Looking for recommendations as to where to stay/go on coming trip. My wife and I will be spending 10 days in these 2 areas in September. Thinking of doing 6 days in Tuscany region and 4 in Lake region. Any thoughts as to must stay places or must see sites? Thanks!

Tuscany is a big circle from which to choose one target for you. Locanda dell'Amorosa, maybe?<BR><BR>At Lake Como, search this forum for my previous remarks (generally favorable) about Menaggio in general, and Grand Hotel Victoria Menaggio, in particular.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

If you do the site search that Rex suggests you'll probably also find the following comments from me somewhere but here they are again. With 6 days in Tuscany you may want to break it into two stays--one in the northern area and one in the southern. We stayed at the Villa San Polo outside San Gimignano with beautiful views back to that lovely city, Nice rooms and a lovely pool. We also stayed at Hotel Monteriggioni in that small city and at the Il Chiostro in Pienza. All three were very nice hotels. Either of the first two would make a pleasant base for northern Tuscany and Pienza is very centally located for southern Tuscany. <BR><BR>As much as Rex likes the Grand Hotel Victoria in Menaggio, we like the Grand Hotel Menaggio on the other end of town. Both are fine, actually. Victoria is a little more old world elegance, while Menaggio is a bit more modernized in Italian style and closer to the ferry dock. Arguably Victoria has more attentive service. Besides these two in Menaggio your search of this site (Use Italian Lakes and Lake Como)will turn up recommendations for the Florence and the Bellavista in Bellagio and the du Lac and Oliveda in Varenna. Happy planning but get started contacting your hotels asap. When we went in Sept. last year I made reservations between March and June.

It's not that I prefer the GH Victoria -- it's just the only one I can speak about from personal experience. No question about it, the location closer to the ferry (30 yards versus 600 yards) is going to be a big plus for many who stay in Menaggio.<BR>

up, for Rob