The rain falls in Perugia

Sunday 12 – Tuesday 14 April 2026 |

The view from the top

A University Town

Perugia is very much a niversity town.  It has about 26,000 Italian and International students, and the vibe is reflected in the type of cafe and bars.  But it is most clearly seen in the type of products you can find in the 24-hour street vending machines.

The rain and a big cook up

It started raining after lunch and we voted that our mood met the legal definition of exhaustion. Walking up and down very steep streets was no longer a viable option.  We headed to our favourite corner store ‘Pam Local’ for supplies and retired to our apartment.

The standard of our rooms has varied over the trip, but it appears the Purugian definition of ‘apartment’, is having a kitchen sink and hotplate, not a separate living area, couch, sidetable or any kind of comfy chair.

We cooked up a big batch of TVP bolognaise pasta and chicken and mushroom pesto salad.  Nice to eat a solid meal with green things.

The washing up racks are interesting.  Rooms never have teatowels to dry dishes. Instead, all the apartments we have been in have the secret cupboard above the sink to place wet dishes. It works fine if you are over 5’2″.

The Secret Tunnels (Perugia Sotterranea)

The next day we headed out to explore. There is a network of ancient Roman and Eutruscan tunnels and rooms that lie beneath the Rocca Paolina, a 1560 Fortress. They connect several parts of the old city, and modern escalators allow pedestrians to enter.

You can pay E12 for a tour, but it is a public accessway so entry cin free, if you know how.

We missed the discrete entrance a couple of times, but finally made our way in. Finding the multiple exists is easy once you are looking from the inside out.  They look like the entrace to yet another church.  This one was right next to our accommocation.

Walking the Aquaduct (Acquedotto Medievale)

Unfortunately, part of the 3km aquaduct (built in 1254) was being repaired, so we couldn’t walk the entire length, but we were able to walk along a stretch of it and see some of the roofs of the houses.

The Mini Metro

The old hilltop city is linked to the lower modern space via a small, driverless tram.  It costs the usual bus fare of E1.50 per trip and the minis come every two minutes.  They would fit about a dozen people.

We headed down the hill in the mini metro to the central bus terminal to board the Flix bus to Sienna.  I’d forgotten what being car sick felt like.  Some relief was achieved from the cold windows I could flatten my face against. ugg.