Tuscany Rental - Town vs Countryside

Here is my list of places I like in Tuscany. Look at Poggiolo near San Quirico for a good location and walking distance into town. Good luck !


BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TOSCANA

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

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

4. Hotel Pescille www.pescille.it Good value at a rustic hotel only 3 km from famed San Gimignano with great views---100 to 130E

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


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

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 130 to 180E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.tuscany.net/oliviera/ 130 to 180E
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. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 130 to 180E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

6. Fattoria Vignale http://www.vignale.it/eng/ Four star hotel in Radda in the heart of Chianti. About 230E for double

WOW - Thanks Bob - this will keep me busy for a while!

"...far from towns/villages - or at least not within walking distance."
I have many friends who choose to hire a villa in the breathtaking tuscany countryside. almost w/o exception they returned and wished they had stayed in a village or town. Almost everything they did required using the car, which among other things meant finding a parking space in the town you drive to for a visit. And at night, all was black in the country.
the overarching concern was driving home to the villa after an amazing dinner, one that included unforgettable wine. this is for sure something to take into consideration. I am constantly told that driving in italy after too much wine can create an enormous runin with the law, as it is where i live.

Last year I rented a villa that was 5 miles out of Lucca. Although it was not the idyllic Tuscan countryside like the ones around Siena it presented a nice balance. We had proximity to grocery shops, restaurants and if desired, a very quiet place where to relax.
If you want to be close to the major attractions, by all means rent an apartment in Florence, Sienna or Prato (much cheaper than the previous ones). However keep in mind that the best way to explore the small hill top towns is by car and, by staying in the city you'll have to find a parking spot.

So glad to see this question posted - and your great list Bob. I will be with my twenty-something son, and imagine he would prefer to be in a town or village, so that he can walk to the Tuscan equivalent of a pub after dinner. He doesn't need "nightlife" - but he might enjoy getting out, while I will simply prefer going to bed! Which of the towns might have that available? I imagine Sienna and Cortona would fit the bill, but what about San Quirico, or Montepulciano for example - which seem more appealing precisely because they are smaller? We will be there in early November, so I know it will be getting dark early - which I thought might also be a reason to be in a town. Any thoughts?

Siena is hard to beat for that scenario. Cortona is much further from the villages of south Tuscany. I find San Quirico to be my perfect location but the town is small.

Pienza is another possibility. It seemed to have more restaurants, though I haven't been to San Quirico for some years, and, judging by the amount of "ink" it gets here, it may have acquired more restaurants.

Montepulciano is a slightly bigger town but not one I'm as enamored with as others here.

I think the ideal is to stay on the edge of a town, close enough to walk in, but easy to daytrip from.

We are looking for the same kind of place for a few days - tranquil setting perhaps pool, but within walking distance to a town, as we are with 2 teenage daughters. Oh yes, it needs to have internet access, too!

We stayed at Appartamenti Poggiolo in Montepulciano and loved it. They are self-catering apartments - lovely, clean, well equipped. They are right in town - less than 2 minutes walk to the center. However - Montepulciano is built on a hill and what goes down (walking to town) must come up (walking back home!). We loved being in town and not having to drive to dinner especially after drinking wine. Or if 2 people wanted to go into town and 2 wanted to nap and go in later - no problem. We did have a car - parked at the apt and used it for day trips to other towns. Perfect for my family.

We stayed at the same place as lindatork and loved it. Not a large town but lots of nice restaurants you can walk to. When you come back it is like living in the countryside with lovely country views.You can get to lots of other places by car from there and there is private parking at the building. Best of both worlds I think and lovely owners too. Take a look at www.appartamentialpoggiolo.it.

I'm still having a great time researching. There's so much information it can get a little overwhelming. The two towns I'm leaning towards at the moment are Cortona and Lucca. Hope to rent an apartment in town so walking is an option after dinner. Also planning day trips from there. Your suggestions?

I second Bob's suggestion of San Quirico. We stayed for a week in an apartment in town (May 07) and just loved being there. There was even a band playing one morning (I think it was May 1st). We enjoyed strolling the streets in the evening. After spending so much time in the car during the day, we loved just wandering around in the evenings.

carolsc

Cortona and Lucca are both nice towns, but not real centrally located, depending on where you plan to daytrip to.

