Tuscany

I happen to love Florence. However, if you want to see Tuscany I would rent an apartment and a car, as that is the best way IMO to see that area. I have done this and always really loved it. I cannot remember the name of the last place that we stayed, I think that it was Fosteria or something. Do a search on VRBO and see what you find. In Rome we stayed in a hotel so I cannot help you there.

The classic question---Florence or rural Tuscany. It is hard to do both from one location---you must decide. IF you do Tuscany then you will want a car from Pisa. I would get the car and drive via Volterra to near San Gimignano and stay at the Hotel Pescille south of town. From there you can easily day trip to Siena, Chianti etc. Have fun !

Will you have a car for Tuscany?

Value for money, an apartment or even B&B room in a village or the country will be to your great advantage. If you won't have a car, try http://www.greve-in-chianti.com where there is plenty of inexpensive accommodation, shopping and eateries, plus a good bus connection to Florence. With a car, you can stay almost anywhere in central Tuscany and have many interesting sights to visit. http://www.bella-toscana.com

with 5 nights, you could compromise and do 2 nights in florence, then get the bus to siena, collect your car, and tour from there.

alternatively, go straight to Siena, get your car, and tour, but set aside one day for doing a day trip to florence on the bus.

why siena? it's not so big that driving in and out of it is a pain, but there's plenty there to entertain you in the evenings. and you can get to and from florence easily on the bus.

whatever you do, DON'T have a car in Florence.

A group of us recently stayed in Italy for a month, and made our base in a villa in one of the smaller cities/towns in Tuscany (Citta Della Pieve). We rented vehicles and found them to be invaluable in traveling around to the various towns. We ended up in Siena, Pienza, Civita di Bagnoreggio (fablulous place!!!), Orvieto, San Gimignano, Chianti, Montepulchiano, and other places. Admittedly, parking in some of the larger cities (Siena for example, where you cannot drive a car in their city center), can be a bit of a challenge especially with lots of tourists around, but really, it was all worth it in the end.

Now Florence we actually did on the train, and it was perfectly fine. We just parked our cars for free at the train station in Chiusi (the closest station to Citta Della Pieve), and off we went.

If you're interested in villas, I would do a check on VRBO. That we're we found our villa, which was simply delightful.

Just was there in May nice 3 stars in City Center always cheaper than apartments Due Fontain and Pitti Palace the
last 2 times we were there.Good deals budget tips here.

eurocheapo.com/florence

www.otel.com/hotels/florence.htm

seat61.com/italy regional train like a local will
save hundreds over rental car and Florence is one
giant speed/parking trap cameras everywhere tickets
for hundreds of euros if you get caught so train
better for me.

Rural areas in Tuscany quite isolated more to do
and see in cities also like www.lucca.info very
pretty hike bike city walls easy train via Pisa.

Happy Travels!

We booked the Sheraton Roma in May their "secret"
South Rome 4 star thought is great value $69/nt
on www.hotwire.com

We splurged for the Intercontinental Rome Ville $180

bidding priceline.com betterbidding.com it was AWESOME!

Right on top of Spanish Steps.

Oh, forgot to add that if you plan to rent a vehicle, check around for rates. We scored a deal with Hertz for just at $250US per week, with an additional driver added for free. Each vehicle sat four (and I have to say, had a rather decent sized trunk), and we rented three cars since there were 12 of us.

What I liked about renting a car was that when exploring the towns we could stop wherever and whenever we wanted and we didn't have to worry about train schedules. And I do have to add that at the villa we stayed, we absolutely needed a car. Our villa was on a hill and was a bit of a way from the town. We found it to be convenient for carrying groceries, as we did a lot of our own cooking at the villa, and for transporting the wine we purchased in Montepulchiano. It was also super hot this past September, so we were grateful for the air conditioning in the car!!

Qwovadis is absolutely right about the driving to and parking in Florence, which is why we opted to take the train there.

Cars,
There is a long thin carpark in Florene inside the walls at one end (over the river away from the main sites. If you stay at that end of town you will always have a space as tourists don't know about it, there are some cost restrictions on entring part of the city in a car ( a sort of congestion charge)

Siena, parking is a bit of slog (i'd park in one of the valley car parks and take one of the escalators into town)

Rome, with a car.... in italy... ok if you have no medical conditions worsened by stress,) there are good number of car parks hidden under the various markets, you give the guys the car keys and they fit the car into a tiny space. If you cannot find one of these you need to compete with the locals for street parking (not for me thanks)

Thanks for all the responses. We are hoping to avoid needing a car, which it seems is a must outside of the major cities (we figured this). We are starting to second guess going to Florence at all. I just wish there weren't so many places I want to see!!

After looking at some apartments, they seem to be a much better option both economically and aesthetically speaking.

There really was not a specific reason for discussing Sienna, we are just contemplating the cities in that area, and now some southern French cities as a possible alternative.

