Going to Florence/Tuscany - need itinerary help
 

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Italy. After having fallen in love with Provence, planning Italy is quite different. I am passing on Rome this time and heading straight to Florence. I hope to fly from Chicago to Florence. Thinking of spending 3 nights in Florence, 3 nights in Tuscany and maybe 2 nts in Bellagio/Lake Como. Any suggestions on hotels? I find that the lodging can make or break a trip but would like to stay around $250 per night (or a little more). Need transportation help. Should we rent a car in Florence airport for the 8/9 days? Its quite expensive. I may want to try to rent one in Florence before heading to Tuscany and dropping off at the airport to save a little money. I doubt we will need the car while in Florence. We, as like everyone else, enjoy good food, good wine, and meeting interesting people......Looking for help planning this daunting trip.

Well you certainly don't need a car in Florence so I would forget about the airport pickup. The cost of parking in Florence would erode any savings. Although petrol is expensive in Italy the car cost is often the cheapest part of the travel budget, so I would pick up a car in Florence after your stay. Avis in Italy is very good as they have many drop of points and they replace cars every 6 months or 40,000ks. so you usually get a fairly new car. I would then drive to Montepulciano and stay 2 nights there as there are many places to see from Montepulciano and it is a delightful Hill town. Gosh! 3 nights in Tuscany is not long. Anyway then I would head for Lucca or even Parma, stay a night there, and then onto Bellagio. You would need to return the car to Malpensa Airport (Milan) and fly out of there. If you have to fly out of Forence it is a long drive from Bellagio.
To me Tuscany is one trip and Milan and the Lakes is another so you are attempting to do quite a bit although you would see some great areas of Italy. I am sure you will get many other suggestions.

florence airport is closing for 3 months for repairs this year'i think in the spring and flights will be diverted to pisa,so i assume it will be closed much longer

DownUnder gave you great advice. I would concentrate on Tuscany on this trip; Lake Como is very out of the way and you have lots more to see if you spend the time in Tuscany. If you do go to Como, try to do it by train rather than driving.

In Montepulciano I stayed at La Terrassa and while the room is not luxurious, it is very homey and comfortable and the price is about 90 Euro per night. The owners are very warm and helpful.

When we were in Florence, we didn't have a car. We've taken the train to Chiusi and rented the car there. In Florence, we stayed at Relais Uffizi. I believe we got a "junior suite" or something like that. It was large, very nice, great service and the location was ideal. (www.relaisuffizi.it) In southern Tuscany (which I love!), we've stayed in two glorious places: Locanda dell Amorosa (www.amorosa.it)as well as La Saracina (www.lasaracina.it). I can highly recommend both. Check them out as possibilities. We returned our rental car to Chiusi and took the train to Milan for our final night as I wanted to see the Last Supper and the Duomo. Hope this helps. Having spent our last 4 vacations in Italy, I'm reading up on vacationing in Provence. I could use your help!

If you are looking at Provence, check out chateautalaud.com. It was a wonderful B&B.

That Relais Uffizi looks nice.

Is it noisy being on the Piazza?

Any Internet access or amenities like a safe?

Hey!

A car is definately a hinderance. Been there, done that. Between the scooter drivers weaving in and out of traffice and absolutely scare parking, we were ready to leave it by the side of the road. Take the train! Look here: www.maninseat61.com for all the info. Best of luck with your trip. Florence is a beautiful city. I know it's cliche, but don't miss David (the REAL David). Waited about two hours to get in and he's worth every minute...absoutely mind-blowing!

wco81 - our room at Relais Uffizi didn't overlook the Piazza so it wasn't noisy. The lovely breakfast room, with high ceiling a a series of large windows, did overlook the piazza and the view was spectacular. I'm afraid I don't remember internet access or safes as we don't use either one while on vacation. The service was wonderul & I'm sure they'd be glad to provide additional info. Happy travels!