Two questions:
Is Poggibonsi a reasonable base from which to tour Florence, Pisa, and Cinque Terre? (On the map it looks pretty far south with a direct route to the latter two). Any thoughts about the little town itself?

Second, I'm surprised that I can find no reviews, etc of this "castle" property which looks very inviting:
http://www.agriturismo.net/poggibonsi-748/

Anyone familiar with it?

Thanks!
Bill

Well, it is a bit south for Pisa and certainly for Cinque Terre. It is (it's been a while, so I haven't got the details) near a main highway route, close, if I recall correctly, to San Gimignano and maybe Siena.

The town itself is walled and very tiny. Exceptionally picturesque but not much to do except eat at a very fine restaurant (Vado Pazzo?)

Please ignore my answer. I was thinking of somewhere else.

Sorry. Can't watch pro football and answer reliably at the same time.

Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre - No. It is too far south - Probably closer to Siena. Poggibonsi itself is an unspectacular town. If you travel anywhere in Southern tuscany by bus or train you will almost certainly pass theough it.

If the three areas you mentioned are your main aim, then look either at Florence itself (As the major tourist attraction and having the most to see) or possibly Lucca, which is only 20 minutes from Pisa, but a beautiful city in its own right

Thanks much... you're confirming what I was thinking. Kind of zeroing in on the Lucca area due to a more opitmal location (and the availability of more than one suitable property) though the idea of staying in the cool looking castle is attractive.

Thanks again!
Bill

How will you be traveling. Auto, train bus?

All by car.

Bill

Poggibonsi is really ugly--not sure where the castle may be. The only reasonable location for your 3 choices will be near Lucca, and that is still an hour to the CT.

The castle is on the hill and Poggiobonsi is REALLY ugly. We always stay in Radda in Chianti and do day trips to most of those places. That being said it takes an hour to get from Radda to Firenze so that is not very practical for a shorter stay (we are lucky enough to stay for 4-6 weeks at a time).

Lucca is very pretty and you can stay in a hotel within the walls (alot prettier than in town but outside of the walls) or an agroturismo in the area. The valley straight north is just beautiful... toward Borgo a Mozzano. Also highway 435 from Lucca to Montecatini is pretty. We also really like Lerici which is on the coast toward Cinque Terre. The Pisa area is a little too flat for us. Another pretty area is the SS2 which runs south from Florence to Siena.... but it's best to stay closer to San Casciano. Find a map that scales 1:2 and you'll find all of the details.

The driving is very easy (except Firenze which can be a challenge)good map, good navigator and patience. To give you a idea of travel time. Outskirts of Florence to La Spezia is about an hour. Lucca to Florence again an hour. Florence to Siena is 30 minutes or so.

There is a fairly impressive castle visible from the railway line between Poggibonsi and ?Castellini, but I am not sure which it is. There are several castles listed in the Comune of Poggibonsi on this page.

http://www.castellitoscani.com/castles_index.htm

There are many famous castles near Poggibonsi http://www.poggibonsi.com/ including the massive Fortezza (Italian only: http://www.poggibonsi.com/architectu...bonsi_ital.htm) but Poggibonsi was bombed to bits during the war and is now industrial. It is not a place for a tourist to base himself.