Lisabu

Hello,

My family including teenagers (14/16) will in Paciano June 22-29. We will do a day tour in Florence on June 22nd on our way from Venice to Paciano.

I am looking for some advice on a good itinerary for our week that will include exploring towns, experiences and relaxing. There are so many great sounding towns I can't decide, but more importantly I don't know what makes sense in terms of logistics of driving and time needed in various towns. I don't want to create a strict itinerary we have to follow each day, but more have a loose idea of what works best for this age group and realistically what can be done in a day. We will have a car.

My thoughts so far:

- Day trip to Siena (and maybe surrounding area) - thinking about doing this as a private tour to give us a guide for Siena and some unique experiences in surrounding area such as a farm lunch, etc. (possibly include Monteriggioni this day)

- Pienza , Montepulciano, Montalcino - Abby of Sant Antimo
- Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio
- Perugia, Gubbio and Assisi - too much for one day?
- Spello, Spoleto, Montefalco, Bevegna (thermal baths/natural pools?)
- Cortona
- Todi

- Activites - cooking class at our agriturismo, bike or horseback ride for a couple of hours, hitting local market days for one or more towns, a festival if possible, unique lunch or dinner options -farm houses, dinner at a monastery?

I realize we cannot do all of these towns/activities. I would love some advice on:

- Best towns to visit with teenagers to give different experiences/perspectives
- Unique dining opportunities - besides typical restaurants
- Unique activities besides biking or horseback riding?
- How best to organize the outings - not sure if I have them correct above.

Thank you for your thoughts. Sorry for the long post.

StCirq

I spent a month in Paciano with a teen a few years ago. We didn't "organize" much of anything, just went off roaming the countryside to other towns and villages (the spa towns in the mountains were a big hit), spent a lot of time around Lago Trasimeno at the market and the beach and at evening concerts in Panicale and Maggiore. We hated Cortona (in high season - I was back there in late fall and it was pleasant), did a daytrip to Assisi and several to Perugia and Chiusi, ventured into southern Tuscany a few times and Pienza and Montalcino and Montepulciano and Sant'Antimo, all very enjoyable.

You do realize that Paciano has a population of about 75, right? And many of them anglophile expats, which colors the landscape a bit. We didn't spend a lot of time in the commune itself, apart from the day Italy won the World Cup, which was a heck of an experience!

We didn't make any special dining plans, just ate in local places like the one in the hills above the town, the pizzeria in Paciano itself, and a couple of the Panicale restos, but we had some fabulous food.

The best thing about that trip was the absolute lack of necessity to do anything in particular at all, but always finding something delightful around an unexpected corner.

Lisabu

Thank you for your insight. I didn't actually realize Paciano was quite so small. I had originally reserved a villa right on the edge of a town called Piegaro which in hindsight might have been a better village atmosphere, but this kids wanted a bit of the rural farm feel also. I have heard mixed reviews about Cortona - some love/some hate. It sounds like the season is the defining factor. With so many options I am inclined to stay away from the busiest towns.

Did most of your day trips take about an hour driving time? Also, did you usually go for the day or just early in the day and back home in mid afternoon? I am trying to make sure we don't get stuck anywhere during main siesta time when everything is closed in the towns.

Jean

You won't be able to do a "day tour" of Florence on your way from Venice to Paciano. You'll have, at most, an afternoon. It's a 3-hour drive Venice-Florence (possibly longer as this is a Saturday), and you'll have to park outside of Florence and walk/bus/taxi into the historical center. (Figure out your parking location and driving route before you arrive.) Even if you get an early start from Venice, you'll need lunch shortly after you arrive in Florence. Then it's a near 2-hour drive to Paciano which I presume you'd like to reach before dark. And you'll want to have dinner at some point, somewhere.

I would give Siena an entire day.

