Not Typical Tuscany
 

Because I expect there are many of you who are quite familiar with Tuscany, I am taking a polls of sorts. With 9 days, which towns would you choose to stay in--without a car? Excluding Florence, what towns could you see yourself spending 3 nights and feeling completely content?

Siena and Montepulciano because of transport options.

wouldn't go to the countryside sans car...

with car - the list would be enormous...

We've always had a car in Tuscany, but without, I would agree with Siena and Montepulciano, and add Pienza.

Thanks for the replies so far.
I titled it "not typical Tuscany" because it seems most people on Fodor's drive in Tuscany and often stay in agroturismo. Though my needs are different, I still want to seek your expertise, as many of you may know the smaller towns well, and I can determine if the bus or train can get me there once I narrow down my choices.
I enjoy traveling without a car (plus it is expensive to rent one), and it is a short trip, so I prefer to laze around a few towns. Siena and Montepulciano were already on my list, so it will be interesting to see if other towns pop up.

Do you cycle?

It's the best way to take in the countryside and the minor roads aren't busy.

Pienza hands down.

I do cycle! Lucca is on my list for that reason, but I prefer a hybrid bike to a racer or mountain bike if that tells you what kind of cyclist I am (45 km would be my absolute max for a day's riding).
Once I get into the meaty research, I hope to find some places where I can easily access some nice walks or bike rides nearby, but I do realize I will not always be able to do that without a car--that's okay, the goal is to find pleasant towns and ideally at least one that I can ramble out of on bike or foot.

I'll end my day by topping this to see if I get more favorites to add to my list.

Do some research on Pistoia, Pescia and Montecatini Terme, and Pisa.

Personally, I would want a town with less tourist impact than any mentioned above, including Lucca (the tourist impact on Pisa is quite confined to the monuments).

Depending on the time of year, another places to consider is Forte dei Marmi, at least for a visit, and Pietrasanta for a ramble.

I was suggesting those cities as bases to travel to other towns. If you add Lucca you will have much of Tuscany within reach. No need to stay in others--just day trip by train or bus.

Everybody seems to be thinking southern Tuscany, which is better seen by car. Though Siena would be good, also Chiusi.

Lucca's good, not too big, and offers a choice of flat and hilly topography.

Other places: Arezzo, Sinalunga, Pisa, Prato, Pistoia. Pisa might be too big for you. Kinda sounds like you want a small town.

There's a lot of choice.

I agree with Mimar that you might consider Chiusi, which would give you easy public transport access to Montepulciano, Cortona, Arezzo and Orvieto if you like art and history destinations. Problem is finding suitable accommodations in Chiusi beyond a simple hotel or b&b.

Prato is right to add to the mix, although I would see Prato on a day trip from Pisa -- which to me is no bigger than Lucca, just livelier. My problem with Lucca is that it has no commercial life beyond tourism.

I think you need a car to base in Sinalunga.

Pistoia would be my personaly choice for a small town near Lucca with authentic Tuscan life, good food, good transport and lots of charm. It has a few inexpensive b&bs you can google up.

" places where I can easily access some nice walks "

Now you didn't say that in your original brief, did you?

Tuscany is surprisingly ill-suited to pleasant walking: footpaths seem almost unheard of in most of Italy, and getting out of middling cities like Siena is simply horrible. No country in Europe surrounds its nicer cities with suburbs quite as vile (and walker-unfriendly) as the ring of shlock that surrounds most of those Italian cities blinkered travel writers spend their lives gushing over. Compare walking out of Bruges or Oxford with what getting out of Pisa's like, and you realise just what vandals (or, more likely, crooks) modern Italian city planners are.

One exception is San Gimigniano, which almost rivals a Cotswold town in the speed with which a walker goes from medieval townscape to open countryside. Personally, I think San G is a perfect demonstration of the ugliness medieval architects could descend to if they put their minds to it. But the Via Francigena, which has run through its middle for over 1,000 years, lets you walk (or cycle) to Canterbury if you go NW, or to Rome if you go south. And the noblest prospect a Gimignianoano can behold is a road going anywhere else.

