rick_c

Gurus:

My wife and I are traveling to Tuscany for 7 days next June. We are flying in and out of Florence, and would like to spend a couple of days there and the rest touring the Tuscan region. I am trying to piece together an itinerary and could really use some help from those of you who know this region.

I was thinking of starting in Siena and ending in Florence. In between, we'd like to visit some hill towns, including Montalcino and Montepulciano. As we are wine freaks, we also plan on spending some time touring Chianti. Can you all suggest some "can't miss" places and towns to visit? Is my initial strategy a good one, or should I reconsider?

How can we best accomplish this? Can we spend all of our non-Florence time in Siena, and use that as a base? Or is there another location that you all might recommend? I am very much open to suggestion here, and will very much appreciate any help that can be offered.

We will be renting a car the day we arrive in Florence and are pretty flexible, although I don't want to spend each night in a different hotel.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Dayle

Hi Rick,

I too am a wino and was just in Tuscany and Umbria on my third trip - Sept.

If you really want to stay in Siena, from there you can easily spend some time in Chianti, San Gimignano, Volterra.

I would move south to Montalcino or near for 3 days. Remember, Montalcino = Brunello & Rosso di Montalcino, Montepulciano = Rosso di Montepulciano, Pienza = pecorino, and on and on.

If you stay, and taste, in the hilltowns, you don't have to worry about driving home after all that tasting!

Highly recommend Taverna Grappolo Blu in Montalcino!

Buon viaggio!

rick_c

Would you then say a few days around Siena, and a few down around Montepulciano or Montalcino?

Can you recommend any particular places to stay/eat/drink in the latter regions?

lawchick

http://www.fattoriapoggioalloro.com/...mo/agritur.htm

SusanP

If you are starting with a couple of nights in Florence, you won't want to get the car until you're ready to leave Florence. Do you have 6 nights actually in Italy? What is your budget per night for hotel?

StuDudley

What day of the week do you arrive?

Most of the stores in Siena will be closed on Sunday and Monday morning (some open in the afternoon at 3 or so). To a lesser degree, stores will be closed then in Florence also - but most museums will be open. This could influence where you stay the first couple of nights. It's very crowded in Florence in June - way too crowded for me, but others have said they can tolerate crowds more than I can. The crowds in Siena are not as bad.

I much prefer the Val d'Orcia area over Chianti. The countryside is much prettier (IMO) and the region has more interesting hill towns (Montalcino, San Quirico, Pienza, Montepulciano, and many others). As Dayle said, they have great wine there too - I actually prefer it over Chianti.

I would not choose to stay in both Siena and Florence in 7 days - perhaps that's too much "city". I would stay in the countryside (Val d'Orcia) instead for a few days, plus 1 night in San Gimignano (visit Volterra from San G).

Stu Dudley

rick_c

We are arriving in Florence on Saturday AM, and will be flying out on the next Saturday AM. I thought it would be most convenient to do Florence at the end of the trip, to facilitate getting to the airport to leave on that second Saturday morning. I think my flight leaving Florence is at 830am or so, so I didn't want to have to come from very far.

My room budget is not particularly an issue. This trip will be for our 25th anniversary, and I am determined not to cut corners, if there is a choice. Given a choice, my wife will usuallly pick more upscale lodging, although we understand that the Tuscan countryside is not at all like the Via Veneto.

I really do appreciate all the input I am getting here. We have been to Rome, but we have not been to other parts of Italy, and it's a little different when planning for this sort of experience, for us.

Thanks again.

StuDudley

Here is what I would do.

Sat - arrive & pick up the car. Head south to Volterra and have lunch there & visit the town. Drive a little east and visit/stay in San Gimignano. I like the Cisterna hotel because it's in town - in the middle of everything. It's nothing fancy Don't get to San G before about 6:00PM - when all the day trippers have left.

Sun - visit San G some more, then high-tail it down to the Val d'Orcia and stay at La Saracina - it's perfect for a destination stay on your 25th. It's half way between Pienza & Montepulciano. Get the Malvensa room - it's decadent (tub/zacuzzi you can do laps in, and a shower with 2 heads and large enough that it doesn't even have a shower curtain - 2 sinks. The hotel only has about 5 rooms, a pool, tennis court, and in a spectacular setting

http://www.lasaracina.it/menu_eng.htm

Book ASAP - this place is very popular. It's much prettier than the pictures show.

Visit Pienza, and drive around in the Val d'Orcia. See if you can find a past post of mine - do a search on "Stu Monticcheillo antimo". If you can't find it, e-mail me at [email protected] and I'll send you my 20+ page Italy itinerary.

BTW, we spend our 25th at La Saracina (we were there 2 years earlier also).

Monday - Wednesday - explore the Val d'Orcia & surrounding areas. Visit Siena (1 hr away) if you get bored with the countryside, perched villages, wine tasting, Sant Antimo Abbey, etc. (I doubt it)

Thurs - head up to Florence early in the day & stay there 2 nights.

