My wife and I are going to Italy in late March/early April. We want to spend 4 days of our trip in Tuscany.

Here is my multipart question:

Should we rent a car in Rome and take our time driving through Tuscany staying at different places, and finally ending up in Florence, or should we take the train to Florence and daytrip out of it on buses or whatever?

If we rent a car and planned on spending the fourth day in Florence, where should we go? (Any recommendations on where to stay or visit would be appreciated).

We are interested in the wineries, if that helps.

Would daytripping from Florence change where we should/could go?

Thanks for any help.

You can't easily daytrip to a lot of the Tuscan villages unless you have a car. You can take a train from Rome to Orvieto or Chiusi, then pick up a car there to explore Tuscany, ending in Florence. But the changing from train to rental car wouldn't make good sense to me. So I would say it's better to go ahead and rent the car in Rome, explore Tuscany, and finish in Florence if that's you ending point. Good luck.

Hi asray,

As you are aware, a driving tour of Tuscany is far different from visiting Florence.

Here is my suggestion for a first timer:

Take the train to Florence and spend 4 days.
Take the bus to Siena for a day
Take a winery tour (check them out on www.google.com. www.accidentaltourist.com has a nice evening tour that has been given good reviews)
See Florence.
Don't forget to take the no.7 bus from the train station to Fiesole. You can see the Etruscan ruins, wander the town, have a bottle of wine on the terrace of the Bar Blu and watch the sun set, have dinner or go back to Florence for dinner.

Enjoy your trip.

Wow, Ira. You've got me counting down the days hours and minutes. Thanks for a great response.

Well, some of the most wonderful places in Tuscany are in Southern Tuscany and Northern Lazio. You can daytrip, but bus and train trips limit your stay, and a car let's you stop a winery when you come across one! I'd say rent a car on your way out of Rome at the Rome airport--you avoid the crazed traffic of Rome--and head out from there.

If you're interested in wineries, I have one word for you: Brunello. This PhD of the red family is at home in Montepulciano and Montalcino. There's Pienza, the M's aforementioned and you can drive up through Arezzo (OK, it's Umbria) and all the "in Chianti's" like Greve, Castellina and Radda in Chianti. This allows you to stop at Badia al Coltibuono and other wineries in the Gallo Nero (the Chianti appellation-lit. The Black Rooster). A last stop in Siena, and then on to Florence. As for stay over points, I'd stop in Montalcino or Montepucliano and then spend 1-2 nights in Radda. The last night in Siena and on to Firenze.

If you want some other festive sites, and are into gardens and statuary, don't miss Bomarzo, outside of Viterbo, with its monumental statuary and mannerist garden. It's amazing.

Thanks Lois, this is going to be fun!

Ira, don't know if you'll ever see this, but your well-placed Accidental Tourist comment served to be the highlight of our wonderful vacation. I've detailed it further under "accidental tourist" for others benefit. Thanks!!!

My recommendation is to get a car and drive thru Tuscany and stop where ever and when ever you want. The autostrada up from Rome is HIGH speed so it won't take long to get to the starting point which would be Montepulciano. However, the best wines outside of the Piedmont (Borolo) are the Brunello's di Montalcino. There are any number of vineyards there or further north in Chianti that you can visit and/or you can visit some of the Enotecas to sample a variety. We went to one in Montalcino that had been written up in "National Geographic Traveler" the Osteria Ostechio. Spectacular view while tasting 6 brunellos and 6 different olive oils. AND they will ship it home for you if you decide to buy something.