Lucca, in northern Tuscany, you could daytrip to Pisa or Florence, Pistoia, is what I can think of without checking a map. Montalcino, Montepulciano are too far from Lucca. Lucca is quite a bit bigger than Cortona, I think, so would have more dining choices. A nice, untouristy town, but less convenient.

Cortona, you could daytrip to Siena, San G. as I recall. Definitely great places to visit in Umbria from Cortona - Assisi, Perugia, even Spello, Bevagna, Montefalco. Though if you want to visit Umbria, you might choose a place further south.

Look at the map---location is everything.

I think the area near Pienza/Val d'Orcia/Crete Senesi is beautiful and better than the Lucca or Cortona areas. I happened to find these two places (with a pool!) in the charming, picture perfect town of Montisi. Montisi is located near Peinza, near some of the most beautiful landscape I have ever witnessed and is within a 10-30 minute drive to some wonderful villages and towns. I think Montisi would be perfect.

http://www.lagrancia.net/code/apartments.html

http://www.laromita.net/code/hotelapartment.html

Here is a website for Montisi-

http://www.montisi.com/location.html

Carolsc - where did you stay in San Quirico? I love the looks of Poggiolo - on Bob the Navigator's list. I also found a VRBO listing outside of San Quirico (they say within a 10 minute walk) that is a new condo - not charming, but lots of room and comfortable looking - for a good price.

nancy - where did you end up staying and what did you think?

Patay.

There was a woman who recently posted on Fodor's about staying in Villa Pecille in Panzano in Chianti, where she could walk into the heart of the village in a few minutes, but was staying in the countryside, in an olive grove in her own small villa: Here is what she wrote:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/villa-pecille-in-panzano-in-chianti-tuscany.cfm

You can daytrip by bus to Siena and Florence from Panzano in Chianti.

Also, Agriturismo Marciano is a winery just outside Siena. It gets great reviews on Tripadvisor: The agriturismo serves dinner, but people also report dining in Siena and walking back to the agriturismo from town.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187902-d1064337-Reviews-Agriturismo_Marciano-Siena_Tuscany.html

You have several bus and train day trip options from Siena.

Arezzo often gets a better reputation for dining and a non-touristy feel than Cortona. And it is a wonderful historic town filled with art and architecture that exceeds that of Lucca and Cortona in many ways. This is an agriturismo that is less than a one kilometer walk from Arezzo. It produces wine. I'm giving you Tripadvisor reviews too.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g194673-d1439186-r29816553-Agriturismo_La_Striscia-Arezzo_Tuscany.html

http://www.lastriscia.com/

Arezzo's train line goes to a number of Tuscan art cities, and some of its buses go to fascinating and untouristed hilltowns.

There are also several agriturismi right around San Gimignano where you can walk to San Gimignano for dinner.

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/san-gimignano-tuscany-farm-stay-villa-october-help.cfm

From San Gimignano I believe it is possible to reach Volterra and Siena by bus, possibly Pisa and Lucca. I am actually not sure.

bookmarking

A very late (sorry) update on this post. Our trip turned out to be great, and very interesting. We stayed a few nights in Rome and then went to Lucca where we rented a beautiful apartment for a week. Great location - fabulous rooftop deck where you could see the entire city. We could walk to the train station and all over Lucca. Never had to rent a car. We had day trips to Cinque Terre - the walk along the cliffs were a bit rough for me because of the height - but everyone else loved it. Another day trip to Florence - again, the height of the incredible Duomo is something to experience. The trip just happened to coincide with the Volcanic Ash event. We were supposed to fly back to Paris for a few days but the airports were closed. Luckily we were able to spend the time in Florence (yeah, how bad can that be?) and fly out of Rome. USAir was great about re-routing us and we really felt for all the people who couldn't get to their destinations. The change to Florence turned out to be fabulous and since we had only a day trip there before, it was great to be able to spend several days exploring all the Florence had to offer. What a trip! What a birthday! Can't wait to go back!

Happy belated birthday, Patay!! Great way to celebrate! Glad your plans worked out, even with Mother Nature's intervention.
If you are willing to share--what is name of the flat in Lucca--perhaps a website? Grazie!