Piazza dei Partigiani bus depot several times daily (including Sundays) via Sulga Bus Lines. Nevertheless, many travellers prefer to take the train from Termini Station in Rome rather than travelling across town to Tiburtina Station. The primary advantage of taking the bus is that you end up at Piazza dei Partigiani, from where you can walk to central/historic Perugia via the series of subterranean escalators which cut through the Medieval Rocca Paolina and end up in Piazza Italia at the top of the hill. By contrast, the Perugia Ferrovie dello Stato train station is 3 kilometers downhill from the historic district, and you must take a local bus (or a taxi) up the steep hill. The Sulga bus from Rome to Perugia takes 2 hrs. 15 mins. and the one-way fare is 15 Euros.

www.sulga.it

Thanks so much for the info GAC. We'll take the Regionale as you suggested. You didn't mention when to buy tickets. Given that we are not familiar with that process, should be get tickets on Friday for our Saturday trip? That way we can just get there a bit early and board the train on Saturday.

One other question you may know the answer to ... will there be taxis waiting at the station in Perugia? Thanks to comments on this forum we are staying at Residenza Baldesca and will need to get there with our luggage. We'll probably get used to the bus when we are there, but for arriving, especially with baggage, we'd like to just take a cab to our apartment.

quote:

Originally posted by GAC:
By contrast, the Perugia Ferrovie dello Stato train station is 3 kilometers downhill from the historic district, and you must take a local bus (or a taxi) up the steep hill.

We've been told that the new overhead rail system from the main Perugia train station up into the centro is now operational, but I have to confess we don't know a thing about it! If anyone has the details, this would be a great time to share them!

jwilock:

You can purchase the rail ticket either at the manned ticket windows of the Roma Termini Train Station or, if you prefer not to wait in line, at any automated ticket machine inside the station. If you're planning to take the 8:14 a.m. "R" train, you might prefer to purchase the tickets the day beforehand, so you won't need to rush early in the morning. You can also buy rail tickets at many travel agencies in Rome and near the Termini Station, but this probably won't be necessary in your case.

After you purchase the tickets, you'll need to "punch" ("validate") them in the little yellow machine inside the station or at the head of the rail track. But DON'T punch them until you're ready to board the train, because these tickets have a validity of six hours after they have been punched with the date/time stamp. In any event, don't forget to punch the tickets.

My recollection is that there are usually one or two taxis waiting outside of the Perugia train station (perhaps more on Saturday afternoon, just after the arrival of the train from Rome; taxi drivers know the rail schedules from memory and consequently the most likely times to pick up passengers). In any case, more taxis will pull up in a short time.

Barb and Art: here is the official website of the Perugia "Minimetro":

http://www.minimetrospa.it/index.php

P.S.: I forgot to mention in my original posting that second class railcars on "R" trains in Italy have four-across seating and usually about 80 seats per car; first class railcars have three-across seating and about 60 seats per car. Not all railcars have functioning lavatories (unfortunately many are out of order), so you may need to walk to an adjacent car.

Unfortunately the website for the minimetro has no map, only a list of the stops and it's all in Italian.

We would also take the train. More room to move around.

Art

We didn't know about the minimetro. sounds interesting. Where is the station in the city center?

There is a satellite map if you click on Il Percorso on the Minimetro site. Certainly interesting. The Pincetto station for the city center is apparently in (or by) the covered market area, letting you go by elevator to Piazza Matteotti.

The Perugia mimimetro' has a stop at the Fontivegge train station and ends up at the Terminal Pincetto, near the historic center at the top of the hill. The ticket (same as an ordinary bus ticket) costs 1.00 Euro and has a validity of 70 minutes.

http://www.minimetrospa.it/immagine.php?ima=07-VETTURAAVANTI.jpg

http://www.minimetrospa.it/immagine.php?ima=11-VETTURAESCONO.jpg

http://www.minimetrospa.it/immagine.php?ima=25-VETTURADAVANTI.jpg

http://www.minimetrospa.it/immagine.php?ima=27-vetturadilato.jpg

Looking at the Minimetro map, I rather wonder whether the entire route is operational. I suspect that the parts shown with a dotted red line are only projected and not yet in operation.

From what I see, the red line is operational, and the dotted lines represent underground segments. The orange line is still proposed.

Edit: Here is a satellite map of the whole route, where you can zoom in to some extent, knowing that in the city center area (the right end) the route is underground.

Andrew none of the mini metro is underground.

GAC is correct if someone were to exit the train at Fontevegge which is the main station in Perugia you can then take the mini metro to Pincetto and after it is a short walk to the centro storico.

Art

If none of it is underground, that means that it goes to the top of the city and crosses the Corso Vannucci, and I can't believe that's right. I've read descriptions of the Pincetto station having escalators and elevators to the top of the city.

Andrew no, we've talked with two people who have ridden the mini metro and they both said it's possible that it goes under a road, like an underpass. But there is no tunnel.

The Pincetto station is the stop near the Galleria Kennedy and from there it is a short distance up to the city center. Thre are escalators near there.

So no, it does not cross the Corso Vannucci.

Art

Trust me, folks, there IS a tunnel. I rode the Minimetrò half a dozen times a little over a week ago. True, there's a short underpass kind of tunnel at the beginning of the line. But after the Fontivegge (Stazione FS) station, the line climbs. There's an aboveground stop after that--Case Bruciate--after which the line goes underground for the Cupa and Pincetto stops.

