Hi all,
Hubby and I are continuing to plan our Italy trip for two weeks in April 2004. I've posted here several times and you all have been quite helpful.
We've decided on four nights in Rome at the beginning, then three nights in Venice at the end, in the middle we'd like to experience Tuscany. I've been doing research, slowtrav.com and other websites, and many of the hill towns sound the same. They ALL sound delightful. We've decided we do not want to stay in one of the big ones (Sienna) but also do not want to stay out in the middle of nowhere. We'd like a nice mix of quaint Tuscany with some things to do, but not too touristy. We also plan to make some day trips. We will have a car.
What region would you recommend we stay in for a first time visit. North or South? The areas we have narrowed it down to are Montalcino and a farm in the Chianti Classico region, about 15 miles south of Florence. I'm not sure if we could day trip all the way to Florence if we're staying in Montalcino. I'm concerned we'll feel we missed out on Florence if we stay in the South, even though we're not much into museums. We like good food, wine and seeing sights.
Since I've never been there, its hard to judge how we will coordinate our day trips around Tuscany. Montalcino appeals to me with the wine and quaintness. The farm we found in the north is the Fattoria La Loggia in San Casciano Val di Pesa which is in our price range. Easter falls during our time in Tuscany, so I'm not even sure if a day trip in Florence is realistic with all the traffic and tourists.
I'll take any suggestions, and if anyone can recommend a DVD or video guide on Tuscany, that would be great! Thanks in advance!

First, you must decide if Florence is on your agenda--that will decide for you. A good compromise location is near Colle or even San Gim. where you can take the train from Poggibonsi into Florence and still be able to drive to the Montalcino area in less than an hour. What is your price range.

For a home base I suggest La Crociona. 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.
[email protected] The apartments are in a building constructed in the 1400's (walls are over a
meter thick). The furniture is a couple hundred years old (armoire is hand
carved, doors inches thick). It is comfortable but not elegant. The dining
table is a five-foot slab of marble (so you can roll your pasta). The
kitchen is equipped with everything you need except food (there are even
spices and kitchen tools). The bathroom is modern. Everything is very clean.
The owner speaks English and is very friendly. There is an excellent
restaurant in the village, the next farm is Barbi, which has an outstanding
restaurant, and there are many very good places to eat in Montalcino, about
3 Km north. The farm has a pool and there is hiking and biking opportunities
right from the door of the farm. Fiorella (the owner) used to teach cooking and will have
classes if a group of the guests want to learn. The vineyard produces Brunello (arguably the
top wine in Italy) and has won many awards. The vineyard is right outside the apartment. If you want more
Ideas of what to do in the area e-mail me.

Thank you for the recommendation Henry. The farm looks beautiful, I will email them to check on availability. Any idea what their rates are?
Bob, we have been batting around the idea of Florence since we decided to go to Italy, and it always ends up on the backburner. We know we want to see Rome, we know we want to see Venice, but neither of us are jumping up and down to go to Florence. I'm not sure why, maybe its because we're not into museums and I've been dying to explore the small towns of Tuscany for years. Everyone on this board and elsewhere recommends picking three destinations, and I felt that Rome, Venice and hill towns would be a good mix of big city and small town Italian life.
Out of all the hill towns we've researched, read about or watched videos on, Montalcino appealed to us the most. We're really just going with our gut.
I guess the bottom line question I have to experienced italian travelers like yourself is: will we regret missing Florence on our first visit? If so, maybe we should find a base camp more centrally located in Tuscany to day trip there, like you suggested.

Also forgot to mention our budget. We do not want to stay in high end accomodations in Tuscany. We're looking for 150 euro a night or cheaper. The prices on hotels in Rome and Venice are going to kill us around Easter.

Hi bugg,

>...will we regret missing Florence on our first visit?<

Of course not. Visit it next time around. There is more to it than art museums.

Italy is not all about the 3 art cities. I always suggest equal time in villages and places of natural splendor. With your time in Rome and venice I see rural Tuscany as a good mix. Do not feel that means a full week at one location--Tuscany is large. Have you seen my recent trip report on slowtrav. Look at La Costa and Borgo Argenina in that report--there are dozens of good options.

doodlebugg,
The rates at La Crociona were less than 100 a night. Everytime I've been there I go to Firenze for at least the day. I drive to Bounconvento (about 15 min)and take the train to Firenze.

Thanks everyone for the info. Bob, we just read your trip report and have put in a request at the Abergo Il Giglio. That sounds perfect for us!
Happy new year everyone.

We spent a week in a small village south of Siena, in Alta Maremma, and we had a lovely time. We managed to fill the whole week with several daytrips and a relaxing day at the beach.
We stayed at Casina di Rosa (http://www.casinadirosa.it/) which we really liked.

I would like to try also agriturismos in the future.
Happy New Year!

Impruneta is about 20 km south of Firenze and a lovely little town. It's on the Chianti Road. Convenient to everything. Florence is a 30 minute local bus ride.