Cascate delle Marmore

Day Trips, Waterfall and Hike
If you're up for a bit of a drive (50 minutes) and quite a few stairs, you'll be rewarded with a beautiful waterfall. Nearby, there is a simple but authentically Umbrian restaurant we really enjoyed. La Primula It doesn't have a view but the meat and cheese platters as well as the pastas are great. There are plenty of other good restaurants in the area.
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Sirolo

Day Trips, Sirolo
Interested in the beach? You can be there in less than 2.5 hours. It's an easy drive on new roads and tunnels.  This town is so cute that I recommend you spend the night.  
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Gualdo Tadino

Day Trips, Gualdo Tadino
Rocca Flea (also birra) Museums Restaurants: Ristorante Gigiotto in a hotel on an alley to the left of the main piazza. Very good. La Terrazza di San Guido - a short drive outside of town. It's a ski lodge but open in the summer.
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Perugina Chocolate Factory

Day Trips, Perugia, Perugina Chocolate Factory
We enjoyed an hour and a half tour filled with chocolate samples at the Perugina factory outside Perugia.  It's an interesting story of the founders and includes a catwalk over the entire factory floor.  You must make a reservation online ahead of time.  You can choose whether you want an English tour or an Italian tour. The way into the factory is a little tricky.  The entrance to the parking lot is gated so you must stop and tell them you have a reservation to raise the gate.  After that, it's clearly marked.
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Assisi

Assisi, Day Trips
Although Assisi is the most touristed town in Umbria, it still makes for a lovely day.  The town is beautiful, clean, and set on a hillside made of white stone.  You'll also drive through Santa Maria degli Angeli where you can visit the duomo commemorating where St. Francis died.  The center of Assisi features Roman origins including the Temple of Minerva which is now a church. There are two main parking lots.  One is near the Basilica of St. Francis and the other that we prefer is on the opposite side of town but provides you the chance to stroll and see the whole place with the Basilica at the other end.  In both cases, they work the same where you take your ticket and pay at a kiosk on the way…
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Perugia

Day Trips, Perugia
I've avoided Perugia in past years because it just seems like a big city hassle.  We finally conquered my fears this year and I realized I couldn't have been more wrong.  It's only about 40 minutes from the house and with a navigator and GPS it can be done! Perugia has a fascinating past as it was first an Etruscan trading route and then an important city of merchants who were controlling the flow of trade down the Tiber River to Rome.  In the medieval ages it was full of wealthy and influential families who were then conquered by the pope.  As you arrive into the old city via a series of escalators from the parking lot below, you see around you what was once the original city. It's also…
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