Camaiore area - things to do
 

We ( 3 related couples) are looking at renting a villa for 2 weeks in September 2008. Some that fit the bill are in the Camaiore area including the village of Capezzano. Has anyone stayed near there? Any recommendations of what is available to do in the area or has anyone rented a villa near here?
My partner and I have never been to Italy and won't try to do too much. We would like to soak up the atmosphere, do some sightseeing, eat out and cook at 'home' too.
As an aside if we were only going to visit one major city in Italy (considering the area we will stay) which one would you pick?

You will be staying 30 minutes northwest of Lucca. You will be in a good location for day trips throughout the area-

Sarzana
Lucca
Carrara
CT
Portovenere
Lerici

I guess the one major city to visit from the area would be Florence. If you wanted to visit Rome or Venice, you would need to spend the night(s) in these cities- they are too far for a day trip.

Will you have cars?

It is a nice area but you are caught between 2 more desirable areas---Tuscany and the Ligurian coast. Maybe that is good thing if you like to drive. I would prefer splitting the 2 weeks at 2 locations---one near Siena and the other on the coast near Lerici. Go to slowtrav.com to see reviews of rentals in the Tuscany region and beyond.

Thank you both for comments. Slowtravel looks to be a great website and I saw some great properties for rent in the Cinque Terra region which has been designated as a must see by my work colleague today. I think we will be renting a vehicle, at this stage we are more keen to lock in rental accommodation.

I've stayed near Camaiore 3 times over the years. In the past I've done day trips to Florence, Siena, Lucca, Viareggio (beach) and Torre del Lago (Puccini's house). Pisa and Carrara are also reachable, and if you like packing it in you could reach the Cinque Terre too.

This year we also visited Barga, travelling there via Lucca and up the valley of the Serchio; then further north up the valley to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana and back west through the Parco Naturale delle Alpi Apuane, past Isola Santa and the marble-quarrying mountains and joining the coast road at Pietrasanta – all very scenic and interesting. Barga is a nice wee town and we met people who had gone there for serious hillwalking, so that's another possibility if you're into it. In fact, just above Camaiore itself there are some nice more gentle walks in the foothills of the Apuan Alps.