tuscany hill towns
Apr 5th, 2003, 06:58 PM
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tuscany hill towns
planned and made reservations in the tuscany hill towns. In the meantime I injured my knee and can't really walk up or down very steep grades. Which should I avoid and which can I reach by car. Montepucciano etc? HELP please.
Apr 6th, 2003, 11:42 AM
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I can totally sympathize with you. I fell in Paris and had to see the city and the Loire Valley on crutches. It wasn't easy, but where there's a will, there is a way.
Here is some general information which I had in a file on Tuscany:
� Monteriggioni (once you're in the town) and Pienza are not on hills.
� Orvieto should be manageable. Take the funicular up, and there are even buses that run around town, so it should be quite accessible.
� Montepulciano is VERY steep.
� Cortona would be pretty tough too.
� Siena has buses that deposit you near the top, so you can get around with not too much walking.
� Assisi is challenging as well as Cortona.
� In San Gimignano, you can park outside the gates. If you are traveling with another person, they can drop you off, park and meet you.
� Aside from hills, there are also lots of stairs. In general, traveling can be quite the aerobic exercise.
� With no physical disability, those final uphill stretches are really difficult. Walking within the towns is not difficult at all, though there were hilly portions and bumpy walks, especially Cortona and they won't be smooth level horizontal sidewalks.
Hope this information helps.
Here is some general information which I had in a file on Tuscany:
� Monteriggioni (once you're in the town) and Pienza are not on hills.
� Orvieto should be manageable. Take the funicular up, and there are even buses that run around town, so it should be quite accessible.
� Montepulciano is VERY steep.
� Cortona would be pretty tough too.
� Siena has buses that deposit you near the top, so you can get around with not too much walking.
� Assisi is challenging as well as Cortona.
� In San Gimignano, you can park outside the gates. If you are traveling with another person, they can drop you off, park and meet you.
� Aside from hills, there are also lots of stairs. In general, traveling can be quite the aerobic exercise.
� With no physical disability, those final uphill stretches are really difficult. Walking within the towns is not difficult at all, though there were hilly portions and bumpy walks, especially Cortona and they won't be smooth level horizontal sidewalks.
Hope this information helps.
Apr 8th, 2003, 11:08 AM
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There is a parking lot in Orvieto (actually in Umbria isn't it? but on the way to Tuscany from Rome)) next to the Duomo. Plus the drive up there is cool. In Monteriggioni, there is one parking lot at the bottom of the hill, and another at the top, just outside the city wall -- there is a small fee to park there, but it's well worth it if your knee is giving you problems! There is parking outside the walls at Montelpulciano, however it IS a very hilly city inside the walls. Unless you really feel good, you might want to skip it until your next trip. Many of these towns have lots of parking lots starting some distance away. We found it best to drive up as close as possible (and almost always found a place to park!).
