My boyfriend and I are planning a 7 day trip to Italy in November. Due to our time constraints, we are going to save Rome and Venice for our next trip and focus this stay in and around Florence and Tuscany.

We are trying to do the trip on a modest budget, although our major weakness comes from our love of good food (the one area where we will splurge).

Can you please give us suggestions on:

*Bed and Breakfasts
*Unforgettable restaurants
*Biking (instead of train/bus/renting a car-- a mistake?)
*The 'best' way to divide up such a short stay

Thanks so much!

We just did a similar trip in July. Flew in and out of Rome and rented a car. We decided to stay for a few days in Chianti (Belvedere di San Leonino near Castellina - highly recommended small hotel). This hotel was in a lovely location, was an easy drive to Siena and various other towns in that area and less than an hour from Florence. We only did a day trip to Florence but we barely scratched the surface. I think you should plan on spending at least a couple of days in Florence if you are interested in exploring the museums. We also spent a few days near Montepulciano (which made our return drive to Rome a bit shorter). We loved that area as well but I think that if this is your first trip to Florence/Tuscany and if you really want to focus on Florence, that location is too far south. So my recommendation would be to spend 2-3 nights in Florence and 3-4 nights in some country hotel near Siena (which by the way was the highlight of our trip). I think you should rent a car for the country stay (otherwise it is difficult to explore Tuscany) but you don't need (or want) a car in Florence.

Biking in Tuscany: I love biking and had high hopes for it in Tuscany but as soon as I saw the roads I knew I would not do it. Tuscany is extremely hilly with no flat or straight roads. The roads are winding, curvy and steep in most places. You have to be in excellent shape to tackle biking in Tuscany and you have to be prepared for arriving sweaty and out of breath at various places of interest along your route! Walking the steep streets in the hilltowns of Tuscany was enough exercise for me!

we did 3 nights in florence and 6 in tuscany. flew into pisa, took the train to florence, train back to pisa where we rented a car to drive around tuscany, flew back out of pisa. florence is ok in 2 days if you don't care too much about the museums (you of course can take much more but it is a small city).

in tuscany, we stayed at a vineyard in the chianti region. i do recommend that you stay at an agritourismo (apartment on a working farm). most are very nicely done up with kichens, pools (not needed in Nov). etc. make sure it has heat, however.

i would not bike around in that short a timespan. also, i don't know your experience with bicycle touring but this area is very hilly and the roads are fast and narrow. certainly a nice area to bike but would only do it with a lot of experience.

car is almost a necessity in tuscany, i'm afraid. bus and train are not very workable for seeing the best villages. in any case, i recommend selecting a base in tuscany and staying there for the duration. day car trips can easily be taken from this base.

Is November a given? Not the best time.
Search above for TUSCANY and you will get 100s of threads.

Unfortunately, our schedules at work are not extremely flexible, which was why November was selected. If things could be shuffled around, is a week in October significantly better? What is wrong with November-- just lower temperatures? And if that is the case... how cold? (We're from NYC, just curious how comparable the temps would be to home).

Hi,

On www.wunderground.com, you can get the seasonal averages for several Italian cities, including Florence. This shows the monthly average lows and highs, and the average precipitation. For Florence, the average high in October is 70, the average low is 50, and the average precipitation is 3 inches. In November, those averages are 59, 42, and 4. So, that's why Bob is recommending October.

Suzy Kane, http://www.idyllicitaly.com

I just returned from a trip that included 6 nights in Florence. Since you only have a total of 7 days and are on a budget I might suggest staying in Florence the whole time and doing day trips. I did a bus trip to Siena (very easy and cheap to do, bus costs 13€ rount trip) and train trips to Pisa and Lucca (about €11). I have also traveled in Tuscany with a car and that is the better way to see more villages but I think would cost more and you don't have that much time.

I can recommend a two star hotel, the Hotel Desiree. It's only a block from the train station (so easy to get back there for day trips) but on a quiet street and still only half a mile from the Duomo which is pretty much in the center of everything. I would definitly stay there again. I only paid 45€ a night but that was an internet special. The hotel is listed on several websites. I plan to post more info. on the hotel and my trip, but as I said, I just got back. I loved Florence by the way, and while the art is fabulous, I am not that much of a museum goer and I still loved the city. There is more than just the churches and museums.

