Our Day Trip in Tuscany
Dec 5th, 2015, 07:40 AM
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Our Day Trip in Tuscany
Following up on my report of our stay in Montalcino (http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...montalcino.cfm), we used our travel day after leaving Castiglion del Bosco to visit Siena, Monterrigio and San Gimignano. The first is a must-see, of course; the second was very charming and while I know it is heresy to say this, I wasn't as thrilled with the third. So overrun with tourists in San Gimignano (yes, I know I am the pot calling the kettle black here...)
My main takeaway from the day was that each and every little Tuscan hamlet has its own character, albeit some of them ever-so-slightly tarnished by the impact all of us visitors. Grumbling aside, I would go back to any and all of them in a heartbeat!
For anyone who's interested, I've posted photos and details of our day trip here: https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/20...ip-in-tuscany/
My main takeaway from the day was that each and every little Tuscan hamlet has its own character, albeit some of them ever-so-slightly tarnished by the impact all of us visitors. Grumbling aside, I would go back to any and all of them in a heartbeat!
For anyone who's interested, I've posted photos and details of our day trip here: https://polloplayer.wordpress.com/20...ip-in-tuscany/
Dec 5th, 2015, 09:26 AM
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Might be "heresy" to some but to others it is a breath of fresh air and important information for planning a trip.
I was just looking at this list of 10 Tuscan hilltowns that are almost unknown to tourists but are beautiful and have fascinating attractions. Some have turned up recently in guidebooks, but several are just terra incognito when it comes to mass tourism, even though they aren't far from famous places overflowing with tourists:
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...towns-tuscany/
I was just looking at this list of 10 Tuscan hilltowns that are almost unknown to tourists but are beautiful and have fascinating attractions. Some have turned up recently in guidebooks, but several are just terra incognito when it comes to mass tourism, even though they aren't far from famous places overflowing with tourists:
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...towns-tuscany/
Dec 6th, 2015, 06:05 AM
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@songdoc what time of year were you there? Maybe we caught San Gim at a particularly heavy time for tourists - we were there in October. I will never forget seeing a group of old men who had brought out their folding chairs to sit beneath a portico across from the church and stare at the crowds of tourists trudging by. I swear it felt like we were zoo animals they had come to watch 
Dec 6th, 2015, 09:15 AM
#7
Two more lists of lovely Tuscan towns.
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...towns-tuscany/
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...es-in-tuscany/
FWIW, katydidn't, we enjoyed viewing San Gim from a distance more than exploring the town itself.
Also, October is no longer off- or even shoulder-season. It has been our travel month for more than 35 years, and we've noticed a huge uptick in tourist numbers in the last 12-15 years.
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...towns-tuscany/
http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...es-in-tuscany/
FWIW, katydidn't, we enjoyed viewing San Gim from a distance more than exploring the town itself.
Also, October is no longer off- or even shoulder-season. It has been our travel month for more than 35 years, and we've noticed a huge uptick in tourist numbers in the last 12-15 years.
