Germany/Tuscany Itinerary, route, accomodations
 

We will be flying to Munich on June 29th. Will stay in a small village 1 hour south for 5 nights. Then we have 10 days to get a taste of Tuscany & visit Florence. Then on to my husband's home town - Bruhl, Germany which is near Cologne/Koln. We will be renting a car. There will be 4 of us. We would like to stay a few nights in Florence then a few nights in Tuscany, maybe one night on our way to Bruhl. We usually prefer to stay outside of cities, but may have to make an exception for Florence. And yes we are spoiled, we prefer air conditioning. Any and all ideas welcome for accomodations & routes. Thank you in advance.

Hi J,

Fiesole is a small town outside Florence - 0:20 hr by bus into town.

Great views of Florence, especially sunset from the terrace of the Bar Blu.

Check out www.villaurora.net (owners of the Blu) and www.bencista.com/main.php?content=home

((I))

You probably have calculated your road trips already, but going all the way from Tuscany back to Cologne is a pretty long drive.
I think you can do faster and cheaper with a one-way ticket from Pisa or Milan.

We're splitting up our drive from Orvieto to Stuttgart with a stop over in Lucerne. Great way to see some gorgeous Swiss countryside and a not-so-rushed drive.

Thanks for the input. Any other ideas, I'm still checking out accomodations in this area....

We loved our hotel in Florence, the Hotel Casci. Paulo and staff were amazing. It was such a warm and inviting place, we truly felt like we were "at home" and part of the family! We will not stay anywhere else upon our return. It is central to everything and the price is right, too! (They made all of our museum reservations for us, too!

http://www.hotelcasciflorence.com/en/index.htm

Have fun!

Still trying to wrap my head around where to stay. I agree that a drive from Tuscany to Cologne in one day is too far. So it looks like 8-9 days in Tuscany and an overnight on the way to Cologne. Suggestions for that overnight? Also how would you split up 8-9 nights in Tuscany? We have never been to that region. My daughter and I both want 2-3 days in Florence. Can we stay outside of Florence and drive in for the sites, shopping & dining? How is parking? Really any info is welcome. Thanks in advance.

Any more feedback???? Thank you
V E R Y much!

My children and I - 10 and 13 loved Italy and stayed in a small town outside of Florence called Empoli

There is a great B & B there - the owners speak english and were great with planning our day trips. You can get anywhere via train from there 20 minutes in any direction - Pisa, Sienna, Florence, beaches etc. We all loved the tiny little town at the end of each day also- beautiful views of the Tuscan landscape as we had breakfast each day !

Here is the name and review from venere.com "I Melograni (The Pomegranates) Bed & Breakfast is located in the first and oldest part of an old 18th Century villa set in the countryside and surrounded by a typical Tuscan landscape of olive trees and vine groves.The house is at the end of a quiet country road 3km from the local town Empoli.

It is not necessary to plan your Tuscany vacation around moving to different lodgings every night. Empoli is in the centre of Tuscany between Florence and Pisa and is in a perfect position for touring as it connected to Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca and the Italian Riviera by good motorways and a reliable and frequent train service.

During the summer months breakfast is served on the terrace where guests can relax and enjoy the lovely Chianti views before beginning their daily excursions. Just like a country hotel. An alternative to busy Florence accomodation." the rates are very reasonable too

Calling the town either "Brühl" or "Bruehl" instead of "Bruhl" will improve your chances to find information and accommodation dramatically.

Driving into Florence is not a good idea. Driving and especially parking are strictly limited in the Centro Storico. At best, you will have to park in an outer parking lot and take the bus in.

Look for places to stay on a bus or train route into Florence. We stayed in a villa north of Florence and bused in from the town of Barberino di Mugello. The bus dropped us off near the main train station in Florence. The bus ride, especially going home at the end of the day, was spectacular.

I think Ira's idea of Fiesole is great.