TarheelsInNj

Hello! Some of you were so kind to post suggestions for me about a budget Italy honeymoon- I really appreciate it! I was hoping for some additional suggestions.

If it is our first time visiting Tuscany, where would you recommend we stay? I think that the Siena and Southern Tuscany region is the best fit for us, but beyond that I don't have a specific preference. We would probably stay in Florence for a night on each end.

Also, are there any smaller towns in which you do NOT need to rent a car? We are exploring all of the options, and that might be a budget-saver. But, we do still want the charm and "off the beaten path" feel of a smaller town- would prefer not, for example, to stay in Florence or Pisa.

Any suggestions for towns/regions, as well as specific accomodation suggestions (villas or hotels) would be wonderful! We're exploring all of our options at this point.

Thank you!

swalter518

You may want to do a search on this site as there has been much discussion in the past on where to stay in Tuscany. We loved Siena and stayed outside of it at Frances Lodge. There website is Franceslodge.it.

ira

Hi TH,

It is hard to visit the Tuscan countryside without a car.

TarheelsInNj

Thanks Ira. I'm glad to know that!

Are there any places you would recommend most if we DO have a car?

maitaitom

We went to Tuscany in 2001 and are planning for a 2005 trip. I really liked the Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano area. One place that has been highly recommended (I think this is where we will stay next year) is Palazzo del Capitano
http://www.palazzodelcapitano.com/index_eng.htm

Rooms run about 130 - 150 Euro per night. It is in a little town called St. Quirico d'Orcia very near the above-mentioned towns.

Pienza is known for its Pecorino cheese and Montalcino for its Brunello. The Fortezza in Montalcino is fun to climb for the views and then go downstairs where there is a wine shop that features those great Brunellos.

Then go and find a great picnic spot somewhere and enjoy your wine and cheese. Have fun.

Henry

TarheelsInNj,
http://www.lacrociona.com/ (less than 100 euro a night)
The above is a wonderful vineyard about 3 km outside Montalcino. You will
need a car but there are many little towns very close (within a half hour)
Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Sant Antimo, Monte Oliveto
Maggiore, Buonconvento, Murlo. The driving is easy and the food and wine in each town is special. If you want more information e-mail me.

Patrick

Just for the record I always said you HAVE to have a car in Tuscany, but this year after an accident in Wales, we cancelled our car for our week stay in Montepulciano. It turned out to be a blessing in disquise. Instead of running around in our car every day visiting inside a number of towns like usual, we took a bus elsewhere and hiked between villages. NOW we feel we've EXPERIENCED a whole new Tuscany. There is good bus service (if not train service) between nearly all towns. If your goal is to see how much territory you can cover in a day then you HAVE to have a car. If not, you can do VERY well without one.
By the way, our week was in Montepulciano, but I think Pienza would be a fabulous place for you from what you've described.

TarheelsInNj

What great suggestions! Thank you all. How will I ever narrow it down?

Patrick, I would love to hear more about your trip. Hiking between towns sounds interesting; how far are they really? Neither my fiance and I are huge hikers, but we can definitely handle some walking. If you have an email address at which I could ask more questions, that would be fantastic. Or you can just post here!

WillTravel

I'd like to hear more about the hiking in Tuscany also.

jh6000

Re: hiking in Tuscany:

There's a book published by Penguin called, "Walking and Eating in Tuscany and Umbria," by James Lasdun and Pia Davis. Might be worth taking a look at.

John H.

Patrick

One day we took the bus from Montepulciano to San Quirico, which is a delightful little town (it was market day) just west of Pienza. From there we walked to Bagno Vignoni, which is tiny and has some ruins of old Roman Baths and springs. We were really going there to have lunch at the wonderful little Osteria Leone. We walked along the road to get to Bagno Vignoni, which wasn't great and had a little too much traffic for us. But at lunch we asked if there was another route to get back to San Quirico. The waiter told us how to walk up to Alta Vignoni, quite a hike up to a bit of an old castle which has been turned into some apartments. From there we found the way along a gravel road and some trails through vineyards to get back to S. Quirico, where we took the bus back to Montepulciano.

Another day we took a bus to Pienza and then walked the "scenic road" to the town of Monticchiello. We passed by a couple of farms and one even sold their own cheese. We had lunch at Monticchiello and met a young couple from North Carolina who were renting one of the towers of the old town wall for a week. We had actually passed them earlier in the day as they went jogging by us on the road. They finished lunch, and later when we were leaving town to hike the rest of the way back to Montepulciano, we looked up at the tower and there they were waving to us.

From Montepulciano there is a wonderful overland (through the vineyards) trail to the hill town of Montefollonico. It takes about three hours one way, but you pretty much need to hike back as well, as there is extremely limited bus service to it. It is a beautiful hike.

TarheelsInNj

Patrick, thank you so much! What a unique and exciting (not to mention economical) way to see Tuscany.

If I may ask, how did you learn the routes between towns and which towns you wanted to visit? Simply from maps, or did you get directions from locals?

Also, about the "hikes"- how challening were they? Did it take you very long to get to these smaller towns? (An hour or two, or half a day?)

Thank you again!