I posted for the first time last week and did get 2 responses - thank you-- I seem to have narrowed down to Tuscany-- does anyone have suggestions about the Maremma area? 3 of us travel together & like The Cotswolds in England and the Dordogne area of France-we plan to rent small house or apt. for our stay-- Please, we are eager for ANY area suggestions. thank you

I would much prefer the Val d' orcia to Maremma. I suggest you look at rental reviews at slowtrav.com

thank you-- i shall look at that tomorrow-- we aren't set on Tuscany-- it just sounded like a good area to start in a "new" country!

I agree with bobthenavigator, stick with the Val d'Oricia area of Southern Tuscany as a base and from there, you can day-trip to Siena, and venture into Umbria. That's plenty for 10 days. Don't try to to hit too many areas, traveling around is time-consuming and tiring if you pack too much of it into your time period. The Val d'Oricia is beautiful!

i'm so excited to have info flowing in! thank y'all- i have found slowtrav thru this and really enjoy the info - Rachel- i shall go to that website today - the San Gimi area sounds so crowded- -that is why we started looking elsewhere---

Will you have a car? I suggest centering near Lucca, which gives easy access to Pisa, Florence, Pistoia, then driving for an hour and a half and staying near Sienna and San Gimignano. We did this last May and crowds were not a problem. Italian 'gites' are less common than in France, but we stayed at a very nice B&B just north of Lucca, and a wonderful hotel (Hotel Le Renaie) just north of San Gimignano. Ask for the corner room with the large balcony.

thank you-- we shall have a car-- my husband stayed in Lucca years ago w/ a family and loved it-- we shall go there , but not base out of there. I shall look up the hotel outside San Gimi. It does sound as tho that is a popular area to base. We three do love wine and are looking forward to this trip!!

thought i had posted this but not showing up my end sorry if is duplicated.
We stayed in a reasonably priced and furnished apartment in Montaione last year although the actual village itself only had a few shops for provisions, co-ops were easily reached if you have a car, by either going to Castelfiorentino or San Miniato, and we had one of our best meals at a place called Gambassi Terme, which had a very quaint park to sit in,the agriturismo produced its own wine which we purchased at é2 per bottle and there own olive oil é10.
It was also a good base for visiting the following
Firenze 50 Km 50min
Siena 60 Km 1 h
Pisa 50 Km 50min
Lucca 60 Km 1h+20
S.Gimignano 25 Km 30min
Volterra 35 Km 45min
Sea 60 Km 1h
here is their website,

http://www.buonriposo.it
the scenery is breathtaking, we used to sit outside the apartment most evenings with their own made wine and it was extremly relaxing after a day out. We met other couples/ families there that had either been before or were returning the following year.

Jo

overton,
http://www.lacrociona.com/

The above is a wonderful vineyard about 3 km outside Montalcino. You will
need a car but there are many little towns very close (within a half hour)
Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Sant Antimo, Monte Oliveto
Maggiore, Buonconvento, Murlo. The driving is easy and the food and wine in each town is special. If you want more information e-mail me.