Stu Dudley

Dayle

Hi again Rick,

When we stayed in Chianti (5 years ago), stayed in tiny San Sano at hotel Residence San Sano a 4*. About as far off the beaten track as you can get. We loved it, but it was a long and windy drive to other towns - San Gimignano and Voltera. We also visited Siena, a 20 minute drive.

On my last trip I particularly loved Montalcino and stayed at Il Giglio, a 3*. My other favorite town was in Umbria. Spello, where I stayed at Palazzo Bocci, 4* and wonderful. A day trip to nearby Montefalco let me discover Sagrantino di Montefalco! Just as wonderful as Brunello.

If you want to read my trip report for some ideas, do a search on my name and it should come up.

You'll have a great time wherever you go!

SusanP

As usual, Stu gives you an excellent plan. If you don't want to go out to a winery for tastings, Montalcino has them every few feet (or so it seemed...I was there in the morning and therefore didn't do much tasting!). I spent three nights (two entire days) in Pienza in Sept and loved it. Many say you can see Pienza in two hours, but there's more there to see than you might think. And although they take the siesta (generally 1-3 pm) in Pienza, all the shops were open on Monday (I had read here that most would be closed then). Make sure you get some of that wonderful Pecorino cheese (it made my suitcase heavy on the way home but was worth every ounce!).

Have a great trip!

RJD

A few cautious words. Tuscany, particulalrly the route from Siena to Montlacino has been discovered and will be rather tourist laden in June. The Castello tasting space in Montlacino for instance is rather commercial. My experience there last May was very small portions and high prices and crowds. On the other hand, I found the Chianti hills to be less crowded, and more fun. Loved Gaoli and Greve which are on my must visit list. I would spend a few days there.

Dayle

R, I hate to tell you but Tuscany was "discovered" a LONG time ago!

What I especially liked about tasting at the Enoteca di Fortezza at the top of Montalcino was that they have a huge selection of wines from wineries all over the area. Yes, it was expensive and busy. If you go in the early evening, not so busy after the tasting tour buses have left.

Every other shop in Montalcino is an enoteca, but most are "direct sellers" for a single winery and have only 1 or 2 wines to taste. Some have more.

dorkforcemom

I second StuDudley's recommendation of staying at La Saracina. We stayed there in May based on his rec and we're returning this May. We've seen two other rooms there which are lovely as well, in case the one he mentioned is already booked. Email them asap. The location is ideal for what you want. If they are booked, we've also stayed at Locanda Dell Amorosa. It is a beautiful, romantic place of which you can read many wonderful reviews on tripadvisor. It's my second favorite place in the world (La Saracina is my favorite!). Happy anniversary!

rick_c

Thanks so much for all of the good advice thus far. I don't know how people did this before the Internet!

One other question: if I fly into Florence, how should I best approach the idea of car rental? I keep hearing that picking up at the airport will increase the expense. Should I take a cab or bus or train somewhere else, and then get the car??? Or is the difference actually minimal no matter where I get it?

Dayle

Rick,

Check the pick up locations for smaller cities if you want to avoid the airport surcharge. Since you are doing Florence last, try picking up in Siena (if you do Chianti first) or Chiusi if you go south first. Just make sure the smaller offices will be open on the days you want.

I've used Autoeurope twice. Good prices and they will match the competitors.

rick_c

How would you recommend I get to Siena or Chiusi, from the Florence airport?

StuDudley

>> in Pienza, all the shops were open on Monday (I had read here that most would be closed then).<<

That's normally the case (shops closed Monday) in most cities - Pienza & San G are exceptions because they are very tourist oriented. We were in Cortona on a Monday last year, and most shops were closed in the morning. Same in Perugia - but many (not all) opened up in the afternoon.

Stu Dudley

Dayle

Rick,

I have not used the Florence airport, so don't know if there is a train into Florence, but whether you take a taxi or train, you will probably need to change trains in Florence to go to Siena. The Hertz rental office in Siena required a short taxi ride to get there. As you have probably read, the train station is not right IN Siena.

My Avis rental office also required a taxi ride from the Chiusi train station, although I have read from other posters here that there is a rental office walkable from the station.

One of the other Fodorites will be able to give you specifics on travel from the Florence airport to either of these towns.

2Italy

This year we stayed at Hotel Il Giglio in Montalcino and explored from there. We did a tour and tasting at Altesino, about 15 minutes from Montalcino and really enjoyed the peccorino, prosciutto, bread, and wines.

Mimar

rick_c, since you are flying into Florence, just pick up the car at the airport and drive to Siena. It might cost slightly more but it's also much more convenient.

We have a general preference for staying inside cities and towns close to the Centro Storico. And for staying in one spot as much as possible. But when doing excursions in Tuscany with a car, picking your way into and out of a small town with its narrow streets and cramped parking--if any--is not fun. If you stay on the edge of town or just outside, you can still be within walking distance of restaurants and shops.