accomodations in San Gimignano
Jun 16th, 2003, 10:06 AM
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accomodations in San Gimignano
We are planning to spend 5 nights in Tuscany this September. We are looking for acommodations that are centrally located so that we can take day trips to Florence and other villages. We will have a car!! My questions are (1) would you recommend that we stay in san gimignano and (2) what hotel/B&B/etc. would you recommend? and (3) any idea how much it is to rent a car for 6 days?
thanks so much!!
thanks so much!!
Jun 16th, 2003, 10:52 AM
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Personally I would not stay in San Gim, partly because it is so overrun with tourists every day, and partly because it is not the most central location. You would be better off near Siena.
With only 5 days, you might want to decide whether you are most interested in northern, central, or southern Tuscany, and plan your location accordingly.
With only 5 days, you might want to decide whether you are most interested in northern, central, or southern Tuscany, and plan your location accordingly.
Jun 16th, 2003, 11:11 AM
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Hotel L 'Antico Pozzo is nice, especially the Junior Suites. We stayed there one night and liked the hotel fine but were really not overly impressed with the town itself. The view of the towers was impressive as you approached the town from the east but once inside it was really not much different from dozens of other hill towns in the area, all of which would be less touristy and crowded than San Gim. I think a town like Pienza or Montalcino or even Siena would make a better base. Rental cars are very expensive - I just got a quote from Auto Europe for over $500 for just over 4 days rental including all taxes, CDW, and theft insurance. You are required to take out this additional insurance in Italy. This was for an mid-size manual transmission car. You could probably save 20% or so by going with a compact car. Italy has among the highest car rental costs in Europe.
Jun 16th, 2003, 11:28 AM
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If you stay in San G., then I would plan day trips and don't come back to San G. until evening when the tourist buses are gone. That's when you can really enjoy the city. We also stayed in a beautiful room in Hotel L 'Antico Pozzo. It had lovely antiques & a beautiful bath and my son had a twin size sleigh-bed all to himself.
Jun 16th, 2003, 12:42 PM
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My wife and stayed at the Antico Pozzo for two nights last summer and opted to spend our third night at the Hotel Pescille. We used San G. as a base to visit the Chianti region and other areas and if we were to do it again, I would stay outside of San G. Parking is an issue in San G. and we enjoyed the ease of staying outside of town much more. We rented our car from Auto Europe but had it for two weeks having picked it up at Malpensa, Milan and dropping it in Florence. I can't remember the cost but it wasn't near the estimate the BoulderCo email had. You might think twice about trying to drive into Florence. We made this drive and even though we had our Michlen map, directions from our Florence hotel and detailed driving directions from the Michelin web site, we got lost big time. Having said that, driving in a foreign country is an adventure and getting lost is all part of it. Just be prepared and allow time for the "adventure".
Jun 16th, 2003, 01:10 PM
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No need to drive INTO Florence. You can park at the Piazzale Michaelangelo (free), admire the view, walk down into the city center, and taxi back up at the end of the day. We did this any number of times, but you can also, depending on where you stay, get a train or bus into Florence.
