One day in Assisi

How much of Assisi can you see in one day?

All the main sights: the basilica, Santa Chiara, San Rufino, the main square and the Acutis tomb, plus either the Rocca or San Damiano, and the Porziuncola below.

The walled town is about 1.5 km end to end, and the walk downhill from Piazza Matteotti to the basilica takes 20 minutes without stops. Every church on the route is free. What eats time is the basilica itself (allow 1 to 1.5 hours for both churches and the tomb) and lunch.

Here is the plan at a glance. The rest of this guide takes each stop in turn.

Where should you start a day in Assisi?

At Piazza Matteotti, the top of town: the station bus ends there and there is a car park. San Rufino cathedral is five minutes away.

Piazza Matteotti is the highest square inside the walls, with the Saba car park and the last stop of the bus from the station. Starting here means the whole day runs downhill. The small-group walk meets here too, in front of the car park ticket office.

Walk down Via del Torrione to San Rufino, Assisi's cathedral, with its Romanesque facade and three rose windows. Inside is the font where, by tradition, both Francis and Clare were baptised. It is a ten-minute stop, and by 10:00 you are heading down Via San Rufino to the main square.

Drivers: the historic centre is a ZTL with camera gates and fines around 80 euro. Park at Matteotti (1.30 euro for the first hour, 12 euro a day) and do not follow the satnav through the gates.

What is there to see on the Piazza del Comune?

The Temple of Minerva, a Roman temple front from the 1st century BC that is now a church, plus the medieval town hall, the tower and the lion fountain.

The Temple of Minerva is the oldest thing on the route: six Corinthian columns from the Roman town of Asisium, still standing on the square. Since the 16th century it has been the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, with a Baroque interior behind the ancient front. Opposite it stand the Palazzo dei Priori and the Torre del Popolo; at the eastern end is the fountain with its three stone lions.

Two minutes south, down a lane off the square, is Chiesa Nuova, built in 1615 on the spot tradition gives for the house of Francis's family. Look for the small cell where his father is said to have locked him up after he began giving away the family's cloth. Then continue down Corso Mazzini to the striped facade at its end.

Why visit the Basilica of Santa Chiara?

For the San Damiano crucifix, the cross that by tradition spoke to Francis, and the body of St Clare in the crypt. Open about 06:30 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.

The pink and white Basilica of Santa Chiara closes the eastern side of the old town, and it closes at lunchtime too, which is why it comes before noon on this route. Inside the chapel on the right hangs the painted San Damiano crucifix. Francis was praying in front of it in the ruined church of San Damiano when, the story goes, he heard it tell him to rebuild the church. The cross moved here with the Poor Clares in the 13th century.

Down in the crypt lies St Clare herself, Francis's first female follower, whose body has been here since 1260. Allow half an hour. The terrace in front of the church has one of the best open views over the plain in town.

Where is Carlo Acutis buried in Assisi?

In Santa Maria Maggiore, the Sanctuary of the Spoliation, a short walk west of Santa Chiara. Open daily until 19:00, with tomb visits paused on Sunday and holiday mornings from 10:30 to 12:30.

From Santa Chiara, walk about ten minutes west to Piazza del Vescovado and Santa Maria Maggiore, Assisi's first cathedral, now called the Sanctuary of the Spoliation. This is where the young Francis stripped off his clothes before the bishop and his father and renounced his inheritance. Since 2019 it has also held the body of Carlo Acutis, the teenager from Milan canonized on 7 September 2025, in a glass tomb in a side chapel.

Expect a queue in 2026, especially around the anniversary of his death in October. On Sundays and holidays tomb visits stop from 10:30 to 12:30 for Mass, according to the sanctuary's own site, so plan this stop for a weekday morning or the afternoon. Our Carlo Acutis guide covers the visit in detail.

Where should you have lunch in Assisi?

Along Via San Francesco and the lanes off it, on the way to the basilica. Order strangozzi, the local hand-rolled pasta, often with black truffle.

By 12:15 you are on Via San Francesco, the street that runs from the centre to the basilica, with small trattorias in the side lanes. Umbrian food is simple and good: strangozzi (thick hand-cut pasta) with black truffle or tomato, torta al testo (a flat griddle bread filled with greens or ham), lentils from Castelluccio and a glass of local red or Grechetto.

Eat before 13:00 or after 14:00 to dodge the coach groups. If you would rather taste wine where it is made, the winemaker for a day visit at an organic winery below Assisi is a two-hour afternoon alternative; guests report a taxi from town costs about 50 euro.

How long do you need at the Basilica of St Francis?

One to one and a half hours for the Lower Church, the tomb and the Upper Church. Entry is free; a guide is the only real cost.

Walk down Via San Francesco to the lower square and go in through the Lower Church. It is dim and frescoed wall to wall, with work by Cimabue, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti. Stairs lead down to the crypt with the tomb of St Francis. Then climb to the Upper Church, bright and Gothic, where 28 scenes of the saint's life run round the nave, traditionally attributed to Giotto (the attribution is still debated). Part of the vault collapsed in the 1997 earthquake; the restored church reopened two years later.

Practical points from the official hours page: in summer (April to October) the Lower Church is open 06:00 to 19:00 and the Upper Church 08:30 to 18:45; in winter the Upper Church closes at 18:00. Guided tours inside run on weekdays only, so on Sundays and holidays your guide explains outside and you go in alone. Photos are forbidden, silence is asked, and knees and shoulders must be covered.

If you want only the basilica explained, the one-hour basilica tour with an official guide is the cheapest guided option at $46. Our basilica visit guide covers the rules in full.

One focused hour in the Upper Church, the Lower Church and the tomb with an official guide. The cheapest way to get the frescoes explained.

★ 4.8 · 1 hour · from $46

Explore the basilica tour with an official guide → Tour details

What else can you do in Assisi in the afternoon?

Climb to the Rocca Maggiore for the view, walk down to San Damiano through the olives, or take the bus to the Porziuncola. With one day, pick one plus the Porziuncola.

Rocca Maggiore. The castle above the town reopened in 2023 with its upper level and walkway open for the first time; tickets were 9 euro at the reopening, and hours run from 10:00 to between 16:30 (winter) and 20:00 (summer). It is a 15-minute climb from the Piazza del Comune and the reward is the widest view in Assisi.

San Damiano. The little church where the crucifix spoke and where Clare lived with her sisters is about 20 minutes' walk downhill from Porta Nuova through olive groves. Per San Damiano's timetable it is open 06:15 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 19:45 (17:45 in winter), free. The walk back up is steep, so this works best if you have a car or end the day there.

Santa Maria degli Angeli. On the plain by the station, this huge basilica covers the Porziuncola, the tiny chapel where Francis founded his order, and the Cappella del Transito where he died in 1226. It is open about 06:30 to 19:00 (see porziuncola.org), free, and a short walk from the platforms, which makes it the ideal last stop before a train. The three basilicas tour links it with Santa Chiara and San Francesco, transport included.

Santa Chiara, San Francesco and the Porziuncola on the plain with an official guide and the ride down included. The whole Franciscan story in one afternoon.

★ 5.0 · 2 hours 30 min · from $183

Explore the three basilicas tour → Tour details

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