10 Days in Tuscany

Old Sep 1st, 2015, 10:21 AM
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10 Days in Tuscany

In May 2016 my wife and I (we're 36 y/o) will be flying into Venice (arriving in AM) and spending 1 night there. Then training to Florence for two nights (2.5 days), and then off to the Tuscan countryside for the remainder of the trip (looking to stay in farm houses). My question is what to do in Tuscany? We'd like to visit a couple cities and do a cooking class. Is it recommended that we just get comfortable and relax at the farmhouses, tour vineyards for wine tastings, travel to other cities (which)?

With so much moving around, does it pay to stay at an expensive Farmhouse?

Looking for ANY suggestions of places to stay/things to do. Keep in mind we will have spent 2.5 days in Florence by the time we get to the country side. We are both very active, love to drink/eat/explore. Thanks for any suggestions/ideas you have!
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 10:49 AM
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A few thoughts-

The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria is a good way to discover possible "what to do" that may interest you, including cities/towns to visit, sights and activities.
http://www.roughguides.com/shop/roug...uscany-umbria/

Do you have an idea of where in Tuscany you want to base? I think you may need to do more research to determine where you want to base and if you want to base in more than one location.

>
Not sure I understand your question, but many/most farmhouses are not expensive and offer a wonderful place to stay.

My favorite place to stay, located in my favorite part of the Tuscany countryside-
http://www.fontebertusi.it/en/

By the way, May is my favorite time to visit the Tuscan countryside.
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 11:10 AM
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Do you know which cities you want to visit? Some of them might be better visited by train from Florence, and then you would have evenings in Florence where there is more to do if like night activity.

Some active people fill their time in the Tuscan countryside with things like biking, hiking, balooning, horseback riding, even golf -- that sort of thing. Other people go shopping (designer and antique) and visit day spas or hot springs. Still others go on specific cultural itineraries -- to see all the Etruscan sites, Leonardo da Vinci trails, scientific/geology trails, historic gardens and such, or do food itineraries like saffron, chocolate, olive oil, cheese, wine. There are also classes in pottery, photography, cooking.

But it also fair to tell you that most people are attracted to the Tuscan countryside because there are no obvious tourist things "to do" other than enjoy the pretty farm country scenery and the wine. All the towns are varied enough that they have curiosities or even some stupendous works of art to appreciate if you stop by. On the other hand, there are so many, if you miss most of them, it doesn't matter.

So if you like that kind of undirected explortation, Tuscany usually has a surprise around the corner wherever you go. But if you really like to have a schedule, then you might consider fewer than 10 days with the farmers (and fellow tourists) and more time in some livelier cities in the north, like Verona, Bologna, Milan or Torino. Depends on what interests you.
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 11:12 AM
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There's just so much to do and see in Tuscany, you will have no trouble filling your time there. It's a good kind of problem to have.

A lot of Fodorites gravitate toward the southern half of Tuscany and the scenic hill towns in and around the Val d'Orcia. A lot of people love visiting the top tourist attractions in the cities and towns like Siena, Lucca and Pisa. I tend to love the historic old places like Volterra and San Gimignano, or driving around the scenic vine-covered hills of Chianti. And depending on where you stay, it can be pretty easy to hop a train for a day trip to somewhere else like Bologna or Orvieto or Perugia...or even the coast.

Like I said, it's a good kind of problem. So read up, pick out a few "must see" sites, throw in a few "why nots" of your own, and leave a few days open for exploring. Seriously, it's hard to go wrong there.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 09:33 AM
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Keith,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm
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Old Sep 2nd, 2015, 05:13 PM
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Soo many places to see. You really need to research !
Here's a few places we visited.

Tour castle/winery Castello-di-Verrazzano
Bus to Siena from Florence
Train to Lucca, Pisa, Arezzo, and we even found our way to Cortona! Cortona was my favorite village! We did this all from Florence. We based in Florence for 9 wonderful days!
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Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 06:04 AM
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>>>Then training to Florence for two nights (2.5 days)
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Old Sep 3rd, 2015, 06:38 AM
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In May 2016 my wife and I (we're 36 y/o) will be flying into Venice (arriving in AM) and spending 1 night there. Then training to Florence for two nights (2.5 days), >>

have you been to Venice before? will you be flying in from the US? if the answer to these Qs is no and/or yes, you might want to add a night to Venice so that you do at least get a full day there and the chance to recover from jet lag.

as for Florence, I suppose that if you get an early train from Venice, your 2 nights might stretch to giving you a day and a half actually in the city, assuming that you pick up your car early on the day you leave it. but again, if you've not been there before, another night would enable you to see a lot more and feel that you had really seen something worthwhile.

regarding staying in an agritourismo in the countryside, that isn't your only option. you could also stay in a hotel in one of the smaller tuscan towns and use that as a base; that would enable you to have somewhere to walk around at night, with different restaurants and bars to discover and try. or follow SL and natbug's idea and stay in Florence using it as a base for say trips.
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 08:26 AM
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Thank you everyone! Great advice. Please feel free to drop anything else you have. We got plenty of time before we need to nail down details. Thanks again!
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 10:21 AM
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For our two weeks in Tuscany, we found an apartment in Florence within walking distance of train/bus station. From there we were able to take some wonderful day trips.
Our daughter was studying in Siena, so we there (bus) a couple of days. Wonderful place and a must see for anyone going to Tuscany.
One day we took a Viator tour to see Cinque Terre....great way to see those towns.
A highlight was riding bikes around the battlements surrounding the town of Lucca (preceded by a morning in tourist heavy Pisa),
A spontaneous choice was hopping the train to spend a day in Bologna...neat university city with covered sidewalks.
Of course, we spent a few days in Florence itself, enjoying all that city has to offer.
Typically...too much to see and do and not enough time.
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Old Sep 8th, 2015, 11:48 AM
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Where would you fly home from? This would determine where you spend the last night.

If you can fly out of Florence, you should consider putting your Florence nights at the end of your trip. Pick up the rental car as you're leaving Venice and return it when you go to Florence. Taxi or bus to the airport for your flight.
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Old Sep 10th, 2015, 11:50 AM
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Jean,

We are flying in and out Venice. Flights are booked.
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Old Sep 10th, 2015, 12:40 PM
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If you are flying in and out of Venice, consider heading to Florence immediately by train. It is under 2 hours.

Put Venice at the end of the trip--you probably should be there the night before if you are flying out of Venice early.

If you plan to have a few glasses of wine with dinner during your stay in rural Tuscany, consider an agriturismo that provides meals or consider staying in a small town where you can enjoy strolling and checking out the restaurants. (Not a good idea to drink and drive on rural roads.)
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