Must be doing this website wrong because I've gotten no responses to my previous ??'s.Will be in N. Italy at Como, on to Venice and then Florence. Should we rent a car in Florence to go to hill towns or can we get to them by train? We'll fly out of Rome back to the states. Anyone out there able to help me.....

Carol, You will be fine with the train everywhere but Tuscany. If you really want to explore you should rent a car to get around there. The trains don't go to many of those towns and while there is bus service it would be much more convenient to have a car.

thanks, Deb. I'll rent a car and enjoy all the little towns. Any advice for a place to stay in Florence?

Where you stay when you are in Florence probably depends on whether you will already have the car. If you do, you might want to stay outside of Florence (or on the outskirts) because traffic is difficult in the city (and parking is hard to find). If you decide to stay in Florence, I have the name of a 2-star hotel--great price and location, but not much "luxury." <BR> <BR>What is the pricerange you are hoping for? Do you have a place in Venice. I loved the San Moise. <BR> <BR>Good luck with your planning. <BR> <BR>Deborah

Just back from Florence and parking was a nightmare. I guess not really the parking garage, but trying to maneuver the little one-way streets to get to the garage was anxiety at its best - and we love to drive on our trips! Try to concentrate your day trips so you don't have to pay for parking too many nights, and get detailed directions from your hotel on how to get to a nearby garage (about $20/night). Maybe you can just drive out of Florence and visit the towns on your way to Rome. Siena gets particular thumbs up.

Hi Carol. I am new to this site also. I have a question also that has the same name as yours that you may want to look at. I am just doing a search using "Italy" and it comes up. Also, there is a topic "where to stay in Florence" that helped me with where to stay. Based on it, we may stay in Fiesole, just outside of Florence. Sounds like we are both doing the same trip! Good Luck!

Yes, Deborah, we do have a place to stay in Florence. It came from Heather on this site who had posted 10 value hotels. It's the Hotel Benivieni. Seems like a good location. Still working on where to pick up our rental car as we leave Florence to to the hill towns. Thanks for your input, Carol

Ali, taking your suggestion and driving out of Florence NOT while we're staying in town. Definitely seeing and staying in Siena for a few days.

Shelly, hope you're enjoying this site as much as I am. I've learned so much from other peoples's ?'s. Where are you staying in Fiesole? Hadn't thought of checking there.