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Where in Tuscany to base ourselves for a week?

Where in Tuscany to base ourselves for a week?

Old Sep 30th, 2016, 08:53 PM
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Where in Tuscany to base ourselves for a week?

Hi,

First of all - I know it sounds like I am, but I don't intend to ask a question many others have asked before. I have read so much about all the towns, mapped out distances, read countless posts on fodors etc. Still, I am confused where we should base ourselves. This is by and large because our profile is so dissimilar to most tourists who visit Tuscany. We are teetotalers, so there goes winery visits and Chianti craze; we are vegetarians, making our menu choices much more limited; and husband is a reluctant driver with even more reluctance to drive after dark.

So there it goes...

My husband and I are going to spend a week in Tuscany in end Oct/early Nov and wish to see the countryside and the several charming and famous towns. Focus is on relaxation, beautiful countryside, strolling in charming towns, visiting olive oil and cheese farms, eating good food (we are lacto-vegetarians with some tolerance for eggs as ingredients). Husband is not much into history, art and architecture.

Given a car affords more flexibility, we are going to hire one with automatic transmission from the Florence airport and move south. However, my husband is the only who would drive and he is extremely reluctant to drive too much (anything more than ~3-4 hours or so daily) and uncomfortable at the thought of driving after dark in countryside. Maybe it is the reputation of local drivers strengthened by the youtube videos and articles, or maybe it is because he is really not used to drive. Further, it is his first time in Italy. To him, our car having technical difficulty at 9 pm in the middle of countryside is high alert situation. To me, first of all I didn't even think of it happening. And if it does, it would be an adventure, and a story to tell for years to come! Anyway!

I was thinking it might be a good idea to split the week by staying right smack in the middle of a small town for 3 days and in the countryside for the rest. Potentially stay in San Gimignano for first 3 nights and do day trips to Volterra, Siena, Monteriggioni, etc and spend time in San Gimignano in the evenings when there are no more day-trippers left. Would give us option to walk around and have dinner without having to drive back late at night. For the latter part of the week, we could stay in a cottage / farm / villa in the countryside in Val d'orcia rather than within the walls of a town. But not too far from a nearby town, so that we can always drive over for dinner etc. It would be nice to stay where the owners live on site and dinners are offered. By the second half of the week, husband would feel more comfortable with the countryside driving so this should work out. We could visit Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, etc.

Questions:

1. Is my line of thinking correct? Earlier, I wanted to rent a villa in a dreamy landscape in the countryside for a week and do day trips including nice dinners in different towns (and being part of passegiata) and going to nice farm restaurants specifically because of their acclaimed food. But maybe the modified approach could be more feasible practically given our constraints? How hard is it really to drive after dark, and locate addresses and drive down to restaurants in countryside specifically for dinner? Is it going to be unnerving rather than relaxing, this rent-a-car drive-in-tuscany week?

2. Any suggestions for specific towns / countryside for our home base as per approach above? I read that Pienza is a good idea because it is not too high up on a hill, and easily connected with main roads, making it easy to drive in and out? How about San Gimignano? Other towns?

3. Any pearls of wisdom on driving in tuscany? We have read up on road signs, driving rules, general Italy driving info online, etc.

Thanks for your patience if you made it till the end. And thanks in advance for understanding our predicament as newbie travelers and helping us.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 12:53 AM
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It has been too many years since I stayed in Tuscany but we had a few nights just outside of San Gim and then moved to Umbria for the remaining nights,

I think you are right to be hesitant about driving distances, particularly at night. Tootling around slowly from village to village is easy but when pressure is on ( for what ever reason) to travel a long distance in Italy is not for the faint hearted. The freeways are awful, IMO. Maybe find a town to stay in with restaurants within walking distance or a short drive.

Road signs can be appalling, often just on the exit with no notice... Get a GPS which will at least tell you roughly where you are.

The secret is to set yourself very relaxed itineraries, don't try and do too much, see too much, you will be frazzled. Less is more.... Stop and really get to know a town/village rather than hurtling along, ticking them off as you go, they will just be a blur at the end of the holiday.

That's my tuppence worth I'm sure others will have their input.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 01:15 AM
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We stayed just outside Montepulciano and loved it. It is a 5 min easy drive to town and a lovely property with a very helpful English speaking host.

http://www.santantonio.it
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 09:59 AM
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Don't worry about being teetotalers. You'd be surprised how many Italians drink little or nothing. (My Italian husband, for instance.) For example, a week ago, we had lunch at a well-known restaurant with four Italian friends. Only one of the six of us wanted any wine at all, and he (because he was driving) had only about half a glass. Waiters won't look down their noses at you because you don't drink.

