Tuscany in May- Pienza first week, second week ?
 

We will be flying into Rome in mid May and staying for two weeks. With your help, we plan to take the train to Orvieto, stay one night and rent the car from there. I've booked a nice Agritourisimo in the Pienza area for a full week hoping to visit all the nice towns there and maybe venture up to Siena as well. We had taken a prior trip in 2000 and visited Rome, Florence and Venice.

The problem is I booked our flight out of Milan thinking we would end up in the lake region but Fordorites suggested otherwise. I'm thinking of three days in Lucca and three days in Bologna since I see there is a high speed (one hour) train from Bologna to Milan and enables us to make a 10:30am flight to the states. Should we stay more in the Chianti region or perhaps the Arezzo area? I've read that Lucca is lovely but the area surrounding it is industry and crowded. Not sure if it is a good idea, especially since near beaches Cinque Terre might not be ideal in May. Ug please help. :)

I would not plan to take a train the morning of the flight. Milan airport isn't in Milan. It's 45-60 minutes north depending on transportation chosen from Milan. For a flight to the states, some airlines require a 3 hour check-in which means you would need to be at the airport at 7:30.

I'm not a fan of Lucca and would stay elsewhere, but it depends on what you want to visit.

Hi
It depends abuot what you want to do, lucca is nice the town could be seen in 1 or two days. Cinque terre could be a good idea, becouse there are not a lot of people in may, the whether and nature are very nice but maybe the water is cold. Bologna and emilia romagna are good if you are interest to italian food, nice small towns ecc... Consider that the first high speed train departs from bologna about at 07:30 am and arrives in milan at 08:40 and, if your flight departs from malpensa airport you have a travel of an hour from milan station to the airport, maybe it' s better if you stay in milan your last night.
Tuscany is beautyful in may, you could go to bologna, modena, reggio emilia from tuscany using the mountain' s roads, there are a lot of very small and nice towns and Fantastic landscapes.

I can't find your earlier posts to understand why you're being advised not to go to the Italian Lakes. They are lovely and would make a nice counterpoint to Tuscany.

We did Lucca over two days, which was more than enough to explore all the areas, shops, cathedral and dining options as well as bike around the walls. The surrounding area is flat, nothing special. Pisa not far for a quick look but I could have skipped it, no problem. Siena was far and away one of my favourite places on this last trip. Just magical to walk out every night onto the pedestrian streets, almost car free and choose a place to eat.

In your original post on the other thread you only mentioned going for two weeks in the spring of 2014 and were wisely cautioned that March and April weather could be iffy. I think most of the advice about skipping the lake region was given before you mentioned that you had booked your dates of mid-May.

I would agree with Julie above (and a couple of posters on your other thread) that May is a nice time to visit the lake country. We stayed in Bellagio for a few days in mid-May of 2012 and had a great time with lovely weather. There are no weather guarantees but I think you should consider going to the lake country in May if that is something you would like to do. Have Fun!

Here is a link to my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...nque-terre.cfm


And here is a link to some pictures:

https://john183italy2012.shutterfly.com/pictures/423

Darn, I just wrote this really detailed reply thanking each and everyone of your individually then detailed out the itinerary for the trip. And it's gone, probably because I stopped so many times while I was writing it.
Anyway,
Thanks to kybourbon, skipping lucca.
snowgirls, same thing. :)
John183, I'm thinking Bellagio after reading your amazing trip report.
francesco_marchi_148 How to fit CT in when flying out of Milan.
JulieVikmanis , I think John183 explained it, I wasn't clear, sorry.

Thank you all.

Here is what I am currently thinking.
15 days,
Fly into Rome and take the Train to Orvieto for an overnight
day 2 drive to Pienza for one week stay on Agritourisimo
Day 9 drive to Bologna by way of Arezzo
Stay two nights.
Drive to Bellagio visiting Modena Parma RE etc; (maybe stay along the way,then 2 nights Bellagio)
Stay in Bellagio 3 nights
Drive airport in Milan for an overnight
Last day 10:30am flight out to the states.

Can you tell me if you think this is a good trip? As I said in an earlier post, we've been to Rome, Florence, Venice. This was supposed to be a "get to know Tuscany relax a bit trip" but I am having trouble keeping the second week uncomplicated since there are so many good places to visit.

Still thinking should we do CT instead of Bologna but I really would rather visit a town that allows us to get a good feel for Italy. ug this is fun but a bit stressful. :) Thanks everyone for your help.

I think it sounds lovely and should go a good ways toward rounding out your experience with Italy. Enjoy.

The only thing I would do differently is I would rent the car upon arrival at FCO instead of dealing with trains to get to Orvieto. Ambien has worked well for me on all of our past trips to Europe so driving as soon as I arrive has not been a problem.

I know what you mean about planning being fun but stressful. Once you get your itinerary locked down it will be all fun - at least it is for me! As a lot of people on this forum say - you can't do it all in one trip - just remember you WILL return. Have Fun!

Thanks John183 I will look into it. Happy New Year

Please let us know how your trip turns Out. We are renting a villa with some friends near Pienza for two weeks in July. Would appreciate any tips or advice you could give after your trip. The stress of planning will be well worth it when you get there. Whatever you plan it will be a grand adventure!

Sounds like a reasonable itinerary to me. And Pienza...I really liked Pienza and Montepulciano. Not a lot to see in Pienza but I really liked it anyway. Have a great trip.

thanks

Where are you dropping your car?

It looks like you are keeping your car for the entire trip and dropping it at the Milan airport. If so, beware of ZTL's in the cities and towns you will be visiting.

IMO, you should see Parma, Modena, etc., as day trips from Bologna, rather than adding another overnight somewhere.

Bologna has ZTL as do most places listed.

Thank you all. After taking a look at my trip plans ,and advice from fodorites, we are changing our trip to stay in the Bologna area longer and skip the lake region for this trip. It seemed like I was packing too much into the second week of our trip. I hope we are making the right decision and plan to see and experience more in that area.

I find no matter how much I see, I always want to see more. But I think taking the time to really enjoy what you DO get to see is so important. And you're right about trying to pack in to much. Nothing worse than needing a vacation from your vacation. I'm wishing our next trip had more time in the Bologna area. And am already planning to do that with my next trip. :)

Stoweflake - Tagging on late ... but I do hope you write up your experience in the Bologna area! My next trip to Italy is in April - ending in Milan before my flight home. But before Milan, four days in Varenna on Lake Como. Hoping for blue skies and many flowering gardens! Already planning the trip to Italy after that, including the Bologna area. And while you are in Tuscany, be sure to visit Siena. I stayed there for four nights a few years ago and really enjoyed my time there, and driving around the Val d'Orcia.

Central Bologna is practically one big ZTL, most streets are one-way, and the parking is horrendous. We live fairly near there, but almost always take the train, to avoid driving there. We've driven to Bologna twice, that I can remember. Once we accidentally strayed into a ZTL, and the other time someone met us on foot at the town gate and piloted us in.