suddenlytuscany

Hi,

On the spur of the moment friends and my husband and I have decided to go to Tuscany at the end of the week to see the legendary Tuscan hill towns. We've been to Italy a lot, but we've never been to the Tuscan hill towns. We're going more toward the south instead of the Chianti region.

Ideal accommodations would be a place with a good onsite restaurant with good parking (and a fireplace). We care more about food than decor and we'd rather go cheap on accommodation than luxury.

Any recommendations for a locanda, albergo ristorante or agriturismo that cooks dinner? I am guessing we want to be in the area of Pienza, but am happy to take advice otherwise.

I'm happy for all other advice, too. We don't do wine tours, and our preference for selecting hilltowns is that they have a good restaurant for lunch and lovely architecture or art. Not interested in shops and don't mind going to places that aren't famous.

Otherwise, we're really pretty clueless about how to pick between the many towns that are famous. I think we don't need "cute" or "quaint" and would probably enjoy "historic" or "dramatic" or "unusual" more. We'd like to tour a compact area, rather than dash about. We all generally resist "touristy" places, but I gather we'll just have to put up with that if we want to see these towns.

Arezzo? Cortona? Montepulciano? Montereggio? Pienza?

We would probably enjoy seeing one or more of the great abbeys we've heard about.

Thanks for any assistance you can provide! I will also be scouring guidebooks and internet sites, but some back and forth here I'm sure will really help refine our target list.

Thanks!

suddenlytuscany

PS:

Has anyone every stayed or dined a L'albergo Osteria Da Toto in Lucignano? I really like the location.

suddenlytuscany

Okay, don't know if anybody cares to chime in but I've booked Da Toto.

I've also done some research and my target touring spots are:

Arezzo
Monte Oliveto Maggiore
Pienza
Montepulciano
Val d"Orcia

I've also become quite interested in seeing Chiusi for its Etruscan treasures. Has anyone ever been in its museum?

Any suggestions about adding or subtracting from the list. We have 4 full days (excluding travel time) and we want them to be relaxed touristing, punctuated by nice lunches. The days aren't long, so I don't think we can get too ambitious.

Any tips about visiting Monte Oliveto Maggiore? I thought we would combine it with lunch in Buonconvento, but I'm unsure how much time to alot for a visit to the abbey. (We're all kind of slow pokes.)

Thanks in advance to any Tuscan experts who might be out there and willing to comment! All tips welcome, including about parking in Arezzo and making the most of a visit there.

flanneruk

What's the attraction for you of Monte Oliveto Maggiore?

It's an ugly building, IMHO, though (if you get the opening hours right) a large and impressive Luca Signorelli fresco cycle and a less impressive one by Sodoma. Don't know how it is in late autumn, but in early summer, it's awash with small-scale localish mini-pilgrimages. The monks' singing at Sunday Mass is no more than OK at best, but most of the singing is by the pilgrims' choirs and is simply awful. Attending the main Mass and seeing the frescoes before they close for lunch is close to impossible. If you want to avoid the service (the chapel is of zero interest), you're not in control of your timing: their opening hours are, but judge how long you need to look at fresco cycles.

Unless you're a Signorelli fan, Sant'Antimo is a far more impressive bit of architecture.

suddenlytuscany

That's funny!

When I plunged into the internet to figure out which of the abbeys we would want to see, the first description I came across for Sant'Antimo was solely gushing about the monk's singing -- with pictures of tourists standing around gawking -- and I immediately ruled it out. And what I also read about the frescoes in Monte Oliveto Maggiore was fantastic.

But after reading your post, I began digging through tour books, and so now Sant'Antimo is on the short list Thank you!. Should we aim for lunch in Montalcino or elsewhere? I gather it may be worth going to Sant'Antimo in the afternoon to catch the sunset.

We may still try to see the Signorelli fresco cycle. I ran across many Bendictine pilgrims when I toured Umbria and Le Marche, so I know the problem. I hope we can time our visits to avoid rites.

