stever

Hi - we're refining out trip and need to know where you guys would recommend for Tuscany for 3 nts - Sept 13-16, 2006 after our 4 nt stay in Florence. We will not have a car (we don't drive in foreign countries) so we'd have to take bus and/or train. After these 3 nts at a destination, preferably one hill town as a base from where we can do day trips, we'd need an easy way to get to Rome.

We hear about Orvieto over and over in "just back reports" - would that be one of the better bases that has bus or train transport from Florence, and then from there we could easily get to Rome? Almost every just back report says that they drove from this town to that town, but we're not driving!

I'm guessing that we'd do a day trip to San G from Florence for one of our 5 Florence days, so staying there in San G out. Also, we are VERY light sleepers so church bells would kill us if they were ringing all night long (previous trip report we read on San G said they ring at ... night? How does anyone near the bells sleep?).

Keeping in mind we will not have a car, which city would you suggest? I have been to Sienna once before so I have no interest in going there again. The wife's never been there so she might want to go though ! I wouldn't want to stay there though as a base.

Thanks in advance,
Steve R

ira

Hi Steve,

Orvieto is in Umbria. It is about 1 hr by train from Rome. It is on the line from Florence to Rome. It is a hill town. It would make a very nice overnight.

Lucca is a very nice town. See http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34725563

Since you don't want to stay in Siena, and it is not easy to visit the hill towns of Tuscany without a car, have you considered 3 nts in Venice?

Dayle

Steve,

I don't know why you are dead set against a car, but I guess you have your reasons. I've driven on two trips to Italy, just in the countryside, and really enjoyed it. No problems at all. Hardly any traffic, just the occasional cyclist to watch out for.

I also recommend, that without a car, you should try another major city. I love Orvieto, but when we stayed there for 3 nights, we did car day trips to Deruta and Civita di Bagnoreggio. Orvieto itself is good for about 1 1/2 days.

Another thought would be to go from Florence to Assisi by train. Assisi is a great walking town and big enough to spend a couple days - as long as you are into art and churches! Lovely Spello is very nearby, if I remember correctly 9 km.

Another solution is is hire one of the private driver/tour operators in Tuscany that are frequently recommended here.

Buona fortuna!

stever

Thanks Ira - we just did Venice last year so we want to do something different this year. I looked at that link to Lucca and it looks interesting, though I'm not sure I'd want to stay more than a night or so. I can't tell if trains and buses go there regularly, the transportation part of this is really confusing to us. I didn't even realize that Florence IS Tuscany - duh on me.

I just went to a link to explain what Tuscany is all about, and now I think I understand a bit more. So, if we stay in Florence for 4 nights, couldn't we do 2 days of day trips to towns like San G and ... one or 2 other Tuscan towns and call it a "Tuscan small towns experience"?

We are not renting a car. We just don't want that complication in a foreign country. Call us lame, but we're just not doing it! Knowing that, would a couple of day trips from Florence give us the general feel for these towns? Or is this a stupid idea and we basically just need to get our stuff together and commit to staying in at least one of these towns for 2 nights or so, THEN head to Rome?

When we thought of doing Tuscany for 3 nights after Florence, for some reason I pictured a train or bus going into beautiful hill towns (like Provence), dropping us off near a bus/train terminal, walking across the street to a lovely little county hotel, and then walking back to that terminal each day to take bus trips to the surrounding towns, then finally going back to that same terminal to get transport to Rome. I'm assuming from what I'm reading that it isn't really like this?

Assisi? Ummm - not sure. Don't take this the wrong way but ... we're not Christian, is it a pretty religious kind of place?

Steve R

Dayle

Hi again Steve,

In Tuscany and Umbria, the hilltowns are ancient, trains are not. There are train stations near the larger towns, but usually a fair distance from where you would want to be. You would need a serious uphill hike, taxi or bus up into the towns. For many of the wonderful, tiny towns, there are no trains anywhere near. Buses can be infrequent.

Most Fodorites say a bus trip to Siena from Florence is easy.

Regarding Assisi, yes, Assisi is a very religious town and a very beautiful town! But you can easily go and enjoy the great art and architecture, history, and just skip all the shops selling crucifixes, etc.

stever

Thanks again. It looks like we'll simply do day trips from Florence then to see some hill towns and leave it at that. I'm hoping that 4 nights in Florence will be enough considering we'll be leaving it to do the day trips here and there! Maybe we'll add a night and make it 5 nts, though for me, the concentration of this trip was the Amalfi Coast. I think I'm going to add the nights instead of doing the Tuscany region, to include 2 nights or so in Naples at the end of the trip.

Steve R

ParrotMom

We were in Orvieto for only one day, a Sunday, and it was so alive with a flea market, kiosks and a general wonderful, wonderful atmosphere...and great food.. Could have spent several days there.. we also went to Pienza and Montepulciano.. The next trip back we will start at Florence...

