It's not that the driving is so horrible, it's that you simply aren't allowed to drive in the center as it's restricted to residents. You need to make yourself familiar with the ZTL zones if you want to avoid big fines. Even hill towns have ZTL areas.

I would train to Florence if you don't plan on sightseeing along the way. What towns in Tuscany do you want to visit? Some are easily reached by train or bus.

You could try staying on the outskirts of Florence, perhaps in Fiesole. It is an easy bus trip into the center of Florence. Driving in Florence itself is a nightmare - we have always had the hotel arrange parking for the car and then we didn't drive until it was time to leave the city...

The problem is not that driving in Florence ins awful - it's that the center of the city is completely closed to cars - except those few with special permits. You can drive there - but will get a huge fine each time you are caught.

Trying to do Tuscany by bus makes no sense - so you hae two options.

Find a hotel in Florence outside the pedestrian zone that either has a garage or one nearby that yuo canput yuor car in at night (parking on the street is not realistic for tourists). Or find a hotel in the center with a garage that will give you the appropriate pass so you can take your car in and out. There are not many of these hotels and most are quite upscale/expensive.

You need to decide which you want based on your budget.

We have had cars in Florence at lest 5 times with no problems - twice before you needed the pass - and since the pass came into effect using hotels that provided the pass. (BUY you muse be sure your hotel will really do this - there hae reports of hotels saying they would and didn't. I don't know if those reports are mistakes on the part of the tourists, confusion about where they were allowed to go - you can;t drive around in the pedestrian area - just directly to and fro your hotel - or hotels not fulfilling the requiements.)

You must deal with this when choosing and reserving your hotel - and I would get the info in writing to be sure there is no confusion.

I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn (used points). Although I returned my rental car after checking-in, they have parking at the hotel. Getting to the hotel by car is very easy.

Bus is about 12 minutes to Florence center.

I picked up another car on leaving the city to continue my trip.

Okay thanks. That helps a lot. I like the idea of driving into Florence and staying in a hotel that has a parking garage. This seems to make the most sense for our trip. I am trying to investigate where these "safe" ares are but am having trouble deciphering. Does anyone know any hotels that would provide parking outside the center?

Train to Florence.
See Florence day one
Bus to Siena day two
Train to Lucca/ Pisa day three
Hire a private driver for a tour of Hill towns day four

Less than having a car and parking for 4 days and easier.

i stayed here:

http://www.residenzacasanuova.it/where_we_are.html

if you scroll down you see that they are just outside the RTZ, and 50 metres away from a garage. i remember that cars were parked on the street outside as well but you'd probably want off street parking.

the B&B was in a very interesting area and was very conveniently placed - about a 10 min walk to the Duomo in one direction, and Santa Croce in the other. it's as comfortable as it looks too!

Albert, it really would be NICE if you answered the question as to which towns you want to visit.