Thanks!

rbnwdlr

Locada di San Francesco in Montepulciano. You won't regret it. Lovely wine bar and restaurant as part of this locanda. The view is to die for. Parking is no problem. YOu can head down the hill to La Grotta, a fine restaurant. Wish I was going along!

kybourbon

Are you sure you want hilltowns? They are exactly what you described as not wanting - quaint, cute. Most are tiny and compact. It sounds like you want a city, not a hilltown.

There are dozens of places to stay in Pienza which has a selection of restaurants within a five minute walk. I'm not sure Pienza would meet any of your other criteria though. I stayed at Il Giardino Segreto in September (their smallest apartment) and some of their apartments have fireplaces, but not all. It's right in the midst of the old town. I'm not sure if much will be open in the hilltowns this late in the season.
http://www.nautilus-mp.com/tuscany/a.../indexing.html

This website is for southern Tuscany and includes restaurants, farm stays, B&B's.
http://www.cretedisiena.com/english/

bobthenavigator

Hmmm ! You post at 04:35 in the AM and then say you have booked a place 4 hours later before anyone has a chance to reply. You must be in the UK to post that early. My choice for you would be Palazzo del Capitano in San Quirico or Locanda San Francesco in Montepulciano. Yes, I do think the frescoes at the abbey are worth your time.

Motorino

Good day Suddenly Tuscany,

What nice surprise for you...

Now that you have a place to stay – you need places to drive to. Be sure to rent a car.

Chiusi is a very nice destination, especially if you are interested in Etruscan history. Museum there is nice - but I do not recall the gold jewelry like we saw at the Etruscan museum in Volterra.

We enjoy the Etruscan funerary urns (cinerary urns) because they provide such insight into the fashions, styles, and even ethnic background of the people, as if the Etruscans are here living among us today.

There is a Chiusi hotel and restaurant suggestion about 1 minute into this video:

http://www.webvisionitaly.com/catego...p;ref_item=345

You'll also find a video of the Etruscan museum in Volterra.

In that area of Tuscany you are also close to Umbria - wonderful to head to a few towns there for a lunch too!

suddenlytuscany

Well, I guess the states are up now! (Bob should change his handle to bob the detective).

I'm going to stick with my accommodation choice because seeing Arezzo is high on our list, and I very much like the location of Lucignano for that. I've also read nice things about the food and the owners.

But while I was waiting for a confirmation from Da Toto, I did some internet research in case they couldn't have us, and I had bookmarked almost all of your suggestions. So fine minds, etc..... Thank you for posting them!

kybourbon,

Are Arezzo, Pienza and the Abbeys really "cute"? I've been looking at pictures and they seem to have very impressive architecture and histories. Even Montepulciano appears to have quite a grand piazza. I think Lucignano and Chiusi will do us for slightly off the tourist track, even though I take it a lot of foreigners pass through Chiusi picking up and dropping off rental cars. Where would you suggest we go other than the places I listed? We're open to all suggestions.

Webvision,

I enjoyed the video. Since we are beginning in Rome (and zipping right up to Tuscany) I will be picking up a car in Chiusi and we've decided to spend one night there since we'll be arriving so late. But I think we may linger to see the Etruscan sites, because we've already decided that before returning the car (in Rome), we will go to Tarquinia to see the Etruscan museum. We think Volterra belongs in another trip. I don't want to get too ambitious about driving because of the time of year. We've been to Umbria (or at least some of it) and it is marvelous.

Thanks again!

PS: Does anyone else recommend La Grotta for a meal in Montepulciano? Alas, one of our problems will be that it will be too cold to enjoy the wonderful restaurants with terraces and such. The food is going to have to carry the whole burden!

rbnwdlr

Hey! Anyone who has been to La Grotta will recommend it. I just read that it is one of only four wonderful restaurants in Tuscany. It was by far the best meal we had there.

zoecat

La Grotta is wonderful.