Betsy

I'm not Catholic, but didn't let that stop me from experiencing the magnificence of the Vatican.

ira

Hi steve,

You can get to Siena by SiTA bus from Florence. Bus station is near the Florence SMN train station.

http://www.sitabus.it/wps/portal

From Siena you can bus to San G.

http://www.sangimignano.net/bus/

You can also bus to Rome

http://www.senabus.it/


>I think I'm going to add the nights instead of doing the Tuscany region, to include 2 nights or so in Naples at the end of the trip.<

Not a bad idea.

stever

Thanks again you Merry folk. Sometimes I am filled with immense happiness over your extreme helpfulness in our trip planning. Can't thank you enough. I think we will simply add 2 nights to the end of the trip, making it Naples (since we're leaving from Naples anyway that last day). We MIGHT add one night to Capri making it 4 nights instead of 3. I think we'll keep Florence to 4 nights and Rome to 4 nights and if she really want to hit a ton of Tuscan hill towns, we'll come back another time and hit em till it hurts! We can always get a taste of them from a daytrip to San G and maybe Sienna while we're in Florence, right? I'm sure it's better if we stayed there for a couple of nights, but I've done that in Sienna once and am personally looking for a different experience - the Amalfi Coast is my primary goal on this trip.

And to the kind lady that said that she's not Catholic and she enjoyed the Vatican - yes, true. I'm jewish and one of the most fantastic moments of my life was standing in front of the Pieta in Rome for 30 minutes 7 years ago. I couldn't hold back my tears, and I'm still not sure why. I grew up to not believe in this stuff, but when you see it there in all it's glory, it's absolutely overwhelming that an early 20's young man saw that in a block of marble and carved it so beautifully. The expression on Mary's face is heartbreaking. I bought the black and white book of the Pieta pics there and whenever a Catholic friend comes over to my house, I show it to him. Simply marvelous...

Cheers,
Steve R

ira

Hi S,

While in Florence, do take th no. 7 bus from the SMN train station to Fiesole to watch the sun set from the terrace of the Bar Bleu.

In Naples, try to get to the Capella Sansevero for "The Veiled Christ".

stever

Thanks Ira: I did the sunset thing last time while in Fiesole, but will try to do that Naples thing you suggest. Don't know what it is, but I'll bring it in my notes to Naples

So now were at:
Florence 4 nts
Rome 4 nts
Capri 4 nts
Positano 6 or 7 nts
Naples 2 nts

...until the next revision!

Steve R

ira

Hi Steve,

I think that you have 2 too many nights on Capri.

>will try to do that Naples thing you suggest. Don't know what it is,...

Google "veiled Christ" and click "images".

stever

Ok Ira, I hear ya, and I might be bored outta my mind, but my wife really thinks we need 4 nights there. I haven't the slightest idea how many we need, nor what we'll be doing, but she loves to relax. I figure the first day we'll get there late coming all the way from Rome so won't have time to do much other than eat din din and see basically nothing. The second day we can just walk around Capri town. The 3rd day we could spend the day in Anacapri seeing I'm not even sure - uh, doing a hike? If we only have 3 nts, we wouldn't have a day to do the boat ride around the island. So, don't we need 4 nts?

Steve R

SeaUrchin

stever, your wife probably wants a romantic interlude alone with you on one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Relax......and spend four nights there......

ira

Hi S,

I withdraw my suggestion.

ellenem

Stever,

Coming into this conversation late, but I totally support your desire to skip the car. I've never rented a car in my nearly-20 trips to Italy. Some would say I'm missing something. I would point out that, guess what, I am an American adult who does not know how to drive (shocking!), and furthermore am often visiting an Italian adult who does not drive or own a car. Other times I traveled with drivers who didn't care to spend their vacations behind the wheel. What a pleasure to sit, nap, and enjoy the scenery without have to argue about wrong turns. Yes, it takes a little planning, but I'm used to planning around public transport.

There was another recent thread that discussed some of your ideas for finding a charming Tuscan/Umbrian base for daytrips to hilltowns. I know I answered about the viability of Perugia as a base for visiting Assisi (train) and Gubbio (bus). Others added other recommendations--I think Spello was another big choice. Your plans seem to have changed, but I would encourage you to reconsider your idea for this or a future trip.

Your new plan sounds good, though 10 nights in a row on the Amalfi Coast might be tiresome for me.

Whatever you do, you'll have a great trip.

Dayle

Steve,

One of the things I discovered wandering around Anacapri was the Chiesa Monumentale S. Michele. It has a very famous, beautiful, hand painted tile floor that is just amazing. Doesn't take long to see, but definitely worth it.

SeaUrchin

LOL, Ira, we will just tiptoe away and let Mr & Mrs Stever have some privacy.....

stever

ellenem: Excellent point. I think we might be shortchanging ourselves by not doing a Tuscan or Umbrian hill town for a few nights. You also have a point that 10 days in the Amalfi region might be a little lopsided. I'll rethink this and look to Assisi, Orvieto or Spello for 3 nights.

Dayle: I added your Anacapri recommendation to my notes. Thanks!

Steve R