Dear Group, we generaly spend 2 weeks each Christmas abroad and this coming year is no different - thought we would try Italy again(flying in/out of Rome) and go to Tuscany(or any other good wine area) and Amalfi. Does anyone have any recommendations for;

1. Should we do the first week in wine country then Amalfi or the other way around.
2. Is Tuscany the preferred wine area or are there better choices(we spend last year in the Riojas region of Spain and have been to Napa several times)
3. Any hotel recommendations? We are more interested in unqiue lodging instead of your standard hotel.

Thanks, Dennis

I wouldn't go to the Amalfi Coast at Christmas time. Many hotels/restaurants/etc. operate on a limited schedule and use that time to close or renovate. Also the weather can be dismal, lots of rain and chilly. It really just isn't at its best that time of year.

I also wouldn't go to the Amalfi Coast at Christmas. But I might go to Naples.

http://www.venere.com/blog/naples-christmas-shopping/

http://foodloversodyssey.typepad.com...in-naples.html



We love the wines of Tuscany, but there is great wine in other regions of Italy. (There are 20 distinct regions altogether.) It depends on your wine preferences.

Most swoon over the Brunello di Montalcino. Then, there are the Barolos and Barbarescos of Piemonte (the other two of the three "Killer B's"). I also very much like the Nobile di Montepulciano. And then there are the out-of-category "Super Tuscans" (blends). That's just the reds. You should research the different regions and their grapes/wines.

I would either follow your wine preferences or pick the place you'd most like to be at that time of year. You'll find good-to-great wine wherever you go.

In southern Tuscany, we loved this very small B&B in Montepulciano:

http://www.locandasanfrancesco.it/index.php

Should have read: "(There are 20 distinct wine regions altogether.)"

A beach resort in chilly rain, with many hotels and restaurants closed, ferries not running and sights on very limited scheduled does not sound like a great holiday to me. I would not go there before May - to get decent weather and hotel pool that are open.

December is a game changer!
Neither rural Tuscany nor the AC will be attractive then.
I would start over.

In December it is really best to spend time in cities. I wouldn't visit either Tuscany or the Amalfi Coast. Granted, I have never been to either in December but I have heard stories and all of them dismal.

I agree about the beach resorts, but some smaller towns have wonderful Christmas traditions! Some day, I'm going to be in Gubbio to see "The World's Tallest Christmas Tree" or in nearby Citta di Castello to see the procession (by canoe!) of multiple Father Christmases on the River Tiber. At Abbadia San Salvatore (south of Montalcino), they light bonfires and walk the streets singing carols ("Fiaccole di Natale"). Barga (north of Lucca) is one of many towns that stages a living nativity scene. Of course, it all depends on what the OP is looking for, but it doesn't have to be dismal.

Campania (Amalfi region) have a long lasting tradition of Xmas celebrations (If you stop over in Naples you shouldn't the San Gregorio Armeno market, with its Presepe (Nativity scene)market.
However, Amalfi is a small town, could be rather uninteresting in wintertime. Surely, you'll miss Amalfi coast at its best (May-June-September-October). If you are a wine enthusiast, Campania wines are not bad at all. Try to taste Greco di Tufo and Falanghina (white) and Lacrima Cristi and Furore (Red)
Tuscany is a great place for whines, with 3 main regions: Chianti, Montepulciano and the coast (with Bolgheri, where Sassicaia is produced). For trips infos and a adresses in Montalcino have a look at my travelblog www.delightfullyitaly.com

The days will be very short so you should keep that in mind when planning. I agree that the amalfi coast is probably not the best destination at that time of the year.