Sabbatical in Tuscany
 

My husband and I are in our early 60's. We are pretty active and are very interested in history, beautiful scenery and architecture. We are planning on staying in Europe approx. 5 weeks in October. Initially we thought about doing, Italy, south of France and Spain but were advised against this by Fodorites. To make things easier we have decided to fly into Rome and do maybe 4-5 days there and then find a central spot in Tuscany near Florence. We like to stay in the peaceful country. Then we thought we could do day trips and overnight trips from that location and have just one main base after Rome. The more I look, the more beautiful things I want to see. My main question right now is - does this sound feasible - or should we plan on two bases. Would there be enough to keep us busy staying in one area for 4 week? We will be renting a car. Would appreciate information on areas that would be interesting to us. Thanks.

I envy you - we spent a glorious week in Tuscany last September, and hope to return. I prefer more than one base (even if that means packing/unpacking) to move forward rather than backtracking to a base city - and Tuscany is a large area. We used Montalcino (you cant go wrong with Pienza or San Quirico or anywhere else) as base for the Val D'Orcia region and Siena (you could use any of the villages like Castellina as well) for the Chianti region.
We found Fodorite Stu Dudley's itinerary very useful as also this link http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Yes, great plan. I'd look at Buonconvento or San Quirico as a small base. You might also think about hotel, B&B or agriturismo.

We loved this place, a short 5 minute drive out of Montepulciano

http://www.santantonio.it/en-ww/tuscan-resort.aspx

I also prefer to move base but I am not yet as old as you are ;-)
Your approach is very sound to select places in smaller towns rather than big cities where car would be a hindrance.
Perso I would select one base per week.
But that is me !

What do you plan to do on a daily basis? Do you want to see places everyday or will you be content to stay in your apartment many days and just read or whatever. You say 'sabbatical' - is this a working sabbatical, will you be needing to do research, etc.? If so, one base could make sense. But if you plan day trips (and overnights) almost every day then no, I wouldn't stay in one spot for a whole month. The distances would be too great, too much back tracking, why pay for accommodations twice for the same night? Unless you rent something on a monthly basis and therefore it's considerably cheaper than a hotel/B&B. I'd certainly spend a week (as opposed to one or two nights)in a 'base' but with five weeks I would think you could do at least 3 or 4 'bases' and not be at all rushed.

There are plenty of places in Italy to do this (for example: Sicily, Tuscany, the Veneto, the Dolomites, Puglia, Valle d'Aosta - many more - but the idea is that these are all distinct regions where you could base and do day trips. Still wouldn't see everything by a long shot. BUT - if you desire to see the south of France and/or Spain there is no reason not to pick two or three bases in Italy and then spend a week or so somewhere in one of those countries.

I think what people may have been advising you not to do is plan an itinerary that involves moving to a different hotel every 2 or 3 nights for five weeks.

Great ideas. I think I agree with moving around bases a bit. Anyone know how I can get Stu Dudley's itinerary? He has helped me out in the past before. We are planning on sightseeing daily - not just sitting around reading, although I like the option of having a couple rest days here and there. We generally stay in B&B's and not in hotels.

Email Stu, he is glad to share his various Itineraries. Do specify which one you want. Does he do an Italy itinerary? I'm only aware of his French itineraries.

After two weeks in Tuscany, go to another location for two weeks. Some of our favorites are Liguria, Piemonte, and the Venetian. Or Sicily but you would have to fly there!

>>Anyone know how I can get Stu Dudley's itinerary? He has helped me out in the past before<<

E-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy of my Italy itinerary to the reply e-mail. Specify that you want the Italy itinerary - I have others.

We'll be in San Quirico in the lovely Val d'Orcia the last 2 weeks of Sept this year. We've spent around 9 weeks in San Quirico, mainly for 2 reasons:
1. Our best friends owned an apartment there until about 5 years ago, & we mooched off them
2. It's the prettiest countryside we've ever experienced.

We were last there for 2 weeks in 2013, and we stayed at the same place where we're staying this year.
http://www.casaosenna.com/

If you stay there for 4 weeks, when you depart you will probably wish you could have stayed longer. On one of our many trips, we drove our car to Buonoconvento, parked it, and took a train to Florence where we stayed for 2 nights. San Quirico is 45 mins by car from the Porta Romano in Siena.

My wife's Shutterfly book from our trip to Tuscany.
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/39
The Tuscany section starts on page 26. Click "full screen". Because of Shutterfly software problems, captions are often missing or truncated.


Stu Dudley

Thank you Stu. Sent you an email. We are thinking about a couple weeks south of Florence and maybe some time north of Florence. Are there areas north toward Milan or Venice or Lake Como that are as amazing as Tuscany?

>> Are there areas north toward Milan or Venice or Lake Como that are as amazing as Tuscany?<<

Maybe. But we spend 2 months in France most every year - with a couple of ventures into Italy. We've never spent time in a more scenic and interesting area than the Val d'Orcia.

Stu Dudley

Yellowrose,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

There are some very beautiful places in the Dolomites, in Alto Adige, and in the Val d'Aosta, but October is maybe not the best time for that area.

In central Italy, Le Marche (Where I live) is one of the most beautiful areas in Italy. Umbria and Abruzzo are also beautiful, but Le Marche has more variety.

Having done sabbaticals in Italy, I have the same quetsion as isabel. Does your choice of Italy have anything to do with your professional work, or is it incidental? You say you are interested in history, but is there some particular aspect of it that interests you more than others?

Every region of Italy has stunningly scenic or visually charming areas, including scenic vineyards if that is what you like best, and every region has artistic capitals and profound connections to many key moments in history. That said, travel destinations in Italy have, over recent years, begun to somewhat sort themselves between those whoe appeal is almost entirely scenic and sybaritic (and generally outdoorsy), and those that are intensely interesting as cultural destinations, with marvelous interiors and political history to unfold.

For cultural treasure, northern Italy, north of Florence, is Inexhaustible. I personally think most areas of it more "amazing" than southern Tuscany (I might say that about much of Umbria as well) but if it is mainly scenic vineyards you want to see out your car window, only a few areas north of Florence qualify, mainly in Piemonte and the pretty white wine producing areas north of Venice..

However, if your taste in rural scenery also embraces jaw-dropping mountains or unforgettably colorful seascapes, there are areas of incomparable beauty in northern Italy. All have fascinating cultural treasure within reach.

If panoramas of calendar-worthy scenery are less important than architecture and art, then everything within a radius of Bologna, everything within a radius of Mantova, everything within a radius of Parma, everything within a radius of Padova, everything within a radius of Trento, everything within a radius of Trieste, everything within a radius of Torino will be "amazing."

Oh damn -- all that and I forgot to mention everything within a radius of Urbino (that is quite an amazing area of Italy, in every way).

The sabbatical really doesn't have anything to do with the decision to visit Italy. I love the scenic seascapes and vineyards and my husband loves the history. I also love to see the wonderful churches and cathedrals and the architecture. So I believe that overall the historical aspect of Italy is what would be of the most interest with a smattering of rural Tuscany. We are thinking about spending about a week in Rome and then finding some lodging in the country around the Sienna area thinking that we could do day trips to Florence, Sienna, Lucca, etc. Then moving to the north of Florence and from there up toward Lake Garda. I am sort of flummoxed as to what is an absolute "must see" but I am doing a lot of research. There appears to be wonders to behold around every turn. We are planning on about 5 weeks. Any more information would be wonderfully appreciated.

With five weeks, I would also do five different bases, all in Italy or three in Italy and two in Spain, or some other split.

Have a VRBO apartment picked out in Rome and in San Gimignano. Thinking about going to Padua for a while as well so we can see Venice and some of northern Italy. Would like to pop over into Slovenia and Croatia as well. Would going someplace like Piran and then driving down the coast a ways in Croatia give us a little sense of that culture? We would like to add a couple of new countries to our list.

Have you considered putting Rome at the end? I'd allocate the warmer weather to the more rural destinations.

Rome needs to be at the beginning because our son is coming with us initially and he wants to see Rome. Being from Wisconsin, weather doesn't affect us all that much. But thanks for the suggestion.

>>>Have a VRBO apartment picked out in Rome and in San Gimignano<<<

San G is tiny. How long are you planning to stay there? Is that the only base you are planning for Tuscany? I would prefer somewhere south (Val d'Orcia area is much more scenic IMO).

>>>then finding some lodging in the country around the Sienna <<<

If you are searching the forum, it's Siena. In October, you might consider staying in a bit bigger town like Siena for one of your weeks since it gets dark so early. You might tire of trying to get to some rural location in the dark if you want to have dinner out.

SO right now here is our itinerary - but I"m sure I will be making changes.

9/28-10/3 - Rome
10/3-10/16 - San Gimignao
10/16-10/22 - Padua
10/22-10/24 - Piran
10/24- 10/27 - Lljubljana
10/27 - 10/28 - Milan
10/29 - Departing for home

Arrive in Rome on 9/28. Departing Rome on 10/3. Both my husband and I have been to Rome before. We will revisit some highlights to show our son. Arriving at San Gimignao on 10/3 and departing on 10/15. (I believe this is where we will need to make a change. We thought San G would be a great base for visiting most of Tuscany, but have been advised that maybe it is too small. We like to spend most of our evenings in, relaxing, after touring all day.) Need your thoughts on a better place to stay during some of this time. On the 15th we will head to Padua - departing on the 22nd. We decided to briefly visit Slovenia and Croatia. Spending 1 night in Piran and 3 nights in Ljubljana. We will then go to Milan and depart from Milan on the 29th.



We have lodgings booked at this time, but all can be changed.

I agree, that's a long time to stay in San Gimignano. Pienza makes a good base for touring the Val d'Orcia.

Have you looked into Umbria? Lots to see there and not so touristed. There's Spello, Spoleto, Todi, Assisi, Perugia, Bevagna, Orvieto, and so on.

But I agree with Stu. The Val d'Orcia is one of the most beautiful countrysides in the world.

>>>We thought San G would be a great base for visiting most of Tuscany, but have been advised that maybe it is too small.<<<

I wouldn't find San G a great base for most of Tuscany.

Are you flying from Ljubljana to Milan? If not, you need to put that part of your trip before Padua.

What kind of all-day touring do you like doing before staying in for the evening? If it is visiting walled villages and doing scenic driving, then renting an apartment in an agriturismo with an on-site restaurant in the wine areas of Tuscany south of Siena can be ideal.

If you the daytime touring you envision is taking in sites of significant Italian art & history, you'll do much better to position yourselves with access to trains and maybe even to stay in an art city of some size and substance, at least part of the time, and making your rural stay only a part of your overall experience of Tuscany. The art & architecture cities of Tuscany with real oomph are Florence, Pisa, Siena, Arezzo and the smaller Lucca and Pistoia. Heading into Umbria the choices expand to Perugia, Spoleto, Orvieto, making it possible to visit Assisi.

For what it's worth, I've been in most of Italy and do not think the val d'Orcia the most beautiful in Italy -- not even the most beautiful in Tuscany (which to me would be le crete Senesi, just north of the val d'Orcia -- and certainly not the most beautiful in the world. For me, in Italy, the Dolomiti, the western Alps, and much of the northern lakes area is far more stunning in the sense of awesomely beautiful, and for sheer delight in nature, I much prefer the colourful flower-filled Italian Riviera over the val d'Orcia. But there are plenty of pictures of the val d'Orcia you can see on the internet and elsewhere, and if that is the landscape you are looking for, then there really are no substitutes, and the scenery around San Gimignano and in Umbria is not as neatly picturesque as that of the val d'Orcia.

Thank you for your responses. We are doing some more research. The point of San G. was just to use as a base so we would not be during the day with the tourists. We also love the sea - so maybe will head north a way to the coast for a few days.

bookmarking

Going to the sea in October runs a very high risk of getting non-stop deluges for some days you are there.

I have altered the time spent in San G. As of now we will spend 7 days using San G. as a base. Then we booked an apartment through VRBO in Torre del lago Puccini to be closer to the sea and will stay there for 6 days.