We are planning a trip for next fall - we have been to Italy several times but are traveling with some friends who have not been before. I am not a fan of Florence but I am sure they will want to visit. Trying to chose a place to stay NEAR there - we will probably not have a car. So we are looking for a town / city that is train friendly, will allow our firends to visit Florenece and will allow us to putz around that part of Tuscany by train or bus. I have considered Sienna, also Lucca but its a bit too far from other hill towns? - any other suggestions? Also am thinking about renting a car for just a day so maybe we want to stay in a city where that would be a convenient option. We rented a car on a trip to Spain several years ago and it did not add to the enjoyment of the trip (minor accident, parking problems, getting out of Sevilla problems!) but maybe for one day it would be nice to motor thru the vineyards of Tuscany. Hotel or B&B suggestions welcome too - looking to spend around $150 a night or less. Thanks!

Siena is quite close to Voltera and San Gimignano. Hill towns south of there are not convenient to Florence.

You may find SENA bus http://www.sena.it/
is more efficient than trains to/from Florence.

We also love Lucca, which is also not too far from Volterra, Siena, and San Gimignano.

San Gimignano during week and evenings during weekend calms way down from day trip crowds.

I am speechless you are not a fan of Florence?
Is there a reason?
I guess the easiest place to stay would be Pisa?

What I meant the train comunication between Pisa and FLorence is excellent...

That is a common dilema---Florence vs rural Tuscany.
Siena is a good compromise but so is near San Gimigmano where you can put them on a train in Poggibonsi or Certaldo. I agree that the bus is easier from/to Siena.

Suec1:

As usual I agree with Bob - If you want to use only one base, the Siena area is about the most central place to stay.

However, you didn't stay how long the trip will be. If it's long enough, you should consider 2 bases, one near Siena and one farther south near Montepulciano or Pienza. I know - Montepulciano is not too convenient for train travel, but if you plan to rent a car for a day, you might as well rent it for 3 or 4 days, and then you can really enjoy the southern hill towns.

Graziella - well I suppose one reason I'm cool towards Florence is way too many tourists. I know, I know, that's Italy BUT Rome and Venice are more maybe, unique, in some ways that make the hoardes more tolerable. And they seem a bit more spread out. I have seen the "must see" museums and churches in Florence - so sandwiched between Venice and Rome, I am looking for a more laid back Italy experience (that is easily accessible by train). Plus I am thinking somewhere besides Florence will be cheaper for sleeping and eating.

You are exactly right about Florence and the crowds(mobs more like it). When my husband and I visited in 1990, Florence was busy and there were many tourists, but we could actually stand in line and get to the museums--10 years later the city was a nightmare. Literally you could not walk down a street--too many people and many vespa motorcycles which drive on the sidewalks and push you off. I would never stay overnight in Florence or visit unless my children want to visit there. Staying outside of the ciy and taking a bus or train is the smart way to go. I would price a one day car rental and see if that is a good choice. Florence is a class act, but also a real challenge to visit and enjoy.

Do not stay in Pisa. There is nothing to do there after you have seen the tower and church stuff. There are many nicer places close to Florence. A visit to Pisa is a different story. An original and different style of architecture can be seen there. There is also a nice museum to visit.

You might look into staying in Montecatini Terme a spa town with easy train connections to Florence and to Pisa airport. Not far from Lucca, either.

My parents actually used this town as a base for visiting Florence and thought it was a great idea..(not their first trip to Florence)

If you are going to Florence after October, you will find the tourists are mostly gone, there are no lines, no dinner reservations required, and the sun is still shining.

I just returned from a wonderful weekend there. I was afraid I wouldn't like it as I hate crowds and over-hyped places, but it was a lovely spot in late fall. I hear the winter is just as nice.

gruezi

You could stay in or near Greve in Chianti http://www.greve-in-chianti.com, the market town of the Chianti Classico wine zone. The area is very pleasant with lots of restaurants etc and there is a comfortable SITA bus running to Florence fairly frequently. There are also places in the country that are actually on the Florence city bus routes (Podere Albereto in San Polo, for example) but in the end you're probably going to need a car otherwise an awful lot of time will be lost travelling around - unless you do stay in Florence. It's not so bad in October.

