albertsamuel

Hi Everyone,

I have been doing my homework on Tuscany and I am overwhelmed.

My wife and I (late 20's) will be arriving in Milan in mid May in the afternoon from Barcelona. This will be our first trip to Italy. I know 4 days and 4 nights doesn't give us much time, but we will make the best of it.

We have rented a car for 4 days and we want to stay in Tuscany. We are looking to stay in the country side. (we are looking to have some alone time away from masses of people) We are mostly interested in good food, great wine, and spectacular views. Although we are looking for alone time, we are full of energy and looking to have full-scheduled days. My wife really wants to go to Pisa, and I really want to go to a great winery.

So, any suggestions on a base to stay for around 100€ per night for both of us?
Any suggestions for "must do" or "must see"? Particular small towns to visit?

Any input will be great.

kybourbon

Have you already booked a flight to Milan? If not, I would look at flying into Pisa. Store your luggage at the main train station (five minutes by train from the airport train station), visit the tower area (shuttle bus from main train station), retrieve luggage and pick up your car at the Pisa airport to head towards southern Tuscany.

For wine, I like the Brunellos so suggest you visit Montalcino. You can do a tasting in the Fortezza.
http://www.enotecalafortezza.com/

For places to stay, eat, etc.
http://www.prolocomontalcino.it/

HG001London

siena is a good compromise as yes it will have a lot of tourists but if you stay outside the main walls, it is rolling beautiful countryside, the town is lovely and completely walkable too. But it is well and truly on the tourist route!!

Henry

albertsamuel,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

LisaG

albertsamuel,

I second the suggestion from kybourbon to do Pisa at the front end.

I recommend Agriturismo Savernano as a place to base yourself. You can check out reviews on Trip Advisor for more info.

http://www.agriturismosavernano.com/

It is located very centrally in Tuscany, and you can take daytrips from there to see the "greats": Siena, Florence (go in by train), small gorgeous towns, wineries. etc. The owners David and Eva know the area well and can advise you on your day trips and wineries. Their wine is very good. Ask for room #5 as it overlooks their vineyards.

4 days of day trips in the area will give you a very good immersion into food, wine, and the gorgeous country-side.

Happy travels,

LisaG

zeppole

If you can fly into Pisa, great. Otherwise, from Barcelona, it is often simple and cheap to fly into Florence, Rome or Bologna and pick up a car at the airport. From either airport, it is not too long a drive into scenic areas of Tuscany. Hopefully you can find a good flight out of Pisa or Florence airport.


Or, if you like, you can fly into Rome and take trains that will get you to Pisa in about 4 hours. Spend the night, pick up a car the following day, see Tuscany heading south, and fly out of Rome.

zeppole

I should have added that if you can find a flight from Barcelona to Bologna, you can also get to Pisa by train in about 4 hours from the airport. You can even do that from Milan. You might as well skip all that driving down from Milan to Pisa.

qwovadis

Have done both train and tigercarentals.com from Milan

www.lucca.info my fav best vineyards ambience food hike bike city walls www.booking.com/city/it/lucca.en.html Albergo Villa Marta amazing from $70 double for me in the past.
viamichelin.com for your route.

To/from pick up www.metropole.it on the coast beautiful.

Have fun.

bobthenavigator

Look at Casanova Pescille outside San Gimignano.

zeppole

If you end up near San Gimignano, also consider Agriturismo Nicolai. It is a winery with accommodations, plus there are dinners available at the farmhouse so you can drink wine with your dinner and not need to drive back to your lodgings.

http://www.agriturismoniccolai.it/to..._gimignano.php

But if you end up picking someplace in Chianti or around Montalcino, there are plenty of places with wine, food, etc. See what flights you can come up with first.

albertsamuel

Whoa1 Ok. Thank you very much. That will give my wife and I plenty to work with for a while. We did already book our flight to Milan. To fly to Pisa or Bologna was about $100 more per person and we figured an extra 2 hour drive through northern Italy wouldn't exactly be terrible.

Would it be a terrible idea to not book any sleeping arrangements in advance and just decide when we get there? Would that be foolish?

Jean

You're flying into Milan in the afternoon. Which airport in Milan? What time do you arrive? Are you counting that as Day #1 of your 4 days? Do you have to return to Milan for your departing flight?

If you went to Pisa first and wanted to climb the Leaning Tower, you may need or want to spend the first night in or near Pisa rather than continue driving to your final destination in the dark. If you want to climb the tower, you need to make a reservation and book a time probably 5 hours or more after your plane is scheduled to land. Rent a car that will hold ALL of your luggage in the trunk so that none of your stuff is visible through the windows.

http://www.opapisa.it/en/organizza-l...che/orari.html

If you must return to Milan for your departure, depending on the time of the flight you may need to spend the last night near the airport.

You mentioned in your first post that you hoped to spend 100 euros per night on lodging. At that budget, I wouldn't arrive without reservations.

zeppole

In mid-May, you wouldn't be exactly foolish not to book anything in advance, but if you have never been to rural Tuscany, driving around looking for your ideal accommodation is going to severely cut into your relaxation, and that goes double if your flight to Milan arrives in the afternoon and you'd end up driving around in the dark.

The drive from Milan (especially Malpensa) is 4 hours, so if you are arriving on an afternoon flight, I highly recommend taking the train to Pisa and spending your first night there and renting a car the next afternoon and heading toward San Gimignano.

If you have a morning flight to Milan, think about driving your rental car to Parma/Modena for lunch before moving on to Tuscany. In that scenario, I would give strong consideration to heading to Chianti, staying there for a few days, and seeing Pisa last.

If you want to stay at a winery that serves dinner in Chianti, try some Google searches like "Chianti accommodations winery". If you find something you like, check Tripadvisor for reviews.

You didn't mention if you have already bought air tickets from Italy. If you are departing from Rome or Milan, you will need at least 4 hours to reach Rome airport from northern Tuscany, and you will need to spend the night near the airports if you have an early morning departure. Look into the possibility of changing your air tickets to depart from Pisa or Florence.

zeppole

PS:

If you end up going to Chianti, think about this place for a winery stay with a restaurant. It appears to be within your budget and is just outside Panzano in Chianti.

http://www.fattoriamontagliari.com/

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...e_Tuscany.html

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant...o_Tuscany.html

albertsamuel

Thank you everyone. Zeppole, those suggestions are very helplful.