sunofsound

My fiance and I have open a total of nine nights between Como and Rome in September. We want to see Florence somewhat, but are more enthused about the wine and the countryside of Tuscany.

We considered 2 nights Florence, 6 nights S. Quirico d'Orcia, or Volterra.
Of course w/many day trips.

We considered 4 nights Greve, 5 nights S. Quirico, with day trip(s) to Florence (from Greve), but were worried about parking, etc. in Florence, is that ridiculous? Is parking in Florence really that bad?

Any suggestions for finessing this portion of our honeymoon would be much appreciated. Also, any quiet hotel suggestions under/around $200?

Overly grateful for Tuscan day trip ideas. We thought Chianti Classico Fest in Greve (sep.8-10). Also interesting are the hot springs around Val d'Orcia. Possibly anything coastal?

Thanks!
sos

swagman

sunofsound

For your reference we spent 7 nights in Toscana last month - 3 nights in Florence and 4 in Montalcino.

In Florence, we stayed at Hotel delle Arti in Via Servi, stone's throw away from the Academia (David) and the Duomo. Small hotel of 9 rooms, 3 on each level. Our room (No.2) was of good size and clean. Breakfast served on the top floor. 170E per night all inclusive.

We had a rental car and the hotel organised it to be parked in a garage. The charge for 3 days was 89 Euros which IMO is very expensive. Florence is very much a walking city and not once did we need our car.

If you are driving from the north, namely Como to the south, I suggest you stay outside of Florence to avoid the excessive parking fee. Others on this Forum had recommended staying Fiesole which is an easy bus ride (#7) from Florence and provides good view towards the city.

Your idea to stay 4 nights in Greve and 5 in San Quirico is a good option. From Greve you can drive through the Strada Chiantigiana (SS222) and visit Radda, Volpaia, Castellina finishing in Siena and from Siena, San Gimignano and Volterra. Then from San Quirico, you may visit, Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano etc.

We wished we had split our 4 nights in southern Tuscany into 2 nights near Siena and 2 nights in Montalcino. That would have saved a lot of driving to the northern towns from Montalcino.

Hope the above helps! Enjoy planning!

S

tuscanlifeedit

I was writing a long post, but decided to delete it and condense. Here is my two cents:

You can't do it all in 9 days and really enjoy it. Tuscany is huge.

You can maybe comfortably see Florence and two other areas.

3 nights Florence

2 nights Greve and Chianti

4 nights Val d'Orcia

Henry

sunofsound,
Send me an e-mail and I'll send you some information on day trips in Tuscany.

Henry

sunofsound

Thank you for your ideas, plans are still in flux. I will continue to read more thoughts and experiences posted here, and I'm sure we'll be delighted with whatever itin. we come up with.

ciao
sos

chicagolori

I like your orginal idea very much. We stayed outside of Greve for 5 nights at Villa Vignamaggio and loved it beyond words.
(Vignamaggio.com)

Its very quiet, two pools, a tennis court, views to die for and supposedly the spot where the model for Mona Lisa was born. Utterly romantic.

There are posts here on day trips to Florence from Tuscany without driving. Maybe try searching on some combination of florence and day trips. Driving into florence is NOT a good idea.

Link to my pictures of Tuscany, including Vignamaggio. http://tinyurl.com/NQLXG

By the way, you will love lake como.