j

Help...How is this? 2 nights in Florence, 3 nights in Siena (for a home base), 2 nights in Perugia. First trip to Italy, only have a week and don't want to fight crowds. Do you have any good alternative towns to stay in or is this ok? Thanks!

Graham

Looks reasonable to me. Planned my first Tuscany trip last year and my conclusion was this: there are so many places worth visiting that you're simply going to have to resign yourself to the fact that return trips will be necessary. There are dozens of towns with desirable lodgings and historical material that selecting the 'best few' is all but impossible. I read exhaustively. In the end, everyone's taste is a bit different and no one will be able to direct you (with certainty) to the places which will best suit your tastes unless you give them plenty of details and they have extensive knowledge. <BR>So choose a safe itinerary, go experience all that Tuscany has to offer, then start planning your return.

Bob

Florence and Siena are about 45 minutes by car. We were there in October and based ourselves for one week in Siena. We then toured from there up to Florence and the surrounding countryside. If you have a car, I do not see the benefit of changing hotels for such a short distance. We prefer to stay one place longer and avoid handling all the hassles of bags as much as possible. I think you will also find more to see and do in Florence than Siena. If you do change hotels I would reverse the days for these two towns.

Thyra

j, when are you planning this trip to take place? That will determine whether or not you will be fighting other tourists(we were in Florence last March, I think Florence always has tourists) . If this trip is this month or next... I think you will find a lot of tourists everywhere you go. As far as the itinerary goes, it looks good to me. It's enough time to not be horribly rushed (though one week is just a scratch the surface trip anyway) It looks quite doable to me. Have a nice time.

j

Thanks for the quick replies! Unfortunately, we have to go to Italy in early August. Will restaurants, etc. be closed down during that time? How about Sundays? We are not big museum goers (my husband is a former Olympic bike racer and wants to ride a lot) and we like food and the outdoors. I am really relying on these postings for advice! Thanks again!

helen

Your husband will love the biking in Tuscany--it's very hilly and the countryside is beautiful. Siena is a good base: you may either want to bike to the the closer towns or bring the bike on a bus and bike between some of the smaller towns--you'll see vineyards (you may want to look into a tour or two), fields of every shade of green and brown, and endless carpets of sunflowers. That being said, the Italians will think you're crazy for biking around in August heat. Fairly close to Siena (an hr's bus/train ride, I think) is Ferrara, which is a walled city in which there are more bikes than cars, especially on a Sunday afternoon, and surprisingly, not all that many tourists or locals biking around the restored city walls. It's flat here, and probably 95 out of 100 bikes there are one speeds, so this is definitely for sheer relaxation. The castle in the town has a moat, and when I was there, a local marching band played sporadically in the square; between the walls and the twisty cobbled streets, it was quite charming. Re Siena, busloads of tourists on package tours in the daytime, but wonderful at night and, though I love Florence, so much more relaxing.

Kara

I agree with Bob; I'd also make Siena my homebase. It's just in the middle, and It's very comfortable if you want to go visiting all the small towns of the Chianti area. <BR>I'd visit Siena by myself and take a tour for the countryside. <BR>That's what I did, and I really had good time. <BR>Somebody On this forum, gave me a good tip about tours: www.toursaroundtuscany.com <BR>You'll spend like 130-140$, but it's worth of it. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your time in Italy, <BR>Kara. <BR>

Paulo

Just a worning, j. From Friday, August 11, to August 15th Siena will be completely crowded and I would be very surprised if there are still rooms available. This (together with the week ending on July 2nd) is the time of year when Siena holds its most important festival: the Palio delle Contrade. The Sienese, normally very corteous with foreign visitors, don't usually welcome tourists to participate in their feast (9 out of 10 foreign visitors have no clue about the meaning of the Palio). <BR> <BR>Paulo <BR>

Paul

Actually, Ferrara is a bit of a ways away from where you'll be. It's about 45-50 minutes by car on the Autostrada from Bologna, which itself is an hour north of Florence on the Autostrada! It is a city of bicycles, but might be just a bit too far for a day's ride up and back.

Dawn

I agree that Siena is a better home base than is Florence. Are you flying in and out of Florence? Do you have a particular reason for going to Perugia? We did a day trip there and didn't particularly like it, especially coming from the Tuscany area where all of the towns were decorated so lovely with flowers and flags. Perugia didn't really have any character to it. Spello was a nice small town and Spoleto is nice as well. We liked the towns we visited in Tuscany better than the ones in Umbria though but that is just my opinion (Pienza, Montelpuciano, Montalcino, San Quirco d'orca etc...)

Kara

Thinking about it...near Pienza the guy from that company, brought me and my friend in a very nice restaurant called "lette de luna" or something like that; <BR>we had incredible food there. <BR>I don't remember exactly where it was, but you can email reservations and ask for directions. <BR>They are always very kind with everybody and I'm sure they will help you. <BR> <BR>Kara.

Frank

Just to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I must respectfully disagree with Dawn. I just returned yesterday from a trip that included six nights in Perugia and found it delightful. It's quaint, medieval, but also a real lived-in city, a lively university town, not just a site for tourists. It's probably where I will go back to spend more time, and it serves as a good base for the Umbrian hill towns (note that Perugia is not in Tuscany, but Umbria). In particular, we liked Todi and Gubbio. That said, however, with only a week to spend in the country, there's something to be said for staying in only two places rather than three. Florence and Siena are also wonderful, and I'd say Florence may merit more than the two nights you've planned. For a change of pace, you could also consider a night in a small town like Pienza, Pitigliano, Montepulciano, etc., but there'd be nothing wrong with dividing up the whole week just between any two of the three cities you've mentioned.