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20th ANNIVERSARY TRIP ITALY Rome, Florence, Tuscany & other nearby towns.

20th ANNIVERSARY TRIP ITALY Rome, Florence, Tuscany & other nearby towns.

Old Sep 15th, 2014, 11:57 AM
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20th ANNIVERSARY TRIP ITALY Rome, Florence, Tuscany & other nearby towns.

Looking to plan our 20th Anniversary for early April around Easter in Italy. we have been several times and just actually experienced Tuscany this past summer with our twin16 year old boys.
Looking to see some other towns. We saw Sienna, Montepluciano, San gimignano, and Chianti region (Gaiole).
Would love some suggestions on other areas in Tuscany, if we should just stay in Florence as a base and take some day trips. We will have about 6 nights/days in Florence and 4 in Rome though we are flexible, (about 11 nights total) We can skip Rome and are open to other suggestions, maybe Portofino and other areas we have never been to.
Thank you all so much for any advice.
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 12:21 PM
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I would not recommend the Portofino area in early April. Too much risk of poor weather.

What did you enjoy most about being in Tuscany that makes you want to return? If it was the towns then I suggest making a plan to visit Lucca and Arezzo from Florence and maybe take a flyer on Bologna too (even though that is not in Tuscany but Emilia-Romagna). Maybe you could add a day to Rome to do a day trip to the hilltown of Orvieto. While in Florence consider a daytrip up to Fiesole as well.

But if what you liked about Tuscany is the scenery then return to the vicinity of the scenery you liked best. There are always more charming towns to explore. If you really liked Montepulciano then you can visit Montalcino and Pienza and even Orvieto or Cortona. If you liked Chianti more than you can return to that area and visit Arezzo and Cortona but also perhaps dip into Umbria.
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 03:31 PM
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Cortona is on my list. Pienza we liked I almost forgot to add that one in. I missed Lucca this summer we ran out of time. What I loved about Tuscany was the scenery and the towns ;-)
It was so different then anything we had ever experienced in Italy and I knew right away I wanted to go back. I am not so sure I would want to stay in the heart of it again, we were in an old Monastery away from it all and had far drives to many of the towns during the day time. I think I would enjoy exploring more of the charming towns but maybe stay in a busier city at night.
Would Florence be too far as a base?
Thank you!!!
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 03:56 PM
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The difficulty with Florence is that you MUST pick a hotel well outside the main center with parking and where you can drive to and from the countryside without inadvertantly entering into any ZTLs (zones of limited traffic where only those with special permits may drive or if caught receive huge fines). There are a few such hotels in the hills across the river from Florence. Another possibility is to stay in Fiesole --the small town just above Florence -- but which has reasonable bus and taxi connections into the city for the days you don't feel like driving into the countryside or would rather take a train to Lucca or Pisa than drive.

From Florence it becomes easy to visit the Chianti hills with a car but you are too far north to comfortably visit towns like Cortona or Montepulciano. Siena would be better if you want some urban buzz but a chance to see Cortona and revisit both the Chianti and areas around Montepulciano. You would also need to find a place with parking at the edge of town and people sometimes complain about traffic around Siena slowing them down but I think in April you would be ok.

My personal favorite small Renaissance city is Arezzo but I have never had a car there. The historic center is gorgeous and graceful and filled with fantastic window shopping but the edges of the city are not attractive unless maybe you go to the hilly eastern side of the city (and I don't know if there are any good hotels up there). I think most people get a lovely hotel in the center but park just outside the center and walk in (same with Lucca) From Arezzo you can easily visit Cortona and all of the Chianti. Pienza is doable but not much further.

It is really easy to do a day trip to Lucca from Florence by train but it is not easy to stay in the most scenic parts of Tuscany and include Lucca as part of that trip. It is too far northwest.
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 04:21 PM
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It's not clear whether you've spent time in Florence. If you haven't, and depending on your interests, you could easily spend 3-4 days there before renting a car to explore the countryside.

FYI, the train journey Florence-Cortona probably takes less time than driving, and there are late evening trains Cortona-Florence.

Does it have to be Tuscany? Would you consider Umbria?
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 07:03 PM
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We stayed in a villa about 20 miles south of Florence. The scenery was gorgeous and it made for an easy drive to Florence, Sienna, and many other Tuscan towns. The villa was La Canonica de Cortine near San Donato. If it is just the two of you, they have a bed and breakfast section. We can't wait to go back there. Last April we spent our 30th on the Amalfi Coast. If you have not been to that area, I suggest you consider it.
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Old Sep 16th, 2014, 07:50 PM
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We love love love the Amalfi coast we have only been during the summer. We just spent 6 days in Sorrento this past summer after taking several cruises and never having enough time in Capri and along the coast. We really enjoyed it. How was the weather in April?
We have been to Florence for a few days a few years ago and then this summer for a day trip before we went on to Tuscany. I do love it there as well. We just wanted to go somewhere that we had not been too many times and that the weather would be not too, too cold.
We have never state din Ravello or Positano and I do love those towns as well.
So many choices!!!! I just don't want to spend too much time driving and in traffic that would be a waste of the short time we do have. The train from Florence to Cortona sounds like great option. We would consider Umbria too. We are hoping to get to Forte de Marmi this summer with our twin boys so whatever we don't cover in April we can hopefully see this summer possibly some more of Tuscany region.
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Old Sep 16th, 2014, 08:42 PM
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We stayed at the Villa Gabrisa in Positano from April 13-19. About half the time the weather was perfect- sunny skies, mild in the daytime, cooler at night. We did have a couple of days of light rain and cool temperatures. We loved Ravello, but the downside to staying there for any length of time is that it is not convenient to get to the other towns along the coast from there, whereas most of them are easily accessible by ferry from Positano.
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Old Sep 17th, 2014, 06:51 AM
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Well, since you seem to love everywhere you go in Italy (me too!), I would branch out and spend time in a new area... like Umbria!

We've stayed in Umbertide, Perugia (without car), Spoleto (with car) and Orvieto (with car). There is more than enough to see in 6 nights/5 days. You could still get to Cortona.
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Old Sep 17th, 2014, 03:46 PM
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I would also recommend Umbria. Read some trip reports here about the region.

Or just to throw it out there. ...Sicily? You would only have time for one coast. April is a good time to visit and they have some amazing Easter celebrations you could enjoy. I loved Sicily last year!
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Old Sep 21st, 2014, 07:26 PM
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Thank you everyone!! Yes We do love Italy!!! As I plan this trip I keep thinking okay we will be back in June/July I want to take the boys to Forte de Marmi I need to make sure I do not repeat what I am seeing this trip. At least thats the plan, Forte de marmi area and I am determined to get to Crete this summer!
I have been reading some reports on Umbria it does sound lovely. We visited Sicily very quickly on a Mediterranean cruise a few years ago it was a place we both want to go back to. Right now I think we are leaning towards Tuscany using Florence as more of a base and taking some day trips to Lucca and Arezzo and maybe back to Montepluciano or Sienna. We also just want to enjoy Florence when its not 90 plus degrees. Then we will head to Rome. I am thinking that Rome on the back end might be less crowded then Rome around Easter weekend? I was also thinking 6 nights Florence and 5 in Rome? Though that does sound like a lot of time in each place. We don't really love switching hotels we like a nothing less then a 3-4 night minimum but 6 nights sounds kind of long. Should we stay in another town near Florence? I would have loved to incorporate Venice in too, we have been there before but I find when you start adding so many places in you wind up running around so much and not enjoying the trip. So many try to cram 5 cities in a 10-14 day period it is too much and they wind up looking back on a trip and wondering what they really saw.
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