Two of my favorite towns to visit in southern Tuscany (both dramatic and unusual) are Sorano and Pitigliano. Here's a nice website to help with your planning-

http://www.pitigliano-toscana.com/

There are some nice places for lunch in Pitigliano and a beautiful and unique casual wine bar (cave) in Sorano that you have to visit. I don't remember the name of the wine bar, but as you walk the "main" street look for a small sign pointing downhill to a wine bar. I think it's only open on the weekends.

Enjoy you trip!

zoecat

Sorry- enjoy your trip!

kellyee21

I just ate there last week and yes it is really good, very different from the typical trattoria fare you find most everywhere else, much more creative. We were brought a complementary glass of white Nobile and a small 'amuse-bouche'. I had a cheese soufflé with asperagus sauce for the primo, followed by cheese ravolis in a 'most' sauce. I had never has this before, apparantly an extraction from pressed grapes. I can't remember exactly what my boyfriend had, but some kind of pasta for the primo and a meat (maybe lamb) of some sort. He also enjoyed both. We also had a nice bottle of Nobile di Montepulciano.

As if that wasnt enough, I had a Marscapone cream for dessert and my by had tarte. Oh and a glass of dessert wine each to go with it.

Our bill was around 130€ which is the most we spent on dinner this trip but it was worth it, especially with all that we ordered. Service is top notch as well.

On a side note, if you go to Cortona, there is also a La Grotta there which I recommend as well. We ate there twice it was so good. Actually I enjoyed it just as much, maybe more than La Grotta in Montepulciano because they had fresh truffles. It is about half the price as well, a bowl of fresh pasta with tons of black shaved truffles was only 10€. Even though we were staying near Montepulciano we drove back to Cortona on our last night just to eat truffles here again. Yum.

suddenlytuscany

Part of the reason I asked for more opinions about La Grotta is because I had come across the internet comments of someone who preferred Ristorante Le Logge del Vignola.

http://www.janeandken.com/Italy2003/...ionspage1.html

What you describe for lunches sound scrumptious, but I'll be skipping the wine so I can drive ok.

Zoecat,

I'm considering Pitigliano as a lunch stop on the way to Tarquinia . What lunch places do you recommend? I really doubt we can do a wine bar on the road though, and we won't be traveling near Sorano on a weekend day.

Kelly, I'm hoping to run into truffles during our tour. (I know there is one town right around there that is a bit famous for them). But so far we feel like we can't include both Cortona and Arezzo in this trip, and we're leaning toward Arezzo.

We're going to eat all our dinners at our albergo, and we hope that lunch menus at the best restaurants are a bit cheaper than dinner menus (and we won't be drinking at lunch).

Thanks again!

Any more input is welcome. I'd especially like to hear opinions about the best way to get to Tarquinia.

tuscanlifeedit

Arezzo is not cute, but neither is it a hill town. Or at least I wouldn't call it a hill town. Although it slopes uphill.

I love Arezzo. You will certainly see great art and dramatic architecture. Good food, too.

suddenlytuscany

Thanks for that bit of intelligence! We'll probably need to alternate between hills and not-hills to pace ourselves.

I'm very much looking forward to seeing Arezzo in 3-dimensions. The pictures make it seem quite striking. Did you have a favorite lunch spot there?

nametaken

My husband and I found the museum in Chiusi very informaative about the alusive Etruscan culture. They have quite a few artifacts to see. You can also visit an Etruscan tomb through the museum. You follow a guide in your own car. This was an awesome experience. Have a good trip.

zoecat

One of the best reviewed places to eat in Pitigliano is Tufo Allegro.

I'm not sure you can squeeze in Pitigliano on your way to Tarquinia. It looks like a 2.5 hour drive from Arezzo to Tarquinia when using the highway. Trying to include lunch in Pitigliano would make it a long day of driving and not much time in Tarquinia.

vetralla

Guidebook writer suggests Terrazza Aldobrandeschi in Sorano.
See also www.elegantetruria.com for places, itineraries , locandas, B&B with more substance than hype.
Try going just a bit further south to find the authentic area that is still not fashinable but where food, extra virgin olive oil and wines are still authentic. Also costs less.