First Trip to Italy. Need Help on Accommodations in Tuscany
 

Hi! We are planning our first trip to Italy this fall. Late Oct - Nov. We will be going to Florence, Cinque Terre, Tuscany and then departing from Rome.

After Cinque Terre our plan is to do 4 days in Tuscany before driving down towards Rome. Wanted to get suggestions on where to stay. Ideally love the idea of staying in a bed and breakfast or agriturismo. Want to have the local experience. We love food and wine. We are in our late 30's and traveling without our kids. So would love a place that is romantic. Would be nice to find somewhere with a view...and even a place where we could walk to town and grab coffee (which I know may be difficult to find). But we do plan on getting a car after we come back from Cinque Terre. So any suggestions on where we can pick a car up would be great too!
Had a friend suggest a couple of places. Le Due Volpi. Loved the reviews. But think the region may be in the opposite direction?? Not familiar with the region so if it is something to explore, we are willing to change and modify plans. (Mugello Region).

Another one that came recommended was Validrose. Again loved the reviews but think it may be too close to Florence.
Wondering if we should stay more Chianti or Siena? But we are completely open to any area. (We do not plan on going to Pisa.)
I've pinned so many places and regions. San Gimignano, Montalcino, Chianti, Siena, Orvieto, Montepulciano, you name it. Its now starting to blend together and get overwhelming but want to book soon!

So now looking at other opinions. Open to suggestions! Thank you in advance!

After 17 trips to Italy, here is my current list of good places to stay in Tuscany.

BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TUSCANY
A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. SANT’ ANTONIO APTS. http://www.santantonio.it/ Lovely apartments
in a rural setting near Montepulciano—very helpful owner

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families
Isabella also has 2 apts. in Castelmuzio for rent—wonderful—see her site.

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello

4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Fonte Bertusi www.fontebertusi.it Lovely rural B&B near Pienza with apartments and pool. Wonderful décor by artistic family—fair prices.

7. New historic B&B north of Pienza. http://www.camprena.it/index.htm
Site of filming for THE ENGLISH PATIENT About 90E for double

8. http://www.borgoargenina.it/index.html A special rural B&B in Chianti.
The lovely owner, Elena, will make you feel like family. 170E for double

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 170 to 210E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.vecchiaoliviera.com/ 150 to 200E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
Nice boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 170 to 250E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

Coming from le Cinque Terre you can pick up a car in La Spezia or Pisa (the latter might be necessary if you are picking it up on a Sunday.)

As long as you are departing from Rome, you might as well go south of Siena, which has some of the most photographed scenery in all of Tuscany. The Mugello are is too far north and less scenic, and Valdirose would only make sense of you wanted easy access to Florence. Chianti is a bit west if you are coming from le Cinque Terre.

My favorite part of Tuscany a bit south of Siena is the area known as le Crete Senesi, partly because it is a little bit wild and more dramatic, colorful geology.

http://www.terresiena.it/en/crete-senesi

Other people prefer the more domesticated val d'Orcia area.

http://www.terresiena.it/en/val-d-orcia

Either area puts you within day-trip reach of Siena, Montalcino and Montepulciano. You could visit San Gimignano for lunch on your way down from le Cinque Terre.

For me the ideal is an agriturismo with apartments w/kitchens and a restaurant on site, which is maximum flexibility when it comes to meals. You can find them that will take 4 day stays. You are right that you are going to have a hard time finding a rural lodging that is within walking distance to a town or village for coffee. You might try looking for lodgings around Murlo, Montisi, San Giovanni d'Asso, San Quirico d'Orcia and Pienza -- but you might need to come to a hard decision of whether you would prefer a farm/vineyard based countryside experience in an agriturismo or a village/town experience in a b&b or hotel for your sleeps. Either way, the great majority of places are romantic and most have views.

Sorry -- I should have typed that Chianti is a bit east if you are starting as far west as le Cinque Terre.

Just as an example, this is the sort of place that would appeal to me, an olive oil farm with apartments plus a restaurant, and I think it might be possible to walk to the village. But you'd have to track down recent reviews (and there are lots others like it in Tuscany)

http://www.laromita.it/en/index.html

What do you think about the area of Cortona as a central location?

Looking at Locanda San Martino a Bocena? Is Cortona not centrally located?

Also looking at your list. Thank you so much Bob and Sandra. I see several places that I had pinned. Terre di Nano, Fattoria Tregole, etc.

Cortona is not a good location for Tuscany.

It depends on what you want to do and experience. Cortona is, as perhaps you already know, the setting for "Under the Tuscan Sun" (I guess no one told the now-wealthy author it wasn't a "good location" for Tuscany!). It has a lot of infrastructure for tourists because of that fame, including some properties that are both farms or rural settings yet are walkable to the large town (don't know if the one you mention is) with all of Cortona's various restaurants and shops (and fellow tourists). And for people who want to do a few specific day trips into the Chianti and Umbria, Cortona favors those logistics.

For people who want to tour villages and the vineyard country of the val d'Orcia -- which is the most photographed part of Tuscany -- Cortona is outside that area, across the major highway, and it is bit convenient for just puttering around the most picturesque countryside without specific targets.

Hmm... You are making me rethink things. Perhaps Montalcino would be better?

Very helpful info in this thread. If one were travelling by rail rather than road, what two or three towns would you recommend as possible bases? Or is renting a car clearly the better option for exploring the region?

