Where would you suggest to stay for 4 nights in October to see the best of Tuscany, as well as day trips to florence and sienna? We will have a car, but would prefer to catch public transport to Sienna and Florence. Thanks

Why not try somewhere in Chianti? Radda, and Gaiole have some great places to stay. Depending upon length you can stay in a hotel, B7B, or rent a farmhouse/apt for a few days. It should be a good base for seeing a good part of Tuscany. Good Luck!

we always stay in Castellina in Chianti when we visit the area, at a friend's winery. The advantages of this area are thats its much more convienient to the super strada than either gaiole and Radda. I find Gaiole a little grim. From Castellina, you are very centrally located to Montalcino, Siena, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, Voltera and Florence. Don't ahve any hotel or B&B recs.

I second Dean's recommendation.

I stayed in San Gimignano, at an agriturismo 2.5 kms away. Very close to Volterra, Siena, Chianti, etc.<BR>Look at www.sawdays.co.uk for nice agriturismos.

Alex,<BR><BR>We stayed in Radda (in Chianti) at a restored place (Vignale?), modern amenities, overlooking vinyards, beautiful. Close by is great restaurant (Ristorante Vignale?)

We like San Gimignano as it's a great town at night (actually like staying here better than Siena). Tourist throngs during the day and peaceful at night. Big enough town that there are several great restaurants to try (La Terraza, Dorando, La Mangione - probably butchered all the spellings sorry).

toping

We stayed in Tavarnelle val de pesa, which was halfway between Florence and Siena and not too far from the autostrada. We were close to all the quaint hilltowns and the Chianti region. The town of Tavarnelle was small with a couple of great restaurants. We found it a perfect location for all of our daytrips.