Highly recommend La Giostra restaurant in Florence...reviewed here in Fodors.

I'm looking for some great ones in Venice too...

Another problem with biking is that the roads in Tuscany tend to be narrow, with little to no shoulder. I would be very nervous biking along them. Also, November does tend to be rainier than October, so biking in the rain may not be something you're interested in.

Given the higher possibilities for rain in November, you might want to plan more of a city trip, with more time in Florence and less time in the countryside.

Thank you to everyone for your advice. we are rethinking our travel dates and will definitely keep in mind all of your recommendations!

I love November in Florence and visit there 3-4 times a year on business and also for pleasure.

Here are a few good websites for last minute discounts: www.ratestogo.com and www.laterooms.com. For lots of info and great selection I recommend www.florenceby.com.

There are many pleasant and affordable accomdations in Florence. I suggest the Ivory Room at Soggiorno Antica Torre located right in Piazza della Signoria. Very nice and a perfect location! Also, Residenza il Villino is wonderful and convenient.

For restaurants, I choose Trattoria Robertos on Via Castellani over the rest. I have been a regulr there for 8 years and love the food and the family that run it. Very reasonable and right behind the Uffizi.

I would suggest having your hotel book musuem ticekts for you in advance. David at the Accademia is extremely busy this year and the waits 2 weeks ago were several hours. We walked right in.

We return in January for ten days in Florence and cannot wait!

If you go to Siena, you MUST go to the Cane e Gato (cat and dog) restaurant. I hear the prices have gone up quite a bit since I was there in 2000, but it is an unforgettable meal. Do a search on Fodors for more specific info. You won't be disappointed!!

Hi - my husband and I just returned from our first trip to Italy that included about 5 days in the Florence/Siena area. It was so great! We tried to mostly eat at typical Tuscan trattorias as we found we loved those the best. A few in Florence that we thought were terrific: #1 favorite was Trattoria Angiolino on the Via. S. Spirito (street that runs parallel to the river on the Pitti Palace side) close to Via Maffia as a cross street. Cozy, small and terrific food! Another we liked was Il Profeta on Via Borgognissanti, 93R. Also close to the river (and a few blocks from train station). The final was Ristorante Buca Mario at P.zza Ottaviani. Also a few blocks from the train station. This was the most expensive of the three restaurants but was great! Doesn't look like much from the outside (big neon sign over a non-descript door) but when you go downstairs into the restaurant, it is really nice. All restaurants are in the same area (since we stayed at the Excelsior and only wanted to walk a few blocks to eat). One thing we noticed was that there were so many "Zimmer Rooms" or Agritourismos advertised with little signs on the sides of roads. You could probably be flexible once you got there and assuming you have a car (which I recommend b/c I would be nervous on a bike on those narrow roads!). As far as Tuscany, I really liked Montalcino (especially if you are into wine) and preferred it over Montepulciano (the other "wine" focused town). On a short trip, I would focus on just a few towns. We spent about three full days and nights in Florence seeing all the sights and about 2.5 days touring Tuscany on our way to Rome(staying 2 nights at a villa outside Siena - Villa Scacciapensieri - great but might be a little pricey for your budget).
So we didn't have a lot of time in Tuscany so we spent 1/2 day in Siena with dinner in Siena which was great b/c we sat out in Il Campo and watched the sun go down - this was on a Sunday and we were lucky to see the contrade (neighborhood) who won the last Palio (horse race) come parading through the Campo with full costume and music! I guess that the winners have the braggin rights each Sunday to march through the town (and their rival's neighborhood). The next day we went to San Gimignano and a few small towns along the way and the final day to Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Pienza (really pretty). We didn't stay at any one town more than a few hours but we did pull over a lot while driving so hopefully, that gives you a sense of how much time things take. Last tip is to make sure you make Uffizi reservations ahead - we made our via phone (which is really easy) when we got to Florence on Wednesday night and the first available slot was Sat am which was right before we were leaving (phew).

Oaks,
See my trip report for ideas in Tuscany http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...een_name=Henry
Lucca would be a good place to bike see http://www.knowital.com/html/lucca_-...d_gardens.html
for destinations of gardens and villas.

Congrats Oaks,
Cheapest is rent an apt for the week and day trip and some do come with bikes....check it out.