tonyL64

We are renting a car in Venice going to Certaldo in June.What must we see between there .We need to be at our villa by 18:00. Will be in Certaldo for 3 days and will be taking day trips from there-Siena, Florence,San Gim and Pisa maybe. Any suggestions for other towns, sights,restaurants anything.Thank you

bobthenavigator

No reason to stop--it is mostly Autostrada---the fun begins after you arrive, and you will want to stop at a grocery store anyway.

tonyL64

Bob,what about Verona,Padua or Bologna.Reading your numerous replies I know you know a little bit about Italy. I have enjoyed your tips and have copied many of them for our trip.Thanks for any ideas on places we must see either on the way or once we get to Catignano, which is where we are staying.

bobthenavigator

Maybe Verona, but it is not easy to get off the big road and find parking in these cities. The Arena di Verona is cool if you want the hassle---I would keep truckin !

tonyL64

Bob,thanks for the info I,ll just keep drivin.

zeppole

What a tragedy, really, that someone gets a reply like this. There are so many beautiful sights worth seeing in Italy between Venice and Certaldo -- and it is not at all hard to get off the autostrade and find parking. Buy a Michelin guide, which shows where to park.

Bobthenavigator knows really nothing about Italy except a lazy and corny tourist approach to it. I know he's cultivated a big reputation here on Fodor's for steering people around Italy to the touristy places he goes, which he apparently thinks is the sum total of enjoying Italy as a typical American. If that describes you, then by all means, drive in the tourist ruts. This is you trip. You are paying for it.

But otherwise, you might want to do some research into the treasures of Padova, Ferrara, Verona, Fiesole, Verona, Mantova, Bologna -- and those are just the big ticket towns (and you'll notice I've left out Venice).

If you don't care about art, history or culture, Bobthenavigator is definitely your guide to Italy -- just keep on truckin'. If you are spending all this money to get to Italy because you'd like to grasp something of Itay's cultural and artistic highpoints in the context of Western civilization -- or even just minimal intellectual curiousity -- any guidebook save Rick Steves will be more helpful. (Of course I realize message boards are free -- but you get what you pay for.)

tuscanlifeedit

You might want to consider a visit to a small town where it is easier to get off the highway, and find a place to park. I might consider a visit to a Mugello town in Tuscany. This is a very interesting area, and you might plan a lunch or just a short visit.

There are some good guidebooks for Tuscany's less visited towns. I like Cadogan for things like that. As suggested above, you might go through a Michelin Green Guide that will show parking.

CYESQ

You don't say what time you get in so we're not sure how much time you have to get to Certaldo. I believe the trip will take 3 hours or so on the highway. If you're arriving in the morning, you should have plenty of time to make a side trip to one of the places such as TonyL suggests. Just make sure to allow sufficient time to get to your accommodations. We stayed in Certaldo and getting from the highway to our villa was not easy or quick. It took us about 45 min to get from the highway to the villa. We realized the next day that it was actually easier to access the highway going the opposite direction from the house. In any event, if you have a villa and are expected to be there precisely at 1800, then factor some travel time in for that and a stop at the market.

We drove to San Gim and Volterra but took the train from Certaldo city center to Siena and Florence. All easy day trips which we enjoyed very much. Be sure to get ceramics in San Gim - the work is incredible and they will ship to your home.

We deliberately did not go to Pisa because of the not very complimentary reviews it gets - dirty and way too commercialized.

Have a great trip!

CYESQ

Sorry, meant to say "as you suggest." Sorry Tony!

Bopal

You don't say what time you're starting from Venice, but assuming it's the morning, and factoring in a 4 hour drive (uppr limit, in case you have trouble finding the villa), you may well have 3 hours or so to get off the road and do something. If it were me, I would focus on something on a smaller scale - bigger cities (Bologna, Verona, etc) are no doubt rewarding, but more difficult to choose what to do under strict time constraints, so perhaps you would feel rushed and unsatisfied. I would be tempted to stop at Fiesole - great views of Florence and the countryside, some beautiful things to see, a couple of good cafes and restaurants. Not sure if you need to drive through Florence to get there though, or what kind of delay that might cause.

Lexma90

With only 3 days/nights in Certaldo, and assuming you're a first-time visitor to the area, I may suggest the same thing that Bob did - drive straight on to Certaldo. That way, you'll have more time for the locations you already mentioned (Siena, Florence, San Gimignano and Pisa).

Of course there are thousands of wonderful places in between, but with limited time, you'll have to decide what's a "must-see" for you. So if seeing the Roman arena in Verona is worth some of your limited time, definitely allocate that. I love Bologna, for its food and its non-touristy feel, and I would probably stop there and not go to Pisa, due to my interests.

tonyL64

Thanks for the tips everyone. I am thinking a small town would be a great place for lunch and sightseeing. We are leaving Venice around 9:00 so so a small town break would be welcome for the seven of us.Any ideas for a picnic lunch would be welcome. thanks everyone for your help.

Lexma90

None of the towns mentioned thus far fit my definition of small towns, and they are closer to Venice than you would be at lunchtime. Per google maps, the trip should take 3 1/2 hours. Even if it takes longer than that (and assuming you're on the road at 9 am), you'll be pretty close to your destination by lunchtime, assuming that's between noon and 1 pm. And you'll likely be somewhere near Florence, which obviously isn't a small town!

To visit Fiesole (which you may decide to do anyway), you'll have to get off the autoroute and drive on the outskirts of Florence; I don't know how congested those roads are like, but it may be further off your route than you want to go.

I feel like I'm being purposefully difficult by saying that I don't know that there's a small town on your route that fits what you have in mind, but I don't see any. Possibly someone who's more familiar with that route can come up with cute small towns.

If it were me and I didn't stop in Bologna for a leisurely, delicious lunch, I would get a bunch of picnic foods in Venice (including a bottle of wine), and eat a late lunch once at your destination. That would probably be more beautiful than anything else en route.