malka

We are planning to stay on a farm in Tuscany (around colle di val d'elsa) for a week and take day trips to various locations: <BR> <BR>2 days in Florence <BR>1 day Siena and San Gimignano <BR>1 day Lucca, Pistoia, Prato (Montecatini?) <BR>1 day Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, Arezzo, Oliveto Maggiore, (Cortona?) <BR>1 day either Volterra or Chianti region <BR> <BR>How does it look, any suggestions? Thanks <BR>

malka

forgot to mention: and of course, we have a car (actually a van).

J&B

You must be 18 and have the energy of thousands! We just returned from a week in Lucignano and your itinerary looks a little heavy to us. I guess it's possible to do more than two hill towns in a day, but finding parking, orienting and walking from place to place takes lots of time. Plus, in places like Montalcino and Montepulciano <BR>you're likely to want to take time to do some wine and olive oil tasting. And in Cortona it took us over an hour to walk to the Chapel of St. Margararita. It's straight up hill, but really not to be missed if you're going to experience the Tuscan view. However you work it out, enjoy! It was truly the trip of our lives.

wendy

Wow! What a great trip! I too just did all of this. <BR> <BR>Your 1 day in Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, Arezzo, Oliveto Maggiore, and Cortona looks a little heavy? Even if you ONLY spent an hour in each place, with driving time and parking...you're looking at nine hours of rushing? <BR> <BR>I wouldn't miss any of these towns and J&B is right, there is a lot of wonderful wine and oil tastings, wonderful walks and hikes etc... is it possible to make it two days to slow down and enjoy it all? <BR> <BR>I raced through them because of work deadlines and wish I'd slowed down! But even if you race through them, you will still see some beautiful country! <BR> <BR>Buon Viaggio!

wendy

Wow! What a great trip! I too just did all of this. <BR> <BR>Your 1 day in Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza, Arezzo, Oliveto Maggiore, and Cortona looks a little heavy? Even if you ONLY spent an hour in each place, with driving time and parking...you're looking at nine hours of rushing? <BR> <BR>I wouldn't miss any of these towns and J&B is right, there is a lot of wonderful wine and oil tastings, wonderful walks and hikes etc... is it possible to make it two days to slow down and enjoy it all? <BR> <BR>I raced through them because of work deadlines and wish I'd slowed down! But even if you race through them, you will still see some beautiful country! <BR> <BR>Buon Viaggio!

Jurgen

Surely you can fit a few more towns in per day! <BR> <BR>Only 4 towns in 1 day? What a wimp.

Bob

Siena deserves a full day more than Volterra does. Consider combining Volterra with San Gimignano for a day trip. <BR>

Lexma90

Consider your timing - Many stores, restaurants, etc. close in the afternoon for a while, and visiting "dead" towns is much less interesting than those that are open & lively. <BR> <BR>San Gimignano is much nicer in the evening, after the day-trippers have left. Try to have dinner there, and spend some time at a cafe on the Piazza too. As I recall, Colle di val d'elsa is very close to San G., in the opposite direction of Siena, so you would be backtracking to do these 2 in one day. Consider Volterra & San G. in one day. Allow more time in Volterra if you like Etruscan art - there's a good museum there. <BR> <BR>The Montepulciano day does seem kind of heavy. While Montepulciano, Montalcino & Pienza are all pretty small, just to get there, walk around & fit in lunch takes a while. And you need to fit in gelato and cafe stops. <BR> <BR>The Chianti region in one day is probably good. <BR> <BR>You could spend a day in Siena. If you do, leave time for tourist-watching in the Piazza. <BR> <BR>Try to visit Monteriggioni - it's a tiny village, I think north of Siena, with several gorgeous restaurants that have outdoor portions in gardens. Makes for a wonderful lunch. Not much else there, though. <BR> <BR>Lucca is kind of further away, but it is a nice city! The geography of Tuscany changes in the Pistoia area; much more wooded and rather mountainous. It's an interesting change from the more rolling hills further south. <BR> <BR>Once you get there, you may reconsider some of your itinerary. Most of your driving will be on back roads, and while they're very scenic, those twisty routes can get tiring after a while (particularly for the driver), especially if you're planning on multiple towns per day.

malka

Thanks eveyone, I also thought it may be quite hectic, but if you have any other suggestions on how I can organize the 6 available days in a way that I would be able to fit in everything without going crazy, I would appreciate it. The thing is that we will also be travelling with children (ages 11-19) and it may slow us down a bit. Thanks

Graziella

Hi Malka, Consider this, do you want to have at least a feeling of each town, visiting a few selected places or are you in a contest to visit as many as possible? <BR> <BR>Once you honestly answer this <BR>question you will be able to modify your itinerary... good luck. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>question

malka

Graziella: good question. I would really like to get a feeling of the places we visit, and not necessarily rush around. It is important that we do it in a relaxed atmosphere, so what do you suggest? Out of the whole list what would be the indispensible ones and those that we visit only if we have the time and energy? Thanks

Graziella

Hi Malka, This is the way I plan my trips, I know I cannot visit ALL the places I would like to visit. I content myself thinking of the Next Trip. <BR>From experience I have learnt that you need time to check in, to park your car, , to study the town plan....etc. <BR>Part of my pleasure is to go a cafe and stay there for a while, to ask a few questions , to talk a little with the hotel front desk person trying to get some imput , which restaurant is the best ....etc <BR> I need time To re read my notes regarding the place I am visiting. .. <BR>I think only you can select which towns you are going to visit during this trip, <BR>some places might attract you more than others......... <BR>I f possible never visit more than one place per day, ideally try to sleep at least two nights in the same place. <BR> <BR>I have been dozen of times in Tuscany and I haven t visit yet <BR>some of the towns and cities you mention....have a great trip. <BR>

malka

Thanks a lot Graziella, Bob, Jurgen. Wendy and all. I did try to fix it a bit according to your suggestions, but I realize that I want everything: to rest and take it easy, and to see and absorb as much as possible. So thanks for setting me straight.<BR><BR>Question: is it worth going up to Fiesole while in Florence? We shall be in Florence for only two day trips.<BR><BR>One more: for the day we shall be travelling southeast of Siena: Is Montalcino, Pienza, Oliveto Maggiore, and Montepulciano all doable in the same day? Will there still be time for Cortona or not? (I guess Arezzo is now out of the question).<BR><BR>Any more suggestions? Thanks again.

Jackie

On our last trip to Tuscany, we based ourselves (with child) in the chianti region. On one day, we wanted to see Radda,Cortona and Arezzo since this was all enroute and/or geographically near each other. But just getting to Arezzo took us 1.5 hours driving-the hills of Tuscany are really just two-lane highways and you can't get very fast driving. When we arrived in Arezzo, we ate lunch, got so enchanted with the town-my son played on the hills above the town- and stayed for a while. On the way to Corotona, we were side-lined with some small towns and pastry shops we were never able to make it to Cortona!! We did see Radda quickly though but not enough. We got home around 7pm. We started the day around 8:30-9 am.