My mother and I are traveling to Italy in celebration of her 60th birthday this May. We are flying into Rome and plan on driving into Tuscany for two nights, before continuing on to Florence. I'd like some suggestions on where to stay in the countryside. I'd like someplace scenic and hilly, but within an hours drive to some charming towns. Any suggestions?

Hi Christi,

The options are endless! Do you have an idea of what towns you want to visit during your 2 days? There are literally hundreds of wonderful places to stay, all within an easy, short drive to hilltowns of interest.

Personally, I would recommend staying in one of your chosen towns for 2 nights and do your day trips from there. This will allow you to experience a popular town in the evening after the tour buses have left and be able to walk to dinner to some great restuarants.

From my experience, I find people tend to like the places they stay overnight the best!

Buon viaggio!

Do you remember the movie Stealing Beauty with Liv Tyler? That's the Tuscany I'm thinking of. I feel like we will get enough art and culture in Florence and Venice later in the trip. I really don't know which town I'd like to visit. I've been to San Gimignano and enjoyed it. What about Montepulciano or Siena?

Although I haven't seen that movie, I can recommend Pienza, where I spent three nights in Sept. It has beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside from the walk along the south wall but is fairly flat within in the town itself. Good restaurants, good shopping, good location for daytrips to Montepulciano, Montalcino, etc. Very quiet at night, so if you're looking for things to do at night in addition to a nice dinner, this isn't the place for you. I loved it!

I second Pienza. You can make forays to San Quirico d'Orcia, the Abbadia di San Antimo and Bagno Vignoni.

For two days, you will see another side of Italy, and I agree to save the larger towns, art and architecture for later.

Have a great time.

Hi Christi,

Yes, I watch "Stealing Beauty" every once in a while just for the scenery! I don't know exactly where it was filmed, but that type of landscape is found around Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino.

SusanP and I nearly crossed paths this past Sept. I stayed in Montalcino for 3 nights and loved it! Very small, very ancient, rather quiet at night, but a great place to do day trips from. And the wine!!! And the food!! Montepulciano is very nice too, but a larger town than the other two. There are many other towns, wineries, etc. to visit in the area.

Siena is wonderful, but again, a much larger town. A good day trip, but as far as staying there, it would not be the countryside you are looking for.

buon viaggio!