Hello Everyone:

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon to Italy (yay!) and have decided on the visiting Venice (3 nights) and Rome (3 nights). We are planning an extra 4 nights, in between these two cities, to Florence or Tuscany. Our problem is we cannot decide whether to stay in Florence or stay in one of the surrounding cities. more in the heart of the Chianti region, like Greve, Sienna or Montepulciano.

My fiance thinks the other towns will be too secluded and we'll be travelling every night to eat dinner, etc. I've been told that while the towns are quaint, there's still much to do and places to eat...

Can anyone help us here?
Thanks!

With 3 nights in Rome and 3 nights in Venice, 4 nights in a quieter location might be welcome. Florence is a great city, but the Tuscany countryside is pure magic, especially around Montepulciano. Montepulciano is fairly large for a hill town, with many places to eat, shop and explore. Montepulciano is NOT in the Chianti region which is just south of Florence. If you do 4 nights here you might want to consider renting a car to explore the area.

Hi H,

If you are going to stay in one of the smaller cities or towns, eg Siena, I suggest that you rent a car.

You can pick it up as you leave Venice and drop it in Orvieto or Chiusi and train to Rome.

Check www.autoeurope.com, www.novacarhire.com, www.gemut.com.

Enjoy your visit.


My Lady Wife and I greatly enjoyed 5 nights in Florence.

It all depends on what you like to do all day and in the evenings.
I would stay in Florence with day trips, I find the country and small towns , although charming , a bit of a bore after a few hours.
Also , I would stay in Rome another night and V and F 3 nights each.

Just remember that Siena and Montepulciano are not in Chianti but are further south. You have to make your own decision, but do tell him that there are plenty of great places to eat in towns such as Montepulciano. The options may be fewer but the quality is as good as in Florence.

Day trips from there to Florence would not be as easy
as from Siena, for example.

Hi Honeymooners,

I'm one of those who believes and really enjoys mixing cities and countryside. If it were me, I would stay in southern Tuscany (loved Montalcino for 3 nts), rent a car and visit the area that way. There are plenty of excellent restaurants for lunches and dinner that will be in town, or close enough!

Buon viaggio!

Wow! Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time to educate us and give us so many opinions...

Does anyone have any recommendations on Hotels either in Florence or in the greter Tuscany area - I'm hearing Montecino and Montepulciano are faves of many of the posters here - anywhere in the E200-300 price range?

Hi again,

In addition to getting recs here, some sites I've found extremely helpful:

venere.com
italyby.com
initaly.com
slowtrav.com

Great books:

"Small hotels of charm and character - Italy"

"Karen Brown's Italy"

These sites and books all have various price ranges and maps cross referenced with the properties descriptions/pics.

Your price range is beyond mine, so I can't give you personal experience! You will have many lovely choices.

hello,
if you use venere to book, feel free to use this discount code - it will give you 4% off your final price: BH5F85S

enjoy your trip!

If you stay in Siena, you can take the bus for a day trip into Florence.

You don't say whether you will have a car? To visit southern Tuscany (Montepulciano et al), you really need a car. Even Siena, San Gimignano, etc are easier with a car. It's possible with buses; I fell in love with Tuscany on a bus from Chiusi to Siena. But you must adapt to the bus schedule, and sometimes it's harder without any Italian.

The small towns have several restaurants usually. I like to stay in or near a town to be able to walk to (and from) a restaurant for dinner.