We've had a number of very pleasant times in Tuscany without any wine at all.

Avoiding meat is actually probably harder in Tuscany than skipping the wine. The Tuscan cuisine is rather heavy on the meat. However, there are lots of vegetarians in Italy, and most restaurants will be able to accommodate you. In late October and early November, you should be able find many dishes based on mushrooms and even truffles. Just be sure to say that you're vegetarian when ordering, because some things based on mushrooms or truffles may also have some meat in them. If you order a first course based on pasta with a vegetable or mushroom sauce, you can get a vegetable contorno instead of the second course, which is, almost by definition, based on meat.

There are also many pizza toppings which have no meat in them.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 01:27 PM
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The prettiest scenery in Tuscany is around Pienza and Montepuliciano or Montalcino (the last is my favorite). Not around San Gimignano.

Have you considered renting an apartment? That would solve a lot of the problems of food and not driving at night. Some apartments are in town or at the edges of towns, at the walls, with beautiful views. Other apartments are on farms. and sometimes the farms have restaurants too so you can eat there if you don't want to make your own dinner. Not much goes on in any small Tuscan town at night, so while it can be nice to walk around after dark once or twice, everything is shut down except restaurants.

In whatever part of Tuscany you go there are more intereseting towns than anybody has time to see in a week. Plus cheese farms and olive oil farms. If your husband is not interested in architecture and history, I am not sure it makes sense to move to two different locations. If you don't see some particular town like Pienza or Volterra or San Gimignano, which are tourist attractions because of their architecture and history, I don't think it will be very important in terms of your trip. Maybe it's best to go to where there is the nicest scenery, and then just visit the towns closest to where you are staying. You won't run out of them, and sometimes the less famous ones are more charming than the famous ones just because they don't get as many tourists.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 01:45 PM
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Driving around Tuscany is really pretty easy, and beautiful. I also suggest you just pick a pretty spot and stay the week. Montalcino is lovely. So is Pienza. See what you can find in terms of an agritourismo or a "villa" rental.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 01:53 PM
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Hello thought I wld you let you know what your wanting is so much like what I'm looking for. I am a single Sr. lady traveling with three other single Sr. ladies. We are really hoping for several days at a villa and planning to rent a car somewhere outside of Florence. No one in our group is really that interested in a lot of sculptures, churches, architecture etc. Just trying to figure out where to stay and enjoy the beauty of Italy. Unlike you we would have a glass of wine while enjoying a view of the beautiful Tuscan hills in the evening. I am the DD designated dummy trying to make plans while keeping three other ladies happy so will be following your post closely.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 06:31 PM
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Thanks to each of you for responding. Will pay heed to the advice.

Wrt meatless food, I guess I'd use my usual sentence in broken Italian - noi siamo vegetariani, no pollo no pesce no carne. Piatti vegetariani per fevore...? Should be able to find something or the other at each restaurant. But I just wish we didn't have to be relegated to choosing from 2-3 options but the constraint is ours, so no complaints.

We are thinking of splitting our stay and base ourselves around San Gimignano or possibly Siena only because we wish to explore San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni, etc and thought it would save us driving much at night. We wish to move towards Val d'Orcia after 3 days or so.

I guess it comes down to either:

1. Stay near or inside Siena / San Gimignano for first 3 days
2. Stay near or inside Pienza / Montalcino / Montepulciano

Staying in a town helps us return to our base in a reasonable time in the evening. But yah, if nothing much happens in the towns post-dinner, maybe it's not going to be very interesting. I was hoping for people watching in the passeggiata...maybe of far lesser scale than the buzz in Rome or Florence, but certainly something like what I experienced in Ravello. The locals were hanging out with families and friends and chatting up with people they were bumping into and kids were running amok in the main piazza next to the duomo. It was nice to walk around and also just sit by.

Can somebody throw light on post dinner buzz in towns such as San Gimignano, Siena, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano? Especially in end Oct / early Nov?

Similarly, what would be the earliest time the dinner service would start in these towns at good restaurants, and not necessarily the ones in the main piazza or near tourist traps? Can we reasonably finish dinner by 8:30/9 pm and stroll for half an hour or so and make our way back by 9:30 pm or so? Or is this unrealistic?
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 07:02 PM
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All those towns are pretty quiet from dinner on and at that time of year, it will be getting cold.

