We're staying in San Gimignano for 1 night, then Montalcino for 3 nights. We are then planning to stay in Florence for 3 nights.

To explore Florence, should we find another small town to stay in and take day trips to Florence OR should we stay in Florence?

Thanks for your help!

It sounds like you have the small town thing covered so unless the allure of that is much stronger then the convenience of staying in Florence, I would recommend the latter., especially if you have a car.

i agree with aramis
you have got the small towns covered for this trip
you dont say if you are flying in and out of florence, but i assume you are, so you can go to florence at the end, drop the car and with the money you have saved....stay at a nice place within walking distance of everything.....

Florence IS a small town.

Huh? You can cross from one end of central Florence to another in no more than 25 minutes-and if you don't stay in Florence, then you will never be able to truly appreciate its awesomeness-and I do mean to use that word to describe Florence-one of the most exquisite cities on the planet.

Make sure to go up to Fiesole when you stay in Florence, after spending a day in the city- it feels like another little village, looking down and out over city below. I first considered staying there, instead of right in Florence, but am glad I didn't. It was about a 20 minute bus ride, and the central part of Florence where all the atttractions are is small enough that we were able to go back to the hotel mid-day to rest, drop off purchases etc.

I'm planning for one full day to see Florence as a tourist. The other 2 days, I will likely have an activity planned, such as a cooking class or mountain biking.

Do you think that 1 full day as a tourist in Florence is enough?

BTW... After checking out the prices for hotels in Florence, I just realized that it's cheaper to stay outside of Florence! WOW, the prices hurt!!!!

Hi ZZ,

>Do you think that 1 full day as a tourist in Florence is enough?<

No.

For good, inexpensive accomodations, I can highly recommend www.bedinflorence.it