Perugia: A Beautiful and Charming Capital City of Umbria

Perugia is one of the beautiful cities I have been to in Italy. I first came to Italy after I scored a scholarship to study Italian Language and Culture at the University for Foreigners Perugia (Università per Stranieri di Perugia). I was over the moon because it was my first trip abroad. During my time there, I lived with an Italian lady or Signora. She lives alone, so she decided to rent three bedrooms to students who were looking for a room to stay.

Perugia a rustic hill town known for its ancient medieval streets, old castles, and fortresses of charming villages. I remember on my way to university, I stopped by an old family's owned cafe to buy a delicious chocolate croissant and a cappuccino. Located in the center of Italy, Perugia is a lovely medieval city. It is rich in history and art. In the meantime, the landscape is embellished by the intense green of the vegetation, hills, and mountains.

How to Get Here

Perugia is about five hours away by train from Rome. There is a train service that is connected between the airport to the main railway station in Rome called Roma Termini. By the way, I prefer traveling by train while I was in Italy. It is cheap and it is the best way to enjoy the gorgeous scenery in the country.

Perugina Chocolate

Have you heard or eaten "Baci" chocolates? Baci means kisses. It is one of the biggest export of Perugia to the world. As a student, I was fortunate to visit the factory with my other classmates that were organized by the university. They forbid us to take a camera inside the factory as they don't want their secret of making the famous chocolate shared to the public. However, we were allowed to get a discount on the chocolate that we bought from there.

Tourist Destination

Perugia has a different atmosphere from many Italian towns. The capital city of Perugia dates back to the Etruscan period and is known as a major site of learning, with an established foreign university (University for Foreigners Perugia) that has up to 34,000 students. The city's symbol is the griffin, and you can walk around spotting it on numerous buildings and statues.

One of the best things about Perugia is approximately equidistant from both Florence and Rome. I remember visiting Florence with my classmate on the weekend. We decided to take a train from Perugia because it's convenient and cheap. If you are coming from Florence, there are regional trains every couple of hours from Florence to Perugia, so you don't worry about booking the seat in advance.

When you were a student, taking a train or bus is the right thing to do if you wanted to save money. Plus, taking a train is the best way to travel because you get to see the beautiful panorama of Italy. I did the same when I was visiting Rome with a friend. We took a train from Perugia's main station to Roma Termini.

I miss Perugia. The last time I was there was in 2010. I hope one day to come back here with my husband.

Here are some tips when ready to travel by train:

• You can visit the website at https://www.trenitalia.com/ (affordable choice) to check the schedule and book the ticket.
• Studying the schedule and noting departure and arrival times is still the best way to determine the duration of your train trip.
• Don't forget to validate your train ticket before boarding on the train. Failure to do so, there is a higher possibility you will be getting a fine.

Here are some other places to visit near Perugia:

1. Assisi
2. Gubbio
3. Città di Castello

4. Castiglione del Lago

5. Spello
6. Orvieto
7. Todi
8. Bevagna
9. Norcia
10. Trevi