Perugia

Perugia is the capital city of the Umbria region, which is located in the middle of Italy.

The city has so much to offer the tourist, and also hosts a huge international Jazz Festival, the Umbria Jazz Festival, that runs for two weeks in July. The city is a lively medieval town with historic buildings, people filled squares, and modern shops. It has a large Italian language school for foreigners, which makes it one of the best places to study the language. One of the most popular places to visit is the Piazza IV Novembre, which is a large open square where locals and visitors congregate. In the centre is a beautiful fountain, the Fontana Maggiore, surrounded by the Duomo, the Palazzo dei Priori, and medieval buildings with shops and bars.

Perugia Foutain Maggiore

The Fontana Maggiore really is a magnificent fountain, made of pink and white stone. It’s decorated with intricately carved panels showing the months of the year, astrological signs, Aesop’s fables, mythical monsters, and more. The Etruscan remains are also a must which include the 3^rd century BC Etruscan well, the Etruscan Arch (one of the cities gates), and the remains of the massive Etruscan wall around the city. There are also remains of the Roman wall and the Roman city gates. One of the best things to do in this beautiful medieval city is wander through the narrow streets and along the walls at the edge of the town for views of the valley.

There are many cafes and restaurants in the Historic Centre, almost on every street. There are some excellent dishes available on the menu of some of the popular restaurants including pork dishes, roast pig and obviously delicious pasta dishes. You will also find plenty of pizza outlets that serve mouth watering pizzas. Like all Italian cities, Italy has restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets. Five of its best are located in the historic city centre, which are Ristorante Caffe Di Perugia, Pizzeria Mediterranea, La Taverna, Trattoria del Borgo and Il Postale. If Italian food isn’t your thing then Perugia has plenty of other eateries.

The main shopping street in Perugia is Corso Vannucci, along with the streets that run off it: Piazza Matteotti, Via C, Fani andVia Oberdan. There are many high street shops in Perugia, where you could get carried away and spend hundreds of dollars. There is a covered market held daily off Piazza Matteotti and on Tuesdays and Saturdays a market held on Via Ercolane. The town is also famous for its chocolate, so whilst you are shopping for souviners make sure to taste some. Whatever you are looking for, you are sure to find it here.

With Perugia’s large student population you are guaranteed to find lively bars throughout the historic city. If you want to get your groove on then a great club to visit is Velvet, this is a smallish club, but it has two floors, so you can enjoyed yourself downstairs dancing or head upstairs and watch in a more relaxing atmosphere. Another fun club to head to is Ferrari; it’s one of the locations for the famous chocolate festival. If you are looking for great live music then Crazy Bull is a fun bar, with a great American feel to it.

Corso Vannucci Perugia