Cupa leaves you off by the big Piazzale Cupa parking lots and escalator that go to Via dei Priori. Pincetto is under the covered market--you can either exit through the market, or near Piazza Matteoti.

It's a blast to ride, and a nice addition to a great little city (I'm prejudiced; I live in Perugia part-time).

Edit/addition: It does cross the Corso Vannucci, sort of--way underground.

Nuccio is absolutely correct.

I've just come back from a month in Perugia, rode the minimetro several times and enjoyed every ride.

No more problems finding a car park in downtown Perugia - there is a free car park at Pian di Massiano and then you catch the minimetro in to town. There are 7 stops including the railway station at Fontivegge, Cupa and Pincetto (where fantastic restoration work has made the exit near the Mercato Coperto something special). The ride takes about 15 minutes from go to woe.

The fare is 1.00 euro with a 70 minute validity.

It's convenient, easy and fun - but that doesn't mean that it has found 100% approval from the dear citizens of Perugia!
As you travel you can hear all sorts of grumbles from passengers ranging from too much noise, too expensive, car not close enough and .......not enough people using it!

If you're in Perugia do go for a ride - it's an engineering jaw dropper, designed and built, I believe, by a firm that builds ski lifts etc

Valda, I'm heading back to Perugia in September -- I just can't resist! So, I'm curious to give this new minimetro train a go, just for the fun of it!

(Apologies to the original poster for hijacking this thread a bit)

BTW, Valda, are you planning to post a trip report, or new travel notes? Any updates to Perusing Perugia, or any new tips to guide me? Did you happen to see the Pintoricchio exhibition? I'll be too late, I suppose, but I'm curious to head about it.

Cheers,
Sandra

quote:

If you're in Perugia do go for a ride - it's an engineering jaw dropper, designed and built, I believe, by a firm that builds ski lifts etc

Yes, fun, clean, new, in perfect working order and very convenient. It's such a pleasure to see that Perugia has managed again to combine modernity and antiquity in that little red box.

And indeed some of the citizens complain but this will dye out as it has always happened before. Nobody wants changes in their backyard but this is a nice and well done change, for once!!!!

Hi Sandra,

Perugia in September sounds just about perfect! I love autumn in Italy - the days are still warm, the colours spectacular and the bulk of tourists have gone home. Just the right kind of conditions for exploring more of Umbria, which I see you are going to do.

Yes, unfortunately the Perugia tourist office has (once again) changed its map and the important sites are shown differently. Some of the numbers correlate with the numbers on our Perusing Perugia notes - but others don't. Fewer sites are numbered and are now labelled with an icon instead. Bummer, really, as Claire and I will have to do some serious work on re-jigging our travel notes. They are still very workable but just require some more in-depth map studying.

There are just a few modifications to those notes which we will tackle.
The important one, for now, is........

The Mercato Coperto is no longer the buzzing hive of commerce that it was a couple of years ago. Big supermarkets have proliferated in the periphery and people are tending more and more to do their shopping for fresh meat, fruit and vegies there.
It is still interesting to go to for a walk around and also for its magnificent views from the terrace but you won't find fresh eels there any more.
You also won't find that institution of the market, our darling little porchetta man, Bruno, who retired a couple of months ago at the age of around 83. His stall is all shut down and locked up.
I was desolated not to be able to get my porchetta "fix" and to swap yarns with him this time.

As usual, walking Perugia this time, I found even more hidden places to discover. Loved "finding" the borgo of Sant'Antonio, a working class district, near Porta Sole.

Via Volta della Pace off Piazza Matteotti is very evocative and should be experienced, too.

I have discovered this excellent website which gives very detailed instructions for walks around Perugia and other towns and cities including Foligno, Bettona, Amelia and Spoleto:

http://www.ktucitywalks.co.uk/232.html

You'll enjoy the minimetro. You can catch it at Pincetto (enter from Via Oberdan near Ristorante del Sole) and do the whole percorso to Pian di Massiano and back for a euro.

BTW (1) Love your blog!

We were in Italy for the whole of the election campaign and it was both interesting and depressing. The Italians with whom we talked were pessimistic about the choices offered and even said that they would decline to vote as a protest.

BTW (2) If you have a car and feel brave enough to venture out of Umbria I can recommend Urbino. Another university town but smaller than PG and with an entirely different look and feel to it. We were entranced by it.
If you are interested I can let you know where we stayed etc

Hi Valda, thanks so much for all of this great advice -- and I'm sorry you weren't able to get your porchetta fix!

It sounds like I should take last year's Perugia travel guide and map which I had picked up from the Perugia info office -- it dovetailed quite well with your Perusing notes! And this website you've suggested is really interesting as well, it looks like there are a lot of suggested walks for other cities I'll be visiting, such as Assisi and Bevagna.

I'll have to find Via Volta della Pace, it sounds really interesting. And of course, ride the new train.

Thanks for your kind words about my blog, I have to stop ranting about Alitalia and Berlusconi, though, and get back to writing about travel. It must have been interesting, if very disheartening, for you to be traveling through Italy during the campaign.

It's interesting that you mention Urbino. I've wanted to travel there for some time and had been trying to figure how to get there using public transport, but it seems very complicated. Perhaps I should keep the rental car a bit longer and drive to Urbino for a day trip.....

Thanks again for all the ideas,
Sandra

thanks for all the updates since I last looked into this thread. It's less than two months away for us and we're getting more excited than ever. I'll go check out the links provided for additional ideas.