Planning first trip to italy, rome and venice. Planning to go to florence and spend a night or two in florence, but then would like a villa in tuscany - but don't know where or if I have to have a car. 2-3 people... Help!

lovetotravel777, you will find many, many posts on just that topic by typing in Tuscany in the search box and Italy.

There seems to be a consensus on this board that you should rent a car if you are planning to stay outside a major city. I agree.

For how many nights will you be in Tuscany? What is your budget?

Tuscany covers a large area. Depending on how long you will be there, you could spend some time in northern Tuscany in Lucca, San Gimingnano, or Siena and take day trips. You could spend a few days in Southern Tuscany in (my favorite) Pienza, Montepulciano, in that area. If you type in these town names in the search box, you will find a lot of Q&A on them.

And then there is Umbria, between southern Tuscany and Rome. A nice area to stop for a night or two (or three or four).

My husband and I went to Italy for the first time last October. We did Venice, Tuscany area and Florence. We loved Tuscany and stayed at the Locanda dell'Amorosa www.amorosa.it. You need a car to tour the area. While in Florence, you should check out the www.accidentaltourist.com. We did the wine tour and cooking class. It was the best part of our trip.

You definitely need a car, if even to get from the villa to a market, any restaurant, etc.

If you don't have a car you'll be confined to the villa property.

Go to slowtrav.com and read their rental reviews and Tuscany info---best you can get.

Since your title is Under the Tuscan Sun, you might consider staying in the beautiful city or surrounding area of Cortona where author Frances Mayes has a home. It is less crowded than the others cities in Tuscany

Thanks so much! We will be staying 7 days so I would like to stay in one place for that time and so I'm trying to pick the best place. I like the idea of taking day trips. 2 questions: if we're staying in a villa in tuscany is it still worth it to stay a few days in florence city as well?
Also, where is the best location to pick up the car?

lovetotravel777,
Where to pick up the car depends on where you are staying in Tuscany and where you are before the stay. First pick a location.

I would stay in southern Tuscany to see Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano, Bagno Vignoni, Sant Antimo, Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Buonconvento, Murlo, Montalcino. I would stay in Chianti area to see San Gimignano, Volterra, Greve, Radda, Castellina,Siena.
Look at agriturismo (an apartment on a farm or vineyard). If you need more help feel free to e-mail me

Henry

Here is a link to my journal and photos.
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...13Tuscany.html

We stayed three nights in Siena where we picked up our car, then four nights in Pienza, and finally one night in Orvieto (Umbria) on the way to Rome where we dropped off the car. Hope this helps.
Diane

I think it is a good idea to also stay a few nights in Florence as there is so much to see there.