I will be staying in Gaiole in Chiante for a week in May. I'm planning on doing day trips to Florence (about 30 miles away) and Siena (about 15 miles away). Are there any other cities/towns that are "must see" places that can be done in a day trip. I've already been to Pisa, and don't necessarily have to go there again, I'd like to see places I haven't been to before.

Thanks for any information you can pass on!

San Gimignano is usually high on lists of places to visit, although I would recommend getting there either before 10am or after 4pm once the tour coaches have been - this was advice I got from other posts in this forum and it was quite noticable last year that this was true.

Lucca might also be worth a look, but probably the best thing (in my view) is to rent a car and drive around some of the hill villages in Tuscany.

Hi,

You might want to do a text search here for Montalcino, Montepulciano, Chianti, San Gimignano, Assisi

Check out Volterra for the Roman ruins and the alabaster.

There are many good options but from Gaiole your choices will be limited by driving time. Do you mind a drive radius of 1:30 from there? It will take that to some of the better hill towns.

I Stayed staying in Gaiole last may as well, where are you staying?

We did a lot of driving. We went to Radda for a light meal or two. We tend to pick one or two major places and stop along the way.

I wanted to see the ocean and headed 1st to San Gimignano. It is nice for a few hours and then we headed west towards the sea and never made it but ended up in Volterra. We loved it! Had a great meal walked around the old Roman theatre. It was beautiful.

Siena is close by and great for a trip as well. Initially we stayed in a hotel in Florence first because I did not fancy driving around and then rented a car to go to Gaiole.

There is a good Pizza Place in Gaiole just in front of the town car park that you can sit on the terrace and have your meal. Also a nice visit we had was to the winery on the road to Radda just outside Gaiole. Its an old estate and we had a private tour ....in French as the elderly man on duty did not speak English. It was great craic. It's also hotel, very nice and you get a bottle to take away after the tour. I thought it would be lousey but it was lovely when we opened it a few weeks later in Dublin.

Overall pick a few key places and stop when something looks interesting. Have a nice trip.