I've never quite managed to walk its Tuscan section. But round San G, it's highkly walkable - and elsewhere in Tuscany, it's been empty enough when I've driven it that I'm sure cycling would be a pleasure.

You could do a lot worse than use it as the basis for planning a whole holiday. The Tuscany/Umbria/Lazio bit goes through a dozen or more near-perfect smallish towns.

Actually, one charming place to be on the via Francigena would be Pontremoli, near the border with Emilia-Romagna. And Buonconvento, also on the via Francigena, is a walker's beginning point south of Siena. Using the via Francingena as a guide is a good idea for locating points with good walking and biking.

http://www.viafrancigena.com/franc_hp.htm

Yorkshire,

It's not clear to me from your posts if you are asking for towns of intrinsic interest for a 3 day stay or towns that make good bases for 3 nights so you can day trip easily during the day without a car.

For me, Tuscan places of intrinsic interest where I could stay 3 days without daytripping and still have a lot to explore of historical and artistic interest are Pisa and Arezzo, and in off-season, Siena. Great bases for seeing a lot of places using public transportation while living in an historic, well-preserved but untouristed, charming town are Pistoia and Chiusi.

I think I am still asking both at this point, zeppole. I will most likely stay in about 3 bases, and if some places make me content to stay put, and others offer convenience for day trips, that sounds like a perfect trip to me. I now have weeks of research and choices to make! Thanks to all for taking the time to offer your suggestions. The good part is that I cannot go wrong; the bad part is that I have to choose.

Spoleto.

Spoleto isn't in Tuscany.

I'm been in an agroturismo for 2 weeks and everyday I was going to the beach with the bus and was good anyway.

i know it's Umbria, but not that far from Siena, but i really liked Perugia, i got off the train and a bus to the base of the hill, where the old town is.

As stated, Siena- reasonable transport links (bus and train), lots of interest in the city itself. I haven't cycled them myself, but there are several back road routes up towards the Chianti region that are quite scenically excellent - they are however fairly hilly. Anyway of coming back to Siena is going to be a steep climb.

I am a little ambiguous about Lucca in terms of cycling - it is quite often mentioned,and there are several hire places . It is possible to cycle around the walls, but this would take all of 15 minutes at anything other than snails pace. Because of the traffic restrictions, it is also the place in Italy where I have seen the cycle used most as routine transport - there are bikes everywhere. Because Lucca is on a plain it would be possible to set out for some distance and remain on relatively flat ground.

kill joy

"Tuscany is surprisingly ill-suited to pleasant walking"

No it isn't - we took our Springer there 4 years ago and spent two weeks in a farmhouse just north of Pienza. The incredible fields between here and Crete Senesi are littered with old farm tracks which the farmers are quite happy for you to use as long as you don't cause damage. The book shop in Piena sold their equivalent OS maps which included the tracks. These were some of the best walks with the maddest characters you could you to encounter. Philomena in Fonte Bertusi had one arm cut of by the Nazis and looks like she hasn't got two lira to rub together. She owns half of Pienza.

We went truffling with Franceso in Montisi each morning and found absoluteloy bugger all. Mainly because our Springer prefers Cadburys to the black stuff.

These were the greatest walks we have had in a very long career.

Siena is one of the larger towns and to me a must visit with easy access via bus or train. Montepulciano is a wonderful walled hill town with a bus station just outside the walls of the town. Not certain about train service. Places near bus station to stay. Other small towns I would suggest but am not certain about transportation, include Pienz and San Quirico d'Orcia. I plan to stay next at Montisi - a bus goes to Siena. it looks like a great quiet village. For me a car is a must to truly enjoy the countryside of Tuscany. If you are depending only on public transportation, I would look for a guide to take you out to the countryside of the Crete Senesi to see its amazing scenery. I found online but have not yet tried Antonella Piredda, a resident in Montisi. [email protected]

Forgot to mention Monticchiello, a great surprise when I visited, totally lacking in tourist things but a lovely hill town near Pienza.
I would forget Buonconvento which somehow seemed a bit to sterile to me. Asciano was cute.