The Abbey at Sant'Antimo has risen in interest in the past year or so, but I personally think the Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore south of Asciano is more interesting and has much more to see. One downside to visiting is the need to time your arrival as the abbey closes for lunch and prayers in the middle of the day. There is a restaurant at the main entrance with a nice outdoor seating area. I would pair this abbey with your outing to Cortona, esp. if you don't make it to Sant'Antimo on your Val d'Orcia day (Montepulciano-Pienza-Montalcino).

http://www.monteolivetomaggiore.it/

Perugia-Gubbio-Assisi in one day is impossible. The drive time alone is at least 4 hours (probably closer to 5 in August), and you can't drive into any of them so you'll need more time to find parking and walk in and out. I would drop Perugia, but only because it's the most time-consuming to get to and leave and has a lot to see. We thought Gubbio was charming, and your kids may enjoy seeing the ruins of the Roman theater at the bottom of the town (next to the lot where you'll park).

The other Umbria day would make more sense if you dropped Spoleto which is just a little too far south. Or add Spoleto to your Todi day.

Where are you going after Paciano?

StCirq

Lisabu, we did a mix of things as far as timing goes. Some days we went early and came home mid-afternoon to laze by the pool; some days we just had long,leisurely lunches and strolls until things opened up again and didn't come home until the evening. We did a number of fairly long days up into the hills to spa towns (with one exception not to fancy places at all, really rather rustic places out in the woods. As these didn't close for the siesta, we didn't really have to plan much at all. And in the big towns (Perugia, Assisi, Cortona) there was always something going on during siesta. At Lago Trasimeno, we went to the beach (and market a few times), then would take a couple of hours for a nice lunch along the water and a boat ride out to the island - there was always something fun to do even when the shops were closed. And the evening concerts were wonderful! It's only the tiny little towns where everything shuts down, really.

And yes, the season is the defining factor for Cortona.

Paciano is really small, but it's a sweet little place, and Panicale is delightful.

Lisabu

Thanks for the feedback. We certainly don't have to see all the towns I listed - I was mostly trying to group them together and see which ones might be top sights for teens.

Jean - thanks for the lead on the Monte Oliveto Maggiore abbey. We only need to see one abbey so it is nice to know another option. I do think the kids might enjoy hearing the chants.

After Umbria we are going to Sorrento for a week and then to Rome. Our plan from Venice is to take the train to Florence, arrive at 9:30 am, spend the day with a private guide to see what we can, but just get a taste of Florence for the kids and take the 5 or 6 pm train to Chiusi (our villa owners will pick us up there and take us to Paciano). My husband and I have been to Florence before and we want this trip to be about a mix of cities and enjoying smaller towns and experiences. If the kids love Florence we can always take the train back up for a day during the week.

StCirq - thanks again for the insight - unfortunately we don't have as much time for enjoying long lunches as you did, but we will do some. I have looked into the thermal baths and some of the area around Lago Trasimeno - this might be what the kids really like. I guess it is all still part of experiencing Italy so I am trying not to get caught up in seeing all the towns I have read about.

Lisabu

One more thing - were there any towns that had especially fun market days that you explored. My kids tend to love farmers style markets and we look for them whenever we travel. If any towns have markets that are great, we might do some of our planning to visit on those days.

Jean

You're going from Venice to Florence to Paciano on Saturday, June 22nd. When you arrive by train at Chiusi, the villa owners are meeting you. Where and when will you pick up the car? Almost all rental offices are closed on Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday.

Lisabu

Our villa owners will meet us at the train station and we will then pick up the car. They have worked out with the rental car agency to meet us in the evening. From the beginning they said it was not a problem - the car rental offices were small and they could work out a time to meet that worked for us. I was trying to utilize our day for more than just a travel day since I already have everyone up and going to catch the train from Venice. Kind of a crazy schedule for one day, but the rest of the week in Umbria we don't really have a set schedule and it keeps us from having to take the train back to Florence another day.

Thanks for the questions/heads up - if I didn't have a villa hostess who was so willing to work with us on this one we wouldn't be stopping in Florence.

Jean

Wow. That's service!

StCirq

We went to the Saturday market in Passigiano and the Wednesday market in Castiglione del Lago a couple of times. We also really liked the town of Città delle Pieve. And loved Chiusi (fabulous Etruscan museum).