lovetotravel67

Hello,

4 of us would like to spend a week in Tuscany. We would like to do some touristy stuff of course like Florence but also some less touristy places (countryside, visits of local artisans, local markets, maybe a cooking lesson in somebody's house, not a big cooking school).

We don't know the date but probably end of April, beginning of May. We will be renting a car.
Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

Suzanne

USNR

Volterra, sitting on top of a low mountain, was an Etruscan center, then a Roman city, and now looks virtually unchanged from Medieval days. Lots of ruins, an interesting Etruscan museum, a town built of stone, stone, and more stone. Lots of workshops fashioning alabaster from nearby quarries. Beautiful countryside. The day we drove over there from Montecatini, there were many tourists -- and almost no Americans.

swisschocolate

We were based in Florence but took a day trip to Vinci. We didn't see hardly any tourists, and we had a pleasant time walking around the town and visiting the Leonardo museum. Beautiful scenery and a very quiet place.

syd

Castallina in Chianti is a nice location to base yourself. Easy reach to other small towns like Greve and Panzano where you can also pick up a bus to Florence.

toscoman

On the beaten track but fulfilling you requirements: http://www.greve-in-chianti.com. Off the beaten track - authentic Tuscany and full of interesting diversity (and lower prices!) http://www.altamaremma.org

longboatkey

Tuscany or "Chiantishire" is a difficult place to get away from the tourists......Umbria is somewhat better, but Abruzzo is a great "off the beaten path" destination. Sulmona, LaAquila are great towns with excellent food and local wines.

seafox

We used Montecatini as our base for four days and found it to be very convenient in all directions.