Wow, are you getting a lot of bad advice!

First of all, take a look at this map:

http://goitaly.about.com/library/bl_..._rail_maps.htm

Were it me, I might pick Pistoia or Montecatini Terme as ekscrunchy suggested.

But your best bet is to rent a car and stay in a town on a train line that gives your friends easy access to day trips to Firenze. That might argue for staying in the vicinity of Siena, and being nice enough to drop them off at the train station in Siena, as bob was suggesting.

By the way, I forgot to ask:

Have you considered Fiesole? It's 15 minutes from Firenze by bus. Your friends can go tour, and you can hop on another bus or train to visit elsewhere -- or just walk around the hills of Fiesole. If you stay at someplace like Fattoria Maiano, you can have a car. If you stay in the town proper of Fiesole, you'll have trouble parking, so you might as well stick to public transportation.

I doubt you can rent a car for just one day.

Other possibilities to check out if you don't want a car: Prato, Impruneta (short bus ride), Cortona or Arezzo (although your friends would probably be better off spending one night in Firenze before rejoining you.

Unfortunately transportation connections out of Siena just arent that good, so if you dont want the expense and hassle of a car, you might look elsewhere.

Rural Tuscany just isn't that accessible by train. If you want hill towns, meaning towns set on hills, you can sort of eliminate trains. They don't go up and down hills all that well. That is why Lucca is a good choice for train travelers.

Siena has decent bus connections Florence. The train station is outside the city walls. Staying in Siena would give your friends access to Florence by bus.

I don't like taking busses to and from small towns, but it is doable. If you get bad weather, it can be no fun to stand at the bus stop outside the gates of San Gimignano, or on the edges of Colle Val d'Elsa, waiting for a bus.

I suggest allowing your friends their visit to Florence. You can either separate from them for a few days, or stay in a less crowded corner of the city, and make your own plans to visit other places. Use the rail and bus websites to figure out where you want to go while they are seeing Florence.

You can easily rent a car for one day.

You can also get a driver for one day or get a bus tour.

We have stayed in this castle on several occasions and it is wonderful http://www.montegufoni.it/en/storia.html
The bus to Florence and other places runs right past the castle (bus stops there) and by bus it is about an hour to Florence. If you have a car all the great areas of Tuscany can be visited as day trips. Castello di Montefugoni is a very convenient location in the beautiful Val di Pesa IMO the best valley in Tuscany.

While waiting for a bus in the rain is not as pleasurable as waiting for a train in the rain under a station canopy, it should be noted that buses in Italy are usually far more punctual and reliable than trains -- which means, if the bus schedule says the bus departs at 3pm, you can sit in a bar until 2:58 if it's raining. If the train schedule says the train departs at 3m, you could still be sitting there -- dry but cold -- 45 minutes later.

As for Lucca, for some people, the trip from the train station into the walled center is a slog, especially because of the steep footpaths through and over the walls. Also, while staying in Siena might be good for the people going to Firenze, it's not good for the people who'd like to do something other than stay in Siena, and once again you have to hike to the train station.

Suec's desire to "putz around that part of Tuscany by train or bus" has a lot of potential for a fun trip beyond the usual tourist magnets of Lucca and Siena. Most people don't go to Pistoia, but ti's a great place to putz around and eat and enjoy.

I've never been to Certaldo, but it looks lovely and it's less than an hour away from Firenze by train.

Also, tuscanfeelit, I do believe it's getting increasingly difficult to rent cars for just one day in Italy's tourist areas, especially if you are booking in advance through an international company.

this place looks sweet, with bus and train connections to Firenze and Siena:

http://www.albergoilcastello.it/inglese/index.htm

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Toscana.../index.uk.html