Day trips in Tuscany
 

I will be staying in Greve June 2000 in one the the wonderful villas of Tuscany and will be doing day trips by car or even walking trips out each day for a week. I have heard one not to miss place is San Gimignano. Does anyone else have any others? <BR>Second question, Resorts on the Coast where you would get total R & R not children oriented if poss rate about 200.00 per night not self catering though <BR>Thanks

Cathryn: <BR> <BR>Check out the Tuscany Hosted Forum on the Past Forums site. You'll find lots of good ideas.

Hi Cathryn, <BR>Siena and Orvieto are my suggestions for must-see hilltowns. Unfortunately Orvieto might be a little far, like 2 hours. But Siena's not a bad drive at all and it's beautiful.

Don't miss Siena or San Gimignano.......They are two of my favorite places. Lot's of hill top walking, but worth every step.

Check out Portovenere on the west coast. Very quaint town. Just were there three weeks ago. San G. will be crowded. Fair warning. We had trouble with parking in October. June will be worse. Volterra also close by and nice to see on same day. Siena also fun, but another parking problem. Florence is an no brainer. Have to do that. Get tix early for the Ufizzi and Accademia. Definitely a time saver...especially in June. It will help you avoid a long wait.

Cathryn, <BR> <BR>I agree with a lot of what's been said: Siena is beautiful AND parking is a challenge - but not a reason to miss it. San Gimignano is also beautiful and the crowds can be overwhelming. I found Volterra this year and really liked it. It "felt" like San Gimignano but relatively undiscovered and, therefore, more manageable. <BR> <BR>There's so much to see in Tuscany, near Greve, that's it's difficult to give just a few suggestions. Monteriggioni is extremely small - just a piazza in a walled city - with a great restaurant (Il Pozzo); I liked Castellina in Chianti very much and had a good lunch at Antico Trattoria La Torre. Colle di Val d'Elsa is lovely, Gaiole in Chianti, Radda, Pistoia and, of course, Florence. Getting the tickets to the Academia and Uffizzi in advance makes so much sense. <BR> <BR>This year I also discovered some coastal towns. I think I liked Punta Ala best - much less frenetic than Viareggio; Forte dei Marmi is jumping and seems calmer than Viareggio, but may still be too crazy in June (not sure...) A bit further south is a town, Castiglioncello, that looked very nice - with good beaches and not as many people. <BR> <BR>Good luck - have a great time... <BR> <BR>Dona

I too agree with most of what has been said...but Greve was also just a wonderful place in itself to hang out and relax. We spent a couple of weeks in Tuscany in September and stayed in Greve area 5 nights and were never for a lack of things to do. There are a number of very good wineries right there,and tons of small hilltowns within a couple hours drive. We stayed at Vigniamaggio and I can't recommend it enough. The staff were wonderful and the accomodations were perfect. If you haven't booked your stay in Greve that is the place. Enjoy planning your holiday but half the fun is just getting in your car and driving and stumbling across your own delights. <BR> <BR>arlene