sobepal

i have most of my trip figured out except for the few days we are spending in florence.

we have schedule to be there from august 26-august 30 late at night

we wanted to be in florence 2 days so that would be 26 and 27th. we want to go to chianti region and spend day there wine tasting. should we stay at a hotel in this area and