Some of the towns you are talking about, I've found quite deserted even in August and September (and even during the day). Especially by eight at night there isn't much happening. You really won't find anything going on unless there is a weekend festival. Of the ones you've listed, I've stayed in San G, Siena (multiple times) and Pienza. I've stayed outside of Montalcino also. In my experience, any strolling takes place earlier in the night (before dinner), but can't say I noticed it in any of those towns. I was surprised how early at night Siena seemed deserted.

Orvieto does have quite a few people get out (once again before dinner) for passeggiata.

I think you might find San G boring for a 3 night stay in winter.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 08:53 PM
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Thanks for your comment. Seems like we might be better off staying in the countryside but close to a town for easy drive for dinner and back. If we can have early dinners, that is.

Any idea on general dinner timings in these towns and when do they open for dinner? I'm assuming these restaurants are not like the all-day-dining concepts found in many US restaurants.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 10:53 PM
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Driving from small town to small town is not problematic.
We were in Tuscany 2 months ago, and the difficulty we had it driving was getting up to each of the small towns and parking the car.
Each town is on the top of a hill, and some of the roads do become narrow the further up you get. I would not want to be driving up or down when it is dark.
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Old Oct 1st, 2016, 11:30 PM
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DON'T DRIVE in Florence! Frustrating. Hire a taxi, walk around and hire a taxi back out. Do bring money for beautiful leather goods-they are plentiful and beautiful!

There are so many little and beautiful towns to stay in. One of our favorites was Orbitello which is right on the coast. The people were so kind and plenty spoke English. We particularly enjoyed Arrezo with a beautiful town square and the antiques market on the last Saturday of the month will blow your mind.

The true Tuscan meal is earthy and more of a peasant meal with simple ingredients. We found plenty to of variety, rich in flavor with cheeses, breads, pastas, salads, fruits and cappucinos.

We stayed in Air B&B's and agritourismo and had a wonderful time getting to know the Italians- we love them!
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 12:30 AM
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Restaurants were generally open 12-12;30 to 2-2:30 for lunch and then reopen at 7:30 for dinner.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 12:35 AM
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Providing you don't want to rush around seeing multiple towns in a day, it is not essential to hire a car in Tuscany. We have been several times, always using local transport. While a car gives you greater flexibility, don't assume that you must have one. For example, the bus between Montepulciano and Pienza is about 20 minutes, from memory. Can't recall how frequently they run but check here http://www.tiemmespa.it/ I find not having a car much more relaxing.

I think it's a real treat to be able to walk out to dinner and meander home so prefer to stay in a village/town. But that's personal choice.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 03:41 AM
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I second Orbetello as a great place to stay but perhaps not for those for whom this is their first experience of Tuscany. also part of the pleasure of being there is being able to swim in the lagoon which probably wouldn't be an option at the end of October/beg November.

As for town or countryside, I completely disagree with those who suggest you stay in the country. With what you are looking for, you need a choice of restaurants and not to need to drive at night. Also, my experience of Italian towns is that they may go to sleep between about 3 and 6, they wake up again then and are quite lively in the early evening, which is when you'd be likely to be wandering around looking for a restaurant, doing a bit of shopping etc.

So I would suggest staying in a couple of places; Siena and one other would be my choice for you because of the range of restaurants there.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 04:59 AM
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Orbetello is not central to anything the OP wants to visit.

>>>Each town is on the top of a hill, and some of the roads do become narrow the further up you get.>>Restaurants were generally open 12-12;30 to 2-2:30 for lunch and then reopen at 7:30 for dinner.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 05:38 AM
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My husband and I are going to spend a week in Tuscany in end Oct/early Nov

If your stay includes November 1, which is All Saints Day, you might want to do a little research on what to expect. It has been some years since we were in Tuscany at that time, but we found things (traffic, parking, restaurants) busier than we expected. We also had trouble finding a place to stay, but we were booking accommodations on the fly (we were around Cortona on the holiday). That year, November 1 fell on a Friday, so perhaps the long weekend may have contributed to the crowds--but not sure.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 06:04 AM
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Why not base yourself in Florence and take a bus tour of some of the hilltowns?

In winter, I think Florence will be much livelier in the evenings. And if the weather doesn't cooperate on a specific day, you can tuck into a museum instead of venturing into the countryside.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 06:10 AM
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I think people are underestimating the weather in November. It can get too cold in the hills to enjoy an evening stroll.
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Old Oct 2nd, 2016, 06:20 AM
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We have spent two New Years week in montepulciano and with winter jackets we were fine. Chilly should be expected.
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