Cortona, a little dull, there are better places in Tuscany

The rail lines in Tuscany are not good. You need a car to see the best of Tuscany--not just the cities.

cep,
these may help
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

http://www.prolocomontalcino.com/en/...-of-the-thrush

Excellent list---taking notes

Thanks for all the web sites

You need a car for this one, best food we had in Italy, hands down. Food grown on the property, picked and prepared fresh daily. Fresh hand made pasta everyday. Can still remember the taste years later. We enjoyed the communal dining table, lots of interesting conversation.

http://www.agriturismo.it/en/farmhou...062/index.html

Nice location!

I'm not sure I'd want to go to the Cinque Terre in late October/November. The risk of bad weather is fairly high at that time of year.

bmk

Other than Frances Mayes, I wonder what is wrong with Cortona? I'm guessing that her books are no longer drawing huge crowds, or am I mistaken?

I've been warned off Cortona myself, and yet it looks kind of nice, is near a lot of places that I've enjoyed, and has a few interesting attractions.

Weather in le Cinque Terre can be very bad in late Oct/early November. Actually catastrophically bad, in terms of storm-induced landslides and floods. So best to book only something you can cancel without penalty, and study the weather forecast 48 hours before you get there. Don't be afraid to cancel if forecasts show significant rain. You can always find other lodgings in more protected places. You can switch your car rental pick up away from La Spezia or Pisa if you are no longer going there.

oh, and cep12:

Montalcino area is excellent location.

Yes, aware that weather can be bad in Oct and Nov. I'm okay with that.
Looked at Agriturismo Marciano. Think it would be the ideal location... Unfortunately they are not available the day we arrive.

Like the looks of La Gavina....but do you think it is too far?

I do think Crete Sensei....just south of Siena may be an ideal base. But still having trouble finding a place available.

Areas of interest (although I know we may not get to all)
CHIANTI
SAN GIMIGNANO
SIENA
MONTEPULCIANO
PIENZA
VAL D’ORCIA
MONTALCINO
CIVITA DI BAGNOREGIO
PITIGLIANO - heard its spectacular at night?

bookmarking- great recommendations!

We too are planning for about 4 days in Tuscany during a trip with longer stays elsewhere in Italy... thanks! ... the above info is very helpful.

Question:
We know that trains don't go to most of the towns, but is it possible (& reasonable to count on) local buses to get to the towns, then some sort of taxi to get to the place we'd be staying?

Or is a car the only reasonable alternative? (In a way, I prefer driving, but the group is trying for a non-driving trip.)

buses

http://www.tuscanypass.com/about_tus...s_tuscany.html

cpelk,

Where are you looking for accommodations? There are so many around the area of Montalcino you should be able to find a quality stay. What are your exact dates?

Elbegewa,

You will have a very difficult time enjoying scenic Tuscany relying on public transportation + taxi unless you plan to spend your entire 4 days in one town or on one farm. How many are in your group? Also, Tuscany is a very large region. Some places have more public transportation options than others. Which part of Tuscany do you want to visit?

Want to maximize our time. So something central to visiting the cities above. Keeping in mind that we will be driving towards Rome and leaving the car in Orvieto (train to Rome).

If your wish list is still San Gimignano, Montalcino, Chianti, Siena, Orvieto, Montepulciano, then your best best is to stay somewhere between Montalcino and Siena, around Bounconvento, in the countryside. There are a ton of agriturismi there. If you want to be near a town, check out agriturismi close to San Giovanni d'Asso or Montisi, or Bibbiano or Murlo or Monteroni d'Arbia.

You can put the name of any one of these towns into a google search, and then when you get it on the map, search for "agriturismo near xxxxx." Or you can go to booking.com and look up these towns, and they will give you a range of agritursmi and hotels and apartment rentals, villas, etc in the vicinity.

I would still suggest visiting San Gimignano en route from le Cinque Terre if it remains on your wish list.

Sorry, I didn't see your second list that includes the area around Pitigliano.

It is impossible to see both the Chianti and the area around Pitigliano in the same 4 day trip unless -- and this would really be pushing it, you see the area around Pitigliano before you drop off your car in Orvieto. But it would might make more sense to go see those places and then drive to FCO airport and drop off your car there and take the airport train to Rome.

On the whole, I think you may be misunderstanding why doing a trip to "Tuscany" has become so famous. The scenic countryside and the views are the real draw, and the fascination of so many little small walled towns, indiependent of each other, that were essentially isolated and warring communities in their day, and therefore built to be entirely self-sufficient. So every town has a beautiful church, an important well, and public piazza, city hall, and myriad shops. While it is true that each of the famous ones has some unusual feature -- the towers of San Gimignano, or the grand architectural pretentions of Pienza, etc -- the towns are essentially the same, and if you race around trying to "hit" all the guidebook recommended towns, you can easily miss completely what is the "secret" Tuscany. The "secret" Tuscany is the weather that Tuscans have managed to obtain from the rather difficult terrain of Tuscany, and how their labors have shaped the landscape, and how their lives are geared to the seasons and the weather and understanding how to live there.

So that's a long way of saying it almost doesn't matter where you go in Tuscany if what you experience is the farm, the town, the church, the wine, the aspirations, etc. If you just go gawking and photosnapping along the tourist trail, you might not get the feeling of it.

--- sorry for my typo (acutally, the effin' autocorrect -- what should have appeared is

"The "secret" Tuscany is the WEALTH that Tuscans have managed to obtain from the rather difficult terrain of Tuscany.


Today, that "wealth" includes the wealth obtained from tourists who come to see the land. But if you leave yoruself time to wander away from the tourists, to not be aiming for that Fra Angelico in one town, and that set of baths in another, you can get a sense of how hard and ingeniously Tuscans worked with nature before the arrival of the tourists to live off the land and acquire wealth from it (not all of the riches measured in money).