rtwin80days

Hi,

Considering I plan to stay in Florence for 5/6 nights and also take 1/2 day-trip to a small tuscan town (using public transportation), which location would be ideal to stay in? Does it make sense to stay closer to the train/bus hub? In terms of public transportation from Florence to Tuscan towns, is it mostly trains or buses? Your recommendations for day-trips would be welcome.

Sorry for my lack of much research. I feel I am asking a lot of basic questions these days. But I have suddenly got 10 days notice to plan a 5 weeks Europe dream trip and all the help I am getting from the forum has been great!

nytraveler

It would help to know what your budget is - and if there is only one of you.

I think taking trains to hill towns in probably easier - but we drove so I can't provide details. I believe bus schedule is much less frequent to many places.

adrienne

The train/bus station is not far from the center (Duomo) - about a 10 to 12 minute walk so if you stay in or near the center you can easily access public transportation.

Large towns (Pisa, Lucca) will have train stations, Siena has both train and bus service but the bus is easier. Smaller towns do not have train stations so you will need to use buses.

The 3 towns I mentioned are the easiest and quickest to access - about an hour each from Florence.

Jean

Five weeks! Lucky you!

Siena, San Gimignano, Fiesole are easy day trips by bus. Fiesole is only 6-7 kms. from the historical center of Florence and has both Etruscan and Roman sights and nice views of Florence. Towns in Chianti are tougher, and I think the concensus here is that hiring a driver for a day tour of Chianti is the best way to see part of the area.

Lucca, Pisa, Montecatini Terme, Certaldo, Bologna and Arezzo are easy day trips by train. Fares to Bologna tend to be highest, so book/buy in advance to take advantage of any discounts.

Florence is fairly small, so I wouldn't pick a lodging location based on plans for 1-2 day trips. FWIW, Florence is my favorite Italian city, and I could spend the entire 5-6 nights there and still not see everything. I wouldn't plan too many day trips until you decide how many of the city's treasures you want to see.

Before and after your time in Florence, where will you be and will you have a car? Also, what time of year is your trip?

bvlenci

The places already mentioned, with the exception of Fiesole, are cities, not small towns. The part of Lucca within the walls is fairly small, so it has the feel of a small town, but it's not a hill town, if that's what you had in mind.

There is a bus that goes to most of the small towns in the Chianti area, although there is almost no service on Sundays, and somewhat less frequent service on Saturdays. Here is the schedule:

http://www.acvbus.it/orari/365.pdf

Most of the buses don't go as far as Radda and Gaiole, and there are no buses from there back to Florence in the afternoon. Panzano would be easy to visit by bus, and it's probably most like what people think of as a Chianti hill town. (Panzano is where that world-famous Tuscan butcher practices his trade, when he's not posing with celebrities or starring in films.)

On the schedule, Firenze autostation is the bus station just by the train station. Most of the buses have notes; if you want to take a particular bus that has a numbered note, let us know which bus it is, and one of us can translate it for you. Or you can paste the text into translate.google.com for a fairly decent translation. In general, "lun-ven" is Monday to Friday, while "sab" is Saturday. "Festivo" means Sundays and holidays.

There is a nice area in Florence near the basilica of Santa Maria Novella, in the vicinity of Via delle Belle Donne (Street of the beautiful women!) There are some small and reasonably priced hotels in this area, and it's an easy walk to the train station (or bus station). We stayed in a nice little hotel in this area once, but I don't remember its name.

I highly recommend a visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, right by the train station. It has a number of Renaissance masterpieces inside, including the splendid Tornabuoni Chapel, with frescoes by the workshop of Il Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo was a young apprentice in this workshop when the work was being done, and it's thought that he painted one of the figures in the foreground. There are also works by Giotto, Brunelleschi, Filippino Lippi, Masaccio, Bronzino, and others. It's virtually an art museum, and, strangely, it doesn't get many visitors. Its interior is much more beautiful than the inside of the Duomo, whose interior usually is a big letdown after you've seen the beautiful exterior. It also has a beautiful cloister.

Another important visit in that area (for me, and many others) is the Officina Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, a historical pharmacy, with beautiful finishings, that makes all sorts of wonderful creams and colognes.

rtwin80days

Hi all

I am absorbing the info passed by you and will research / reply / answer ASAP. Lot of decisions to make.

In the meanwhile, how about Hotel Olimpia? It is at Piazza della Repubblica, supposedly ~5 min walk to Duomo / Ponte Vecchio and Uffizi is ~10 minute walk. Asking because I have a tentative booking with them.

http://www.hotel-olimpia.it/webpages/home

bobthenavigator

Here are some nice B&Bs in good locations:

SMALL B&Bs Prices from 140 to 200E for a double room
• http://www.touristhouseghiberti.com/ Nice B&B near Duomo

• www.ilvillino.it Nice people and good value

• www.ladimoradegliangeli.com Lovely B&B—great location

• www.residenzailcarmine.com/ Well priced apartments

rtwin80days

@bobthenavigator, thanks for your links. I tried all but most were fully booked or too expensive for me. I ended up picking a hotel near Piazza Vittorio Veneto, 4, Firenze.