Assisi Accommodations

Reservations are crucial around Easter and Christmas and strongly recommended for the Festa di Calendimaggio. If you don’t mind an ­­11pm curfew, ask the tourist office for a list of religious institutions that provide cheap rooms, although most require an extended stay. The tourist office also provides a list of affittacamere, rooms for rent in private residences, for longer visits.

• Camere Martini, V. Antonio Cristofani 6 (☎/fax 075 81 35 36; cameremartini@libero.it), Well-furnished rooms—many with balconies—provide perfect views of Assisi’s sights and the Umbrian countryside. Central location, soft beds, TV, and large bathrooms. Laundry €5. Singles €25; doubles €40; triples €55; quads €65
• Ostello della Pace, V. di Valecchie 177 (☎075 81 67 67; www.assisihostel.com), You will never want to leave this hostel. That's because it will take you so darn long to find it, and once you have, you'll be facing an uphill hike to get anywhere else. To be fair, it's also very nice. Unfortunately, however, due to the strict and excessively long 9:30am-4pm lockout, you'll be wracked with separation anxiety each morning. When you are actually allowed inside, you'll find comfortable lounge areas with a piano and guitar, plus a beautiful garden to escape Assisi's relentless sunshine. The hostel looks a bit like a derelict building from the side when you finally reach it, tucked in the middle of an olive grove somewhere in the fields on the lower slopes of Assisi, but no, that's it, and it looks more like a real hostel from the front. From the train station, take the local bus C up to Porta San Pietro (on the bus map, the stop is marked for the Ostello). Then walk back downhill the way you came. At the split, bear right, and you'll see a sign for the hostel, pointing you toward a dirt road. Follow the road downhill for a while through the fields until you see a farmhouse; that's your new home. Breakfast included. Dorms €19. Reception 4pm-midnight. Lockout 9:30am-4pm. Does not take credit cards. No wheelchair access.
  See more details and book a stay >
• Pallotta, V. S. Rufino (☎075 81 26 49; www.pallottaassisi.it), This tiny eight-room hotel seriously cares about details. First of all, there's tea. Not just the beverage but a proper tea time, with pastries, served every afternoon in the lobby. In Italy, this is practically unheard of. The small building's third floor is really the windowed garret of a tower and could easily have been turned into a suite, but instead, it's a common room with a 360º view. Even Pallota's brochure is amazing—someone must have had a talented nephew or something, because the thing is a beautifully illustrated picture book featuring the Big Red Clifford of cats perched on the Assisi skyline. This is a fairly simple hotel to receive such treatment, but these kinds of details make it stand out from the rest. Just past the Duomo, on your left, up a flight of stone stairs on the outside of the building. Breakfast and tea included. Laundry available. Train station pickup available. 10% discount at the restaurant. Parking €5. Free Wi-Fi. Singles €35-45; doubles €58-75; triples €70-90. Takes credit cards. No wheelchair access. Has internet.
• Veduta Santa Chiara, Vicolo Sant'Antonio 1 (☎075 81 52 20), This small, simple hotel makes interesting use of its architecture. Like many places in Assisi, it's somewhat perched on top of 13th-century walls, and rather than work with the old structure, the hotel just surrounds it. One room has an ancient stone wall right in the middle—a TV is balanced on top of it. Random chunks of antiquity dot the walls and floor of other chambers. If nothing else, this sort of space is certainly an authentic experience of Italians' casual relationship with the super-old. Another small hotel and good budget option, Grotta Antica (V. dei Macelli Vecchi 3 }075 81 36 20 w www.grottaantica.com), a restaurant, and a bar are all owned and operated by the incredibly sweet Annemarie, her mother, and her husband, who can all frequently be found running between their various businesses. From P. del Vescovado, take a right onto V. Sant'Agnese, then a left onto Viccolo Sant'Antonio. Cheap breakfast available at the family bar. Singles €35; doubles €50. Takes credit cards. No wheelchair access.