My husband, two children (ages 1 and 2) and I live in Germany and will be meeting my sister and her fiance in Tuscany from April 20-27. We'd like to find a two-bedroom apartment in Tuscany, possibly in a smaller town. What can you recommend?

I've inquired about several previously recommended on this site and on slowtrav but for one reason or another they haven't worked out - require saturday to saturday rental (can't do), don't allow children, too many stairs, no garden, etc.

Thank you in advance for responding!

Sarah

We rented at an agritourismo in Tuscany. I believe that they were not too strict in the off season or shoulder season about the arrival date. But that may have changed.

I know they have apartments with two bedrooms.

It is very near (a brisk walk) to Castellina in Chianti.

It is Collelungo. Do a search because they have an extensive website.

I've rented an apartment at Sant Antonio in Montepulciano for my family this summer. Did you try them? I found them through reviews on slowtrav.com. The owner, Nico, has been WONDERFUL through our email correspondance! He has 2 young children as well, so the property is very child-friendly.

We rented a 2 bedroom apartment which has NO stairs, and they will provide a crib. I'm not sure about the minimum stay, but I thought I read that you could do short stays there duing low seasons. Nico has even offered to find us a nanny while we are there, too.

website: www.santantonio.it

We are also renting a 3 bedroom apt. in Lucca through luccaholidayrentals.com for a second week, but I believe they have a one week minimum stay. You still might inquire, though.

Oh, also, try cornacchi.com. They look fabulous, and also seem very child-friendly. I believe they only have a 2 day minimum stay. The owner was very helpful in his emails to me. I didn't book them because I wanted to be in southern Tuscany.

The Wednesday-Wednesday expectation is indeed going to make this a hard order to fill. What agencies have you tried asking, so far?

Not sure if agencies based in Europe are better to research this with you - - versus agencies based in the US.

Best wishes,

Rex

We stayed at Terre de Melazzano last October. They welcome children, have two bedroom apartments and the lovely French lady who manages it speaks fluent English and German. It is 1 km above the village of Greve-in-Chianti and you can easily drive to Siena and Florence. It's a great base for visiting Tuscany.

The web site is http://www.terredimelazzano.it/index.htm and it also is in both German and English. Click on your preferred language.

The manager is Cecile and she is a gem. It is an agriturismo and is on a lovely road that is paved to the apartment and a dirt road great for hiking above the apartment.

We had a terrific week there.

srice,
Check out San Gimignano...here's a few websites I've located for possible rentals, great town...all within the walled area:
http://www.italian-villas.com/sangimignano.html
http://www.lamezzanarossa.it/listino.htm#
http://www.cityapartments.it/english...=san_gimignano
http://www.sangimignano.net/accommodations///
I have a good suggestions for Cinque Terre, sorry not in Tuscany but close. Check out this site for Manarola look at Alla Marina:
http:http://www.mareterra.it/apartments/r...partments.html
In Corneglia:
http://www.arbaspaa.com/apt_corn_english.htm

There's a nice centrally located b&b in Lucca, in a private house, with two bedrooms and one bathroom. The owner is very kind and has two children too. And she prepares good breakfasts! They have no web-site but you can e-mail to [email protected] to get informations. And Lucca is so enchanting! Have a nice trip. Milli

Lucca is ok, not a first choice.

If you haven't already booked--PLEASE check out the website Tuscanynet.com They list apts. You didn't mention where in Tuscany--but they have a good assortment. You can email the hotel directly through them. Also, great photos of the places! I have also used rentvillas.com--but I'm not sure you can rent mid-week from them.

By the way, of course Saturday to Saturday isn't always possible, but after seeing some requirements for that type rental last year, we decided to go with it and plan our trip in Italy in Sat. to Sat. segments. It ended up being wonderful, because in addition to opening up a couple of rentals we couldn't have gotten otherwise, we also took advantage of the great Trenitalia Saturday specials for gettin from city to city for each segment. So if possible, it is something to think about for initial planning.

You all have been more than helpful thus far. As I can, I'm looking into these sites and recommendations. There are so many! I like to hear specific recommendations on apartments that people have. We can't do Sat to Sat rental b/c my sister already has her airline tickets. I'm starting to focus on either Siena or Montepulciano/Montalcino.

Sarah

We stayed in a wonderful 2 bedroom 2 bath apt. in Montepulciano last year called Al Poggiolo. We had our two year old grandson with us and they provided a crib for him. The apt. was reasonably priced, did not require a Sat/Sat rental, and was delightful. There are 4 apartments, some of which are ground floor, and a gated garden with car parking. We would absolutely stay there again. There are several reviews on Slowtrav.com about this property.

http://www.appartamentialpoggiolo.it/

A big second for Al Poggiolo. Aren't the sisters nice? I've posted about the day we were leaving and the hired car didn't show up, so the one sister drove us herself -- on the way, she informed us she has no license due to an "accident" last year. Scary ride!
But what a great place.

srice_53908,
I have booked La Crociona (near Montalcino) for Wednesday to Wednesday and been very pleased with it http://www.lacrociona.com/