We will be going to Tuscany in late September and would like to stay in a charming Farmhouse that would be close to cities of Siena, Cartona and other cities that are off the beaten path.... We will be flying into Pisa and will be staying in Tuscany for 10 days. Also would appreciate recommendations on towns to visit and restaurants. Thanks so much. L & K

You will find ten thousand useful words of information (if not a hundred thousand) at www.slowtrav.com - - and sifting through to find ideas that match your interests and needs is likely to be as useful as, if not more - - than info offered here.

Very hard to make a specific suggestion without knowing specifically how many people (or desired number of bedrooms/bathrooms), and general budget range.

Best wishes,

Rex

We used tuscany.net for our last trip and were very pleased with the results. Just click on the farmhouse section and a listing of properties will appear. Their descriptions are accurate and the owners usually response quickly to questions.

Tuscany has so many wonderful towns and restaurants. Given the option, I would select two areas and split my time between the two.

For instance, on our last trip, we opted to stay in Montalcino to see southern Tuscany and then switched to Castellina for the Chianti area. Both locations were excellent and very nice bases.

Some other options for southern Tuscany would be Pienza, Montepulciano or San Quirico. Other options for central/northern Tuscany would be Siena, Radda or even San Gimingnano.

Once you decide on your location, then the restaurant recommendations will come in by the dozens.

Have fun choosing.


Carol

I stayed at this villa in April. It is near the Tuscany/Umbria border above Lake Trasimeno. It was about an hour to Cortona and slightly longer to Siena. There were many little towns to explore nearby.

http://www.ourhouseinumbria.com/our_...bria_2_001.htm

we also used tuscany.net to find a farmhouse to rent nightly vs. weekly. We stayed S of Siena and loved Montepulciano, Pienza and that whole area. 3 nights S and 3 nights in Chianti or closer to San G or Lucca would be great I think!

We're staying in this charming farm house just 40 km south of Tuscany for the last two weeks of August: http://www.agriturismolevalli.com/eng/ilruscello/ It sleeps five couples, if you're traveling with a group.

lala34695,
See my trip report for towns and restaurants in Tuscany. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494897
Feel free to e-mail if you have questions.

Are you looking to stay in one place or many? As Rex said, more information is needed.
Cartona is closer to some areas of Umbria and north Tuscany, for instance.
Southern Tuscany,however wouldn't be ideal for day trips to Cartona.

We stayed at Sant Antonio Resort (http://www.santantonio.it/) and really liked it. Great setting and beautiful city. Made day trips from there.

Thank you Rex for the info...We need only one room for 2 people and don't really want to spend alot of $$ on a room - would like to keep it under $200. per nite. I was thinking to stay in Siena for 3-4 days and then Cortona for a few days and finally to Florence for the remainder of our trip.

I'm confused, are you looking for hotel recommendations or staying in a farmhouse near to those cities? My recommendation would be too big for just 2 people. Good luck, I loved traveling around there in April.

oops - I meant "my recommendation from an earlier reply would be too big for just 2 people".

So... you're looking for a one-BR house/bungalow? i.e., you want a kitchen for your own use, and the entire (little) place to yourselves?, self-catering? This is what most people would mean when they say they want a "farmhouse"...

... or do you want a room in a farmhouse, offering B&B-type accommodations?

The former would be typically only offered as a 7-nights, Saturday-Saturday rental, you realize...

Best wishes,

Rex

Last month I stayed a Villa Cicolina, about 1 KM from Montepulciano. It is a restored 15th century villa, in beautiful condition. Fabulous pool, very helpful and courteous staff. About 1 hour from Siena by car, a little closer to Cortona. Very comfortable. Highly recommended.

Just stumbled across this one-time poster (similar question to one asked by someone else today); don't you wish there was some easy way to summon some of these people back to continue the conversation?

Pendrake:

Can you offer any more details about Villa della Felicita? It looks terrific! I think we might rent it next May --

Feel free to email me if you could, too.

Dave
[email protected]

dwzemens - I stayed at
Villa della Felicita in April. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 large bathrooms; full kitchen, dining room, living room, a couple of sitting rooms, pool (which wasn't open in April) and we loved it. There were 6 of us and never felt crowded. We hired a couple to come to the villa for a cooking class and learned to make a 5 course meal that was so good. A highlight of the trip. Each day we drove to a different town to explore. This villa is in the country so you can't walk someplace for dinner, but it was so beautiful. We could see a bit of the lake from where we were. Let me know if you have more questions.