I am planning on going to Tuscany for about 2 weeks with my mom during the first two weeks of June. Does anyone have any itinerary recommendations (i.e. different towns to see, where to stay, how many days to stay in each town, etc...) We are planning on flying into Milan and spending a day or two there before either driving or taking the train to Florence. Also, any suggestions on whether to rent a car or just take the train? Please help!

I think there are about 5 threads going on right now about the same subject. I suggest you read those in addition to any replies you get here.

I have a 20+ page itinerary on Italy, that I've sent to over 250 people on this board & the AOL board. E-mail me at [email protected] if you would like a copy.

For two weeks, the standard Venice, train to Florence, pick up a car, spend a week in Tuscany, train to Rome, would be a perfect trip. Side trip to Pompii while in Rome.

Stu Dudley

I've often recommended this book to people planning a trip to Tuscany:
The Top 10 Tuscany, one of the Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides
It's invaluable in planning a trip there.

I would rent a car if you want to see the small hill towns in tuscany. We stayed 5 nights just outside Montacino in a renovated castello that was beautiful. We used this as a basecamp for touring wineries and towns. From here we took the train to Florence so we didn't have to worry about parking etc. The name was Castello di Velona and we purchased the 5 night package through an auction at LuxuryLink.com Our bid was $1140 for 5 nights, 3 course dinner for 2, a bottle of wine, a bottle of their olive oil. The Castello was even more spectacular than the photo's on their web site. We also spent 3 nights in the Piedmont district. I liked the Piedmont better than Tuscany. We stayed at a new B+B outside La Morra, a quaint hill town. It was an agriturismo called Risveglio in Langa(www.risveglioinlanga.it). 85 euros/night. Franca the owner was wonderful. She recommended some incredible restaurants in surrounding hill towns. The food was better than in Tuscany at 1/2 the price. This is right in the middle of the Barolo wine area and very well situated for touring wineries. I would compare the piedmont to Sonoma and Tuscany to Napa.

S4842,
See my trip report for ideas in Tuscany. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34494897