ashleylandersen

My fiance and I have decided that we would like to spend the entirety of our honeymoon (around 10-12 days) in Tuscany rather than bouncing around different areas. We are planning on flying into Florence (I've been to Florence before but he hasn't) and spending the night before renting a car and heading to the countryside. We were thinking of splitting the time between a farmhouse agriturismo setting and a little busier of a town with shops and restaurants within walking distance of our accommodations.

If anyone can recommend areas (and/or specific accommodations if you know of any good ones)- from my research it seems like we would like to stay in the central tuscany areas- for us to base ourselves out of as we explore for the time we have?

Thanks!

bobthenavigator

Here is a good start. Look at # 6 near San Quirico.


BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TUSCANY
A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. Relais La Saracina www.lasaracina.it 230 to 300E
Fabulous country home near Montepulciano—helpful owners

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families
Isabella also has 2 apts. in Castelmuzio for rent—wonderful—see her site.

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello

4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Agriturismo apts. near San Quirico— www.poggiolo.info/ About 110E

7. New historic B&B north of Pienza. http://www.camprena.it/index.htm
Site of filming for THE ENGLISH PATIENT About 90E for double

8. http://www.borgoargenina.it/index.html A special rural B&B in Chianti.
The lovely owner, Elena, will make you feel like family. 170E for double

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 170 to 210E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.vecchiaoliviera.com/ 150 to 200E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
New boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 170 to 250E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

ashleylandersen

Bob, thank you so much for the suggestions! They all look so beautiful, it's going to be a difficult choice!

goldenautumn

Il Poggiolo (#6 above) is not an agriturismo, and I don't consider it within comfortable walking distance of a lively town, so I don't know why it is being recommended to you.

I think it is lovely to stay at a true agriturismo in Tuscany, and they are not hard to find. This thread might help you locate an agriturismo with a romantic flair, a restaurant, and apartments (which are nice to have in case you want to eat light in the evening or enjoy a private cup of coffee in the morning):

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lease-help.cfm

What is harder to find is your second request, lodgings within walking distance of a fairly busy town. I have heard nothing but good things about this place in the Chianti, but I don't know if they do stays of less than a full week:

http://www.tenutedipecille.com/Tenut...=Villa_Pecille

If you don't need an apartment for your near-town stay, then this place might work:

http://www.villasangiovese.it/

Another promising area for "walk-to-town" stays is around San Gimignano or Volterra, if that is not too far west for you. I have heard excellent things about is Poggio Alloro and Agriturismo Niccolai, but I am unclear if the walks to San Gimignano are really comfortably walkable, and depending on what time of year you are traveling, you might

http://www.fattoriapoggioalloro.com/

http://www.agriturismoniccolai.it/


In the end, you might find it simpler to book a beautiful b&b or hotel directly inside a town whose situation and size appeals to you. Montepulciano might fit your needs.

Tuscany is actually a very large region of Italy, with worthwhile attractions in several different corners, which makes it hard to know what you might consider a "central" location for your purposes. If you already have an idea of what places in Tuscany you would like to visit beyond Florence, marking them on a map (or indicating in your posts what they are!) will help narrow down the most convenient areas for your stays.

goldenautumn

I meant to add before I hit send that you really need to check up-to-date reviews of places recommended here on Fodor's, and they are easily found on booking.com or tripadvisor.com. You should especially look at reviews where the travelers stayed in the same time month you will be traveling so you get a good picture of how well the place is heated or air conditioned, and if all services are available if you are traveling in off months, and whether the place caters to large groups (or weddings) in the nice weather months.

Snowflake25

Here is another suggestion, check out http://www.lacrociona.com. La Crociona is a few miles from Montalcino and we had a great stay, also did day trips to surrounding hill towns with ease. There are some fabulous trip reports on this forum that were very helpful when we were planning our trip to Tuscany.

goldenautumn

I noticed one of the links within the thread I linked to no longer worked, so here's the new one

http://www.lapievedimontalcino.it/pa...ase-apartments

joanw

Hi, Check out PodereCunina.com. It's in a beautiful rural area within driving distance of lots of charming hill towns.

joanw

Sorry, That website should have been agriturismopoderecunino.com

Jean

You should decide what towns you'd like to explore before choosing the one or two bases that will put you within reasonable driving distances for day trips. Tuscany is 9000 square miles in area, and most of your driving will be on secondary roads at slower speeds.

