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Tuscany Next March

My wife and I are planning a trip to Tuscany for 2 weeks late March/early April next year. The plan includesstaying at Hotel Grand Victoria in Montecatini, and using it as a base for day trips to Florence, Pistoia, Pisa, Sienna, Viareggio and Lucca. Thinking about using trains since convenient to hotel, and wonder if this is a good idea. Also, any information about good walking tours, and recommended places for lunch (good food at reasonable prices)in the various cities/towns we plan to visit. Thanks

Gerry..we'll be in Tuscany for Thanksgiving, I'll post a board after with details. San Gimignano.com is a great site for that area. Everyone is recommending a car,seems best way to go.

We just got back from 2 WONDERFUL weeks in Tuscany. Montecatini is a little 'different' from the majority of towns in the area - it boomed as a spa town in the last hundred years, unlike the other towns there (Montepulciano, Cortona, etc etc) which are more medieval. If you want to stay in a relatively 'modern' town, then this may be the place for you (no pedestrian-only center, etc). The Fodor's guide put it quite well - 'not much to see here'. Tuscany is quite large. We just traveled to the Chianti region. If Chianti is your goal, then Montecatini is out of the way. As much as I loved the trains on a previous visit, trains are not that good for visiting the small towns such as Cortona, Montepulciano, etc. While driving in the cities such as Florence is tough, driving in the country is quite managable. For us, the pleasure of Tuscany was the food and wine. If you stay in one place for two weeks, then you are faced with eating only at restaurants in that one area, or, driving (or taking the train) home each evening after dinner - which is not my idea of fun at all. We chose to move to a new town every two days even though it was only 30 km or so, just so we could be in a new town and sample the local restaurants, drink the wine - we did not want to be driving, or figuring out train issues, after a four course meal with wine!

Gerry, Given 2 weeks to see Tuscany, why limit yourself to one location. You will exhaust that part of Tuscany in about 5 days, especially without a car. Why not move for the 2nd week to near Siena and be able to explore south Tuscany from there. Tuscany is a big place--it really takes 3 base camps to see it all, unless you like to drive.

Gerry, I always prefer to drive in Italy. Then you're totally independent to go anywhere, anytime - and not be limited by train schedules. I find the driving in Tuscany to be easy since so much of it is back roads. I agree with Bob - I would move your base camp to the south to give you another view of the area... Dona

Thanks to you all. The reason we plan to use Montecatini as a base camp is due to the great deal we got through Club ABC; which includes all breakfasts and dinners along with everything else. So our plan was to do a few day trips to Florence, maybe a couple to Sienna, and a day each in the remaining towns such as Pisa, Luca, etc. and return to base camp hotel for dinner and wine (also included), thermal bath, and whatever. While we will not be able to tour the countryside without having a car--we thought that being able to visit that many "walking" cities and towns, all easily accessable by trains, would more than make up for it. But thanks again for your insights. We may reconsider parts of our plan. Gerry

Doing the train thing and enjoying these 'walking towns' is certainly viable, if you are willing to give up on the countryside. Don't skimp on taxi's getting from train to wherever (you'll save money by not hiring a car). My only issue is therefore the fact that you are going to be eating at the same place every night. Maybe you are not that bothered about the dining experience, but for us, this was the highlight of every day, and we ate in 14 different restaurants in as many days. The Tuscan cuisine varies by region, and each restaurant has their own specialties. We chose every restaurant out of the Fodors guide, and every one was a winner - not only great food, but great atmosphere and setting. Don't be too swayed by the 'great deal' - with the current exchange rate, we were paying around $50 per night typically to eat in the highly rated restaurants in the book (at the '$$' category) - that's two people, 3 or 4 courses, and moderate wine. I just got the credit card bill and was expecting to see $100+, but $80 is the max so far! So your 'great deal' maybe saving you some money, but will it be worth it?

I agree with Chris. You should not let the "good deal" you are getting in Montecatini Terme be the deciding factor in planning your itinerary. It is not central enough to the area you want to see. Also, you really need to rent a car. It will give you so much more freedon to go and see and do the things you want to do, without being tiied to a train schedule. In all the places you want to visit, there is no substitute for just stepping out the door of your hotel and BEING THERE. You get to see what the city is like after all the tour buses leave. You can have dinner at a wonderul little trattoria that you have just "discovered" and walk back to your hotel. No worries about making the last train back to Montecatini -- which is a very boring place, filled with old people.