From a food, nightlife, walking and enjoying the views aspect, how does Florence rank amongst the smaller cities in that region? Again, we are not too big on art, but do not have a phobia.

We rented a great apartment in Pienza (Giardino Segreto) and used that as a base to visit the surrounding Tuscan countryside and it worked great and was very inexpensive. There is free parking close to Giardino Segreto and only a few blocks from the apartment. I would do this again in a heartbeat. We love Florence but you could drive to Florence or take a train and do Florence during the day. For half the cost of a small hotel room in Florence you can rent a very nice apartment in a historic city or a Agriturismo in the countryside. What ever you decide, enjoy!

mscleo, Your deal with Hertz sounds too good to be true. Please elaborate on details (did it include the mandatory insurance? type of car? etc.). How did you book? through Hertz. a third party, or what?
Look forward to hearing the details.
Many thanks.

Worm, well of course you can pick any number of places that are charming and inexpensive, but you WILL need a car to get around.

If you chose Siena, you can bus to both Florence and San Gimignano, and I'm sure other places as well.

How does Florence rank for nightlife over other places in Tuscany? If far surpasses all other places, even Siena. Siena is a university town, so you will find some nightlife there, but small Tuscan towns aren't known for nightlife. If you chose Greve, for example, because it is noted above, you would have less than nothing to do after dinner. Ditto Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano.

Walking: well, Siena has a lot of walking but a lot of it is a bit hilly. Montepulciano is one of the least walkable towns I've found in Tuscany. San Gimignano is nice for small town walking, but no nightlife.

Food: Id rank Florence first, then maybe San Gimi, which has some good eating for such a small town, then maybe Pienza. I'm not in love with Siena for eating. Florence is number one for sure.

How do you like markets? Because if you didn't want to do art in Florence, you could certainly enjoy the markets. You mention views, which abound throughout Tuscany, but a couple of great ones in Florence are from Fiesole and San Miniato Al Monte. Fiesole is easy by bus, and San Miniato and Piazza Michelangelo are good hikes.

It was suggested above that you break up your time in Tuscany. You could do something like Pisa, with staying in Lucca and visiting a few places by train, and then Florence with visiting Siena by bus. You could train Pisa > Lucca > Florence, then day trip to Siena by bus, and take a final train to Rome.

Lots of ways to work this without a car, but without a car, your options are fewer. Still doable, though.

Lots of people have found very good B&B and small hotel rates in Florence that are inexpensive.

It is rather silly to just look at room rates in smaller towns, because you would need to add the cost of a car for many places in Tuscany. A villa is completely out of the question; it would require a car.

I have stayed in Lucca as a base for 3 trips and did not rent a car. The bus station (45 min bus ride to Florence 4E last time) is on one side of town and the train station on the other.

Thanks for the input everyone, unfortunately my wife and I have decided that we are going to leave Florence and the rest of Tuscany for another trip. We are going to extend our Paris and Rome trips instead. We have realized that there is far too much to see and do in this area and it deserves its own attention. Thank you for helping!

unfortunately my wife and I have decided that we are going to leave Florence and the rest of Tuscany for another trip. We are going to extend our Paris and Rome trips instead. >>

this is not unfortunate, this is good sense!

I've forgotten whether you have said that you are interested in staying in apartments rather than hotels, but if you are, i have a good recommendation for Rome.

We are interested in Hotels over apartments, which do you suggeset?

wormin - what is your budget?

there are two paris hotel threads - right bank and left bank - which may help you.

in rome we have only stayed in apartments so can't really help there, but there are lots of threads about hotels in Rome if you search this forum.

Oh snap, I said that backwards. We are very much looking for apartments! Sorry. We are trying to stay under 140e per night. I know this thread has gone astray, ill check out some focused on Rome, or start a new one, thanks guys.

Annhig

If your suggestions for Rome fall in that price range could you private message me the names.

no need for a private message, it's www.lacasadiclelia.webs.com.

it's about €120 per week i think.

very nice for 2 people - ground floor, near the piazza navona, and catherine, who owns it, is very helpful and friendly.

Jerry S, I am so very sorry to be responding so late; I'm just now looking back on this thread.

The vehicle with Hertz was booked thru Hertz on their Italian site; www.Hertz.it. It included the mandatory insurance, and the vehicle was a Fiat....I can't remember the model, but it was NOT the Panda!! Also, on the website was a coupon for a free extra driver. Sat four rather comfortably, I have to say, and it was a manual shift. The only problem with the car was that going up very steep hills with it was an adventure. Felt like there was no get up and go, if you know what I mean. But it did the job and ultimately I was pleased. The gentleman at the Hertz location I rented the car from (in Chiusi) was extremely nice, and even stayed open during his siesta time so that I could retrieve something I had forgotten.

Again, I apologize for the late response.