Hi--

I am adding a trip to Rome, Tuscany and maybe Florence to a business trip, which means I have only 2 weeks to plan my trip! I am going with a friend, and we're planning to spend 2 days in Rome, then head to Tuscany for about 4-5 days, and finish in Florence for a night before we have to make our way to Nice, France for work.

We are both overwhelmed by everything we're reading on Tuscany and want to narrow it down to a fun itinerary of wine tasting, great food, relaxing, visiting towns and enjoying the local scene. We don't want to be too rushed, but want to make sure we have a few things planned.

We went to Florence last year, and did a day trip to Sienna (loved it and the SR2!)--hence, only one night in Florence. Wish we had more time!

We would love any advice on a good plan to enjoy Tuscany. Towns and areas that have come up in our research so far:

Lucca
San Gimignano
Montepulciano
Chianti region

I think we want to stay between Florence and Rome but we're open to suggestions. Our flight has us landing in Rome on Wednesday, Sept 22, then to Tuscany on the 24th, and Florence on the 28th. We are in our 20s and 30s and are very comfortable traveling internationally.

Thanks for any help/advice you can offer! This is my first foray into forums, so forgive me if I haven't used it in quite the right way.

Personally, I would choose the southern Tuscany area, i.e. the Val d'Orcia area, for your first foray into Tuscany. I think it is one of THE most beautiful areas and it should be really lovely at end Sept.

The towns I would look at to visit and/or stay (I prefer to pick one town to stay in for your 4 nights and then make day trips to the others) :

Montepulciano
Montalcino
Pienza
San Quirico d'Orcia (one of my favorites)
Bagno Vignoni (a thermal spa town - fun and unusual to visit)

I am sure others will chime in with some more favorites.

I like Flame123's idea. A good place to stay for that itinerary is Locanda Dell'Amorosa in Sinalunga if you can swing it www.amorosa.it. It is a hotel that used to be a tiny hamlet. It is amazing! You will love it. Don't eat there though. Enjoy the many great restaurants in the area. I reccommend La Chiusa in nearby Montefollonico. Enjoy a glass of the local Brunello with dinner. To die for! You can also stop in San Gimignano and Monteriggioni on your way to Florence. Enjoy!

First of all, Lucca is nowhere between Rome and Florence... so if you want to stay between Rome and Florence, Val d'Orcia is certainly the standard choice. If you, too, choose it, be sure to visit the wonderful abbeys of S. Antimo and Monte Oliveto Maggiore - some of Tuscany's best art and architecture waiting for you there. As far as Bagno Vignoni, let me add that the fun is that it's a <b>16th century</b> thermal spa: very probably the only one anywhere. And I would definitely add Chiusi - a nice town just outside the tourist hype region, and with great Etruscan excavations.

Alternatively, you could of course also stay in the Siena - S. Gimignano region, with many more stunning sights (Siena is worth one day minimum, S. Gimignano needs just a few hours; furthermore, there are Monteriggioni, Torri, S. Galgano, Certaldo, the Chianti region, Volterra, or even Arezzo and Cortona; plus you could do Monte Oliveto Maggiore from here, as well.

The third possibility is the real south of Tuscany (Val d'Orcia is just slightly south of the center): Pitigliano - Sorano - Sovana - Roccalbegna - Montemerano - Capalbio - Cosa (Ansedonia). Given your description of what you would like to do ("fun itinerary of wine tasting, great food, relaxing, visiting towns and enjoying the local scene"), that's what I would do. Ok, the food will not be Italy's greatest, but that's also true for the Val d'Orcia and Siena regions (you'd have to go to northern Tuscany, Florence and beyond, to get really memorable food), but otherwise, Tuscany's far south seems to be just what you're craving. (It seems that you're not that much into art and architecture, just into scenic, picturesque towns, and if this impression is correct, then the south is absolutely perfect for you.)

I second (or third) Val d'Orcia. We recently spent 5 nights in Montepulciano. It was perfect - we rented a car and explored the area by day, and then came home for dinner each night. There are tons of picturesque towns to visit, with great food and wine in every one. I have a partially completed trip report that talks about some of the things we did. Just click on my name, I think it will pop up.

If you plan to drink during dinner, I highly recommend staying in a larger town like Montepulciano, where there are plenty of places to eat that you can walk to. Driving in southern Tuscany, particularly after a drink or two, is not safe.

Have a great time!

bookmarking

I would eliminate Lucca. IMO it's a flat, uninspiring town with only a nice brick wall-turned-park to recommend it - great for people with limited mobility perhaps.

We really liked San Gimignano and Sienna on our last trip. Next trip will include Montepulciano and Volterra plus some others. As a last stop before Rome, Orvieto (in Umbria) was one of the nicer places we visited.

There is also the iconic Pisa that is worth a two or three hour stop for the field of miracles (including the leaning tower).

Thank you everyone for your quick feedback! Yes, it looks like Lucca is out of the area we're heading so we'll cross that off the list.

Flame123, I like your suggestions, and others seem to agree so I'm going to do some research on those over the next couple of days and see about putting together a plan.

Cat-I'll check out your lodging suggestion, too.

Franco--I love the idea of the 16th century thermal spa town. You've intrigued me. Funny to see you say that it looks like I'm not into art and architecture because I actually work in a design field! It's just that we're a little burnt out on work right now and looking for something different. Embarrassing to say when traveling to Italy!

CStoneTX--you're review is my next "click." If you're in Texas, give it a big hug for me. It's my home, but I'm currently in CA.

Publius--Thanks for you recs, too. We went to San G, Pisa and Sienna on a previous trip and I, too, would reccommend them! Looking into Orvieto...

I might be back with more questions in a day or so. Thanks again!

clw,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

bookmarking

bookmarking

Here's another vote for Orvieto. Fascinating place.

CLW,

Since you are considering the same area I visited on my last trip, you might want to read the last third of my trip report, "Dayle's Solo Trip to Italy". I stayed in Montalcino 3 nts and did day trips from there. I was able to visit both abbeys and Sant'Antimo was a trip highlight with the Gregorian chants!

Another trip we stayed in the Chianti region and did day trips from there. Really liked both!

Buon viaggio!

one more bookmark!