Help plan Tuscany
 

I will be leaving Rome on Monday 3/15 AM. Planning to drive up to Florence for a three night stay. Any ideas where to stop and explore on our way north? We will be reversing direction on Thursday 3/18 and would like to visit Assisi, Montepulciano and Montalcino (Vin Nobile and Brunello)and some other hill towns.
I would appreciate any help in planning our route north and south

Take the S 222 between Siena and Florence. It goes through great town in Chianti

Train to Florence--spend your time there--then get you car as you leave and spend several days at a centro location in Tuscany. Drop the the car at orvieto on your return and train into Rome. You do not want a car in Florence.

Thanks for the suggestion BobTN, but The idea was to drive up into Florence in order to reach the hill towns on the way up and down. I will be staying outside Florence Centro (at the Regency, P. Massimo D Azeglio) so having a car in Florence will not be so bad. I assumed that we would spend a full day in the city center,with no use for the car, and then spend a day in Lucca/Pisa, returning to Florence in the evening.
I was hoping that one of you "Tuscan sages" could suggest interesting places to stop.
We have already done the train to Florence a few years back, and were hoping to see Tuscany a bit differently this time.
BTW, I read and enjoyed your travelog,you must keep copious notes. you seem to know the area quite well.
Thanks for any help.

How about stopping in Pitigliano. Its about half way btw Rome and Florence. March 19 is a local holiday - the San Giuseppe torch procession in the Piazza Municipio. But any day of the week, it's a great town to visit.