I'm not an agriturismo kind of girl, so I can't help on that issue. But I can highly recommend Locanda San Francesco in Montepulciano (mentioned upthread by bobthenavigator). It's located in the historical center of the town, but driving in and out is easy and parking is available. We found Montepulciano a wonderful base for exploring southern Tuscany (most places you'd likely want to see south of Siena are within an hour's drive), but it's also a charming place to just hang around, eat, drink the Vino Nobile, shop, enjoy the views, etc. There are only a few rooms in LSF, so book early.

http://www.locandasanfrancesco.it/bo...l-tuscany.html

We stayed at Palazzo Ravizza in Siena last year (also mentioned by bobthenavigator). It's a great choice if you want to stay IN Siena, but after seeing how much Siena has grown in the past several years I wouldn't choose it again as a base for exploring the area. In late October, we encountered lots of morning and afternoon traffic every day as we went off exploring. I would only stay in Siena long enough to see Siena, and then I'd move on to a smaller town. Or stay nearby and visit Siena.

You might get other suggestions if you told us when this trip will be.

goldenautumn

In addition to people not knowing what time of year you are traveling -- making it harder to give helpful suggestions -- it is also good to know how much you want your Tuscan honeymoon stay to be about the property and its amenities, and/or how much you want it to be about sightseeing every day in Tuscany. Some highly recommended beautiful and romantic properties in Tuscany may not work well if you have a very specific sightseeing agenda. Other recommended properties are great if you envision spending most of your waking hours on sightseeing excursions and care less about hanging out in a beautiful space with great views and enjoying the experience of wine country relaxation, or taking cooking classes, horseback riding etc.

Another important thing to consider, I think, is whether you envision drinking wine with your dinner. Zeroing in on some specific property in the countryside that has no restaurant attached and which isn't walkable to a nearby restaurant pretty much means one of you will be foregoing wine with dinner (or you cook your own dinner if you have an apartment.) If you want to sleep on a farm or vineyard in the Tuscany countryside -- and it can be a unique experience -- and look forward to drinking the local wines, and don't plan on cooking your own meals, it can be good to book a countryside stay with a restaurant attached. Fortunately, there are a lot of places just like that in every corner of Tuscany.

It also occurred to me add this winery to the mix of considerations. The property produces very good wines, it offers short-term apartment stays, and it has its own restaurant as well. I know the place because I know its wines, and have never stayed there, but you can read reviews on Tripadvisor:

http://www.cinellicolombini.it/en/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...a_Tuscany.html

(I would hesitate to go there over a weekend where there might be a wedding, but you can check that out in advance or maybe you wouldn't mind anyway!)

goldenautumn

One more tip:

You can use booking.com to look at a number of outstanding Tuscan agriturismi, and customize your search to your dates, price range and wish list of amenities, including whether you would like wi-fi, a pool, a restaurant and some place geared toward romance.

It's a great resource because you can read up-to-date reviews immediately:

http://tinyurl.com/ca57g89

ashleylandersen

Great help everyone! Thank you all so much! Will definitely be doing some research this weekend.

Henry

Ashley,
This may give you some ideas http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Snowflake25

Certainly read Henry's report on Slow Travel (see the link above). We used his suggestions when we were planning our tour of Tuscany and it was very helpful!!! One of our best trips!!!!

cathies

This doesn't quite meet your brief, however my daughter and her husband had a night here earlier this year and loved it. For a honeymoon it would be very romantic and it does have a restaurant onsite.

http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/luxury-.../poggio-piglia

cathies

Sorry, just realised this is 12 months old and was topped by advertisers!