Ciao! My first visit to this forum; it's pretty great. We are visiting Tuscany with another couple in late May through early June. Arrive in Rome and staying 2 nights at Domus Julia. Any advice about getting Vatican tickets that allow you to bypass the lines? Then on to San Gimignano for 1 wk.Haven't planned our day trips yet. Any advice? Want to see Florence, Lucca and hill towns (renting car). Any advice? Gratia!

peace,
Are you staying the whole week in San Gimignano? If so my wife will be very jealous since this is her favorite town in Italy. You will get some very good suggestions here but you may have to give more details of what you are interested in. Good luck!

You can book either tickets or a tour directly with the Vatican. For tickets only:
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Home.html

For tours:
http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/z-In...zi_Visite.html

Volterra is a good choice from SG. It is a nice drive with interesting changes in landscape and offers an Etruscan museum, Roman amphitheater, and lots of shops selling alabaster.

We very much enjoyed Siena. Loved wandering the streets.

Monteriggioni is an interesting walled town. Not much to see but a pleasant excursion for dinner at Il Pozzo.

You can find some recommendations for winery tours on this board, or you can stop by the TI in SG and they can make reservations for you at a nearby winery.

The two gelato shops on the square in SG are good--I don't think we decided on a favorite. We enjoyed dining at Le Vecchie Mura, which has good food and an awesome view.

Enjoy!

We will be withwalking distance to Ssn G all week (our base)and take day trips. Florence, Lucca, Siena and Volterra sound great. My family'originates from Onano (hill towns)and would like to see it. Is this too much? Think we are open to most anything. Like to walk, eat, see interesting stuff and drink wine (not at the same time though). All the tips thus far sound good. Watching Rick Steeves videos. How bad is the pickpocket situation in Rome? We are staying near Spanish Steps.

We were a family of six in Rome for four days in June. I was so worried about all the pick pocketing and so forth we read about. Truthfully, I never felt any threat. Now, that said, I eliminated train stations, busses, etc. I just didn't go there and I think that's where the bulk of the trouble would be. It was worth every cent to get drivers if we needed to transfer from one town to another. The area of the Spanish Steps is lovely, central, and if you just keep smart, don't have your nose in the Rick Steve's book, look up and around, you'll be just fine. Be as smart as you would be in NYC or Chicago, etc. It's all the same- common sense.

The gelateria in the Piazza della Cisterna in SG is the winner I think. If they've got the rum cappuccino it's memorable. I'd reckon SG is more a day trip than a jumping off spot as it's generally a bit swamped and spendy. Siena is worth a few days by itself and is nearby, Monteriggioni is on the way and worth a couple of hours. Buon viaggio.