The historic centre rewards slow exploration on foot. Start at Piazza IV Novembre — one of the finest medieval squares in Italy — where the 13th-century Fontana Maggiore stands at the junction of civic and religious Perugia. The adjacent Palazzo dei Priori is one of the most complete Gothic public palaces in existence; inside, the Galleria Nazionale dell'Umbria holds an exceptional collection of Umbrian painting from the 13th to 18th centuries, including works by Perugino and Pintoricchio.
The Museo Archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria at the south end of the city has a strong Etruscan collection. Underneath the city, the Rocca Paolina underground — entered near Piazza Italia — preserves the buried medieval streets that Pope Paul III demolished when he built his fortress in 1540.
Corso Vanucci is the social spine of the city: wide, car-free, and perpetually animated by students, market days, and the kind of extended passeggiata that Umbria does better than most of Italy.