imachard

My boyfriend and I are planning a 15 day trip to Italy first two weeks of October. Both early fifties and fit, we plan on doing a lot of walking. We will be arriving in Bologna and plan on taking the train to Florence. We will visit Bologna on our way back. We want to rent a car when leaving Florence to visit the countryside. Any suggestions on were to base ourselves to visit. We plan on going to Chianti, Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, la Spezia, Lucca, Potofino. And finish with Bologna. Any thought or suggestions?

Isabel

TDudette

Oh so many yums, katydidnt. Add me to the list of people who loved Bologna. Gorgeous photos!

imachard, you should probably (if you haven't already) start a separate thread with your query. There are quite a few details about driving in Florence (and Bologna actually) that other Fodorites, who might not post about Bologna, can provide. Good luck!

katydidnt

Hi @imachard,

Here is a post on a day trip we took to Siena, Monterrigio and San Gimignano:

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/20...ip-in-tuscany/

Siena is definitely a must-see, with the cathedral and the Piazza del Campo where the Palio is run. We had a guide and I would recommend it - so much history and having a guide really helps you understand the contrade and the attendant rivalries among them.

I didn't love San Gimignano - so touristy and commercialized. Monterrigio is tiny but charming - it's on the way to San Gim so easy to do both.

We didn't visit the other places on your itinerary so can't comment. My favorite day trip was to Orvieto but I don't know if that fits into your plans geographically:

https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/20...n-the-details/

October will be a great time of year to visit - you will still encounter plenty of crowds but the weather was mostly lovely (expect some rain, though) when we went in the fall.