Hi,
I have received great information for our October 10-day trip to Italy & have booked Al Teatro Venezia for the first three nights. Thank you everyone! Now I'd love some help with the next four nights. We plan to leave Venice for somewhere in Tuscany, hoping for a location where we can take day trips & return to a small town where we can walk to dinner, or for a glass of wine. Ideally, we'd like to see Cinque Terre, or at least one or two places there, perhaps see Florence, and visit a winery (or two....or), while enjoying the countryside. What are your suggestions for a good place to center ourselves?

Should we train from Venice to Florence & pick up a car there & return it there? Or, is there a place where we can stay and make the day trips without the use of a car??

The next stop will be Rome, & this is where we fly home from. Should we keep the car & drive to Rome, or return a car and take a train to Rome? We figured returning the car taking the train to Rome would be best....?

Thanks for your help!

It's possible to see much of Tuscany without a car - but much easier with - since some of the smaller towns have no train and limited bus service designed for locals. I would stay in Florence - but then I prefer cities - and just do day trips from there.

Also I would pick up the car on leaving Venice and stop to see Verona or ? on the way to Florence, then drop it off when arriving in Rome. (But then we almost always do road trips since it allows for much more flexibility outside of major cities.)

I agree, Tuscany is much easier with a car, and you get to soak up much more of the local flavor and discover places you might not usually find. It's handy when going around on wine tasting trips too! The back roads between Firenze and Rome are absolutely lovely to drive through and you can discover awesome little holes in the wall to eat, drink, and enjoy in between. Florence would be a good central point, as would Siena, though I guess Florence is a bit bigger and might have more to see, especially museum-wise. Whatever the case, definitely ditch the car when you hit Rome, no one wants to drive in this city!

Don't drive into central Florence, either!! There are no-drive zones, the traffic is insane, the street names are hard to see and often change after a few blocks. The streets in the Centro were established from the days when people mostly walked and are not laid out to accommodate auto traffic.

The good thing about Florence is if you take the train into Stazione Centrale you will be within 20 mins walk of everything you want to see. 5 mins to the Duomo, 15 to Ponte Vecchio, etc.

I would stay somewhere like Siena or a little south of there.

Return the car in orvieto and train into Rome. Orvieto is a very special experience, IMHO.

I agree that having a car in Tuscany makes the adventure so much better. Roads are well marked but if you do happen to get lost, all the better. You more than likely will come across something hidden but wonderful. I love to stop for lunch in small out of the way restaurants. Mom and pop places that have a true local feel. You'll love it.

I've stayed in Tuscany in both Sienna and San Gimignano - both are central. Sienna is big town, very charming with a lot of streets to stroll and quite a bit to see and do. When in Sienna, don't miss the panforte at Nannini's- actually, why not just try all the pastries you can devour? Yum.

San Gimignano is very small, overrun with tourists during the day but molto quiet at night. I like the L'Antico Pozzo hotel, right beyond the town gate. The breakfast is just so-so, but the rooms scream medieval. They're comfortable and clean and very charming - as is the entire hotel. Also, there is a restaurant on the other side of town from the hotel, Le Vecchie Mura, that has fantastic views of Tuscan countryside from it's patio- and very good food. You must make reservations and ask for a table at the edge of the patio for the best view.

Keep in mind that there are so many charming towns in Tuscany, that you probably can't make a mistake with your choice.

As for Florence, you can park near the Porto Romano and walk across the Ponte Vecchio into the centro storico. Get a good map, ask for directions from your hotel's desk and it's easy.

I'd drive to Rome. There's plenty to see along the way so you can stop or take a detour anytime you want. Then you can drop the car off at either the railroad station or the airport - whichever is closer to your hotel.

I wish you the best and hope you have a wonderful time.

I would suggest training from Venice to Florence. After you are done in Florence, pick up your rental car and go to the Val d'Orcia, in the southern part of Tuscany. We based ourselves in Pienza and had a great time visiting all the hill towns as well as Siena. This is the home of Brunello di Montalcino and the Vine Nobile di Montepulciano, so wine tasting is great. Drop your car off in Orvieto and take the train to Rome. This way you have the car where you need it and don't have it in the cities, where you don't !

...and brunello is one of Italy's finest reds!!!

I second what steamboat said. Train to Florence, then get a car; see Tuscany/Umbria and then drop the car in Orvieto (and maybe stay a night) and then train to Rome from there.

Thanks everyone! I'm googling all those places now! Nobody mentioned going to CInque Terre......is that a good day trip, too?

luvtogotoo,

No the Cinque Terre is too far and takes too long to get to, to be a day trip. It's a lovely part of Italy, we loved the Ligurian Coast and stayed 3 days in Santa Margherita Ligure. Would have liked a 4th, but couldn't change our reservations.

I would stick with Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Rome. It's a great first trip itinerary.