Hello everyone, we are planning 2 wks. in Italy in October and plan to spend one of the two in Tuscany. We prefer to base ourselves in one town and venture out for day trips. Would it be better to base in Florence on in Siena? Siena sounds more intimate but transportation would probably be easier from Florence. Any thoughts or suggestions? All replys appreciated!

Florence needs at least 4 days by itself. We used Siena as a base for the rest of Tuscany (you will need a car there but not in florence) but we stayed six nights in Siena and 4 in florence (where we had been before). I would spend 4 days in Florence, then drive to Siena for 3 or 4 nights and use it as a base. <BR>

Thanks Dennis

You need a week just to touch on Tuscany. Think about renting a villa (not as expensive as one would think) and a car, and exploring this wonderful part of Italy. Stay midway between Florence and Siena - 45 minutes to either. We spent a week there in October and wished we had spent at least 10 days. Maybe next time Denise <BR>

Stephen, <BR>Denise is right on....there are so many interesting and beautiful things to see outside of Florence...I too would stay in the countryside and go into Florence for day trips...Unfortunatly, Florence has become so overcrowded with tourists, it has lost some of its special flavor...try to go away from the madding crowds, where you can mingle with the locals and absorb the true flavor of the Italian way...a wonderful website for villas and apartments is www.regencyintapts.com...they are so helpful and have a great selection of different types of places to stay...in fact, I am having a family reunion at one of their villas in early April...30 of us from all parts of the US are meeting in Umbria and celebrating!! <BR>Have fun planning!! Ciao!

Mary, the website you mentioned looks terrific - planning a week in Tuscany in conjunction with one week business trip to Rome. Please let us know how your April reunion turned out, highlights and a recommendation for the villa. Thank you. <BR>

A few other web sites for villas are- theparkercompany.com/villas/index.html www.italianvillas.com wwwitwg.com <BR>Denise <BR> <BR>

If you need any other encouragement let me add my strong recommendation to staying in the Siena area over Florence. Ditto on renting a villa. Just don't forget to visit THE best ice cream place in Tuscany: Il Caribe. After visiting the 'David' at the Academia, take a left and walk approx. 2 blocks. It's right there on the same side of the street. Better than Vivoli's _any_ day! Buon Viaggio!

We were in Tuscany last October and had a wondrful time in a villa, 30 minutes south of Florence in Regello. I would highly recommend staying in a villa somewhere between Florence and Siena and doing day trips in a car. You will have the flexibility to go and do whatever you please. A villa allows you to stay in and cook or relax on a porch. There is somenthing magical about realxing in the evening without the hustle of a town. We found the villa to be more affordable than a hotel. The driving is vrey easy to get used to. <BR>

Regarding the above driving recommendations, I was wondering what you do with the car when you do day trips to Florence or Siena. Are there large parking stations on the outskirts and are they safe to leave a car?

Ditto on staying in the countryside or small town and doing day trips to Florence. The town is crazy and very crowded and noisy and...uuh! I will not stay in town again. You want to find the quiet and beauty of that gorgeous surrounding area. A couple of sites to check out...Vignamaggio outside Greve on the little road to Lamole (fax: 055/8544468 or website: www.vignamaggio.com) and ask for brochure. See it in Kenneth Branaugh's "Much Ado About Nothing". Gorgeous and quiet and a nice garden and tennis courts and swimming pool and secluded. You will hardly want to leave for any day-trips! Wonderful breakfast. San Gimignano...lovely little town with nice hotels (Antico do Pozzo...very nice.) Also Hotel BelSogorno. Eat at Chribiri. Gorgeous views! Hotel Monteriggioni in Monteriggioni was also very nice and you can do lots of day trips. Florence was SUCH a headache...literally!

Joanne, in regards to travelling with a car, we always left the car parked at the train station before going into Florence. Parking in all of the other smaller cities was fairly easy. Most of the towns have public parking lots on the outskirts of town. We never had any safety issues. <BR>We also dropped the car back off as soon as we got back into Rome. I would not dream of parking there.

Hi Joanna, <BR> <BR>Regarding hiring a car. We stayed south of Florence (as per above posting of mine) and drove everywhere. Much to my horror my husband decided to drive into Florence. I wanted to park at a station and train in. He won. We drove straight up the A22 (Siena to Florence Rd) and parked next to the Porta Roma (carpark available) and walked the 1 km to the Ponte Vecchio. No problem, the road led straight into the P.Roma and the walk was virtually a continuation of this, without much traffic. Other walled towns, like Siena, you have to park outside the wall anyway. Driving was not the hassel we anticipated. We collected/dropped off car, at airports in Rome and Venice. I agree with above poster, the villas work out more economical than hotels. A lovely feeling to drive back to your own place after a day's outing or dinner and you also have the opportunity to cook it yourself and relax in the garden. Email me if you would like some other clues. Denise