I'm considering renting an apartment for a week in Montichiello and wondered if anyone has any familiarity with the town. What's it like? Are there shops, restaurants, and other establishments to make it enjoyable for exploring and evening strolls after dinner? The apt. does not have a washer-dryer - is there a laundry in town or will I need to go to Pienza? How far away from the main road is Montichiello in terms of driving to visit other hill towns? The apt. is highly recommended on Slowtrav, but I'm curious for more information.

During our week in Montepulciano this summer (without a car) one day we took the bus to Pienza and walked to Montichiello which took a little over an hour (maybe 10 minutes driving). From there we walked on to Montepulciano, another hour and a half. The main road is much closer than that though.

We ate on a tiny terrace overlooking the valley at a place called LaPorta. It was very nice and super friendly. There we met a young couple whom we had passed on the road while they were out jogging. They were actually renting a tower in the old town wall for a week, and later they waved to us from that tower as we were leaving the town.
There are a couple of small restuarants in town, but not a lot, and only a couple of small shops. It is a very nice, but very picturesque tiny town. I'd be surprised if there is a laundry there, but it is possible.

It would be too quiet for me for a week, but then I don't like staying in country villas either, so take that for what it's worth. Your evening stroll around town would probably last about 10 minutes unless you simply sat and stared.

The roads to the town are unpaved (or maybe paved the one direction?). But you can drive easily to other hill towns from there.

I'd return for a week to Montepulciano in a heartbeat. Or Pienza. Those towns just have quite a bit more going activity wise.

Here's the site of our apartments in Montepulciano -- just for comparison.

http://www.appartamentialpoggiolo.it...o_ing_home.htm

I am fairly familiar with Montichello having stayed just down the road a number of times. It is a beautiful little walled village that looks like it hasn't changed in 300 years. I have walked through all of the side streets there and it looked like there were some very nice apartments tucked away. There isn't much going on in the town itself - it only takes about ten minutes to walk through every street. There are two restaurants - Tarverna di Moranda is an excellent French restaurant, and La Porta which is slightly more casual but good. They also sell wine by the bottle. I think there may be a very small grocery store in town but I don't recall seeing when we were there in September. Maybe it went out of business. I highly recommend Montichiello - I think you will enjoy staying there. You will have to drive for shopping or other dining options but it is less than 10 minutes to Pienza and about 15 minutes to Montepulciano. Location is excellent for visiting the other hill towns. Montalcino is about 20 minutes away, Siena 45 minutes. I don't know if they have a laundry in town. This is our favorite area in Tuscany - go for it.

There's a little cafe just on the outside of the walled entrance. Great place to have a coffee, beer, or wine while watching the sunset.

We also stayed in Montepulciano. On the main street in town there is a laundry shop on Via del Poliziano. We dropped our stuff off one day, and picked it up the next. They washed/dryed and folded for about 10 Euro.

Up the hill on 15 Via del Poliziano, there is Crociani winery. You can taste, and they've got great stuff. Bring a couple of empty wine bottles and buy some of their vino de tavola. Wonderful stuff for only about 1 Euro a bottle.

We had our best dinner at Tarverna di Moranda while we were in Tuscany. They're closed on Fridays.

I was recently in Tuscany, staying also in Montelpuciano at Poggiolo apts. (which are wonderful), and I think Montichiello was my favorite little town. But.... it is very tiny. As mentioned, you can see the whole town in about 15 min. I did not see many shops, and just two restaurants. Even though I LOVED it, I would be bored to tears staying there. Montelpuciano, or Pienza are wonderful bases to see Tuscany from.

Staying in a very small town or out in the countryside makes it easier to take day trips. The larger towns are more of a hassle to drive in and out of and to find parking. The tradeoff, of course, is that in the smaller towns you will need to drive somewhere most nights for dinner. I think either way works. We always in the countryside about two miles from Montichiello and have never been bored.

hazel, if you want to be able to stroll around a town after dinner, have a choice of restaurants, and a few shops, Montichiello is too small. You might think about Montepulciano, Pienza, or Montalcino.

Pienza can't be much larger than Montichiello, but it has many shops and restaurants.

Thanks for all the great input. I'll really have to ponder it all... One of the main reasons I'm seriously considering the Montichiello apartment is that it's only 380 Euros a week, and I'm trying to stretch my budget wherever I can because this trip is going to cost a lot more now than when I first planned it two years ago.

The Politan apartments in Montepulciano are only 400 Euro. The beauty is you can walk to shopping and plenty of restaurants. I've already told you about the Crociani winery -- it's basically right across the street.

http://www.politian.com/