I think we are going to book 4 nights here in September. Do they have parking? If we have a car should we stay in the outskirts of San g?? Thanks

LA Cisterna is one of our favorite hotels. Be sure to ask for a room with a balcony and a view of the valley. They do not have parking, but you can drive to the hotel, unload your suitcases, and then park right outside the city, only a short walk, maybe ten minutes at most. Actually, we just park our car and bring our wheeled suitcases with us, window shopping as we walk on to the hotel.<BR>S.G. is a small town, easy walking distance all over the old part of town. Don't miss staying there because it is so lovely to walk around in after the tourists leave and in the early morning it is a great place to take photos.<BR><BR>What we sometimes do is stay in S.G. a couple of nights and then a night or two in an agriturismo outside S.G. We try to find one that also serves dinner. Some of our best food and wine in Italy has been at an agritursimo(farm).

That sounds wonderful? Do you have one you can suggest ? I would love to stay in one that serves dinner.

Look on the Karen Brown website. She has<BR>lists of good ones. Also, go to the San G. website. You will find that very helpful. PLus do a search on this site for San G. or Tuscany agriturismo.<BR>At the moment I can't find the name of the last place we stayed.

We were going to stay here, but we cancelled our trip because of 9/11 tragedy. This came from karenbrown.com<BR>Check this web site or her book for other possibilities.<BR><BR>CASOLARE DI LIBBIANO<BR> Hosts: Berta &amp; Andrea Bucciarelli<BR> Localita: Libbiano 3<BR> San Gimignano (SI) 53037, Italy<BR> Tel &amp; fax: (0577) 946002, Cellphone: (349) 8706933 or (347) 4760138<BR> 8 rooms, Double: ?162–?204*<BR> *Includes breakfast &amp; dinner<BR> Open: Apr to Nov, Credit cards: all major<BR> Other languages: good English<BR> Region: Tuscany<BR> Michelin Map: 430 <BR><BR> Casolare di Libbiano web site <BR> E-mail: [email protected]

Sally.....Are the Valley-facing rooms at La Cisterna quiet? The hotel is in the middle of town,and I am concerned about street noise. I'm hoping that the Valley view rooms face away from town.Also, are the bedrooms air-conditioned,or is just the restaurant airconditioned? Are the deluxe rooms reasonably spacious? Sorry for so many questions,but I'm just about to book here and need all the insight I can get. Thank you for your help.

up up up

Martha, I stayed at La Cisterna twelve years ago. The view of the valley definitely faced away from town and was quite dramatic. I don't remember much street noise but I do remember bats flying quite close to the window and I wondered if they would fly in, since there were no screens. There is no auto traffic in the center of town so I don't believe there would be much street noise in any event. The room was certainly spacious enough. It has been a while though, so things may have changed, of course.

Sorry, martha, but I had to laugh at your questin about street noise. Possibly one car could happen to come up into the square at night, and once in a while a person or couple might stroll throught the square, but the sound of deafening silence in &quot;downtown&quot; SG is likely to be more of a problem. Towns just don't get any quieter than that.

The rooms with a view of the valley face away from the town, and are very quiet. Actually the rooms that face the piazza and the well are also quiet and have a very nice view, but the view of the valley is unforgettable.<BR><BR>I don't know about air conditioning, but we have stayed there comfortably in September several times. I wouldn't worry about it.<BR><BR>The rooms with a balcony and view are very spacious and are beautifully decorated.

This is one of our favorite hotels from our 17 day tour last year! Make sure you get one of the balcony rooms. If you are usure of the rooms, rent the movie Tea with Mussolini-they get moved to San G and stay in one of the rooms with the balcony. I can still remember the first look over the valley. Yes it is vey quiet. The restaurant in the hotel does a lovely dinner, too.<BR><BR>Have fun. I'm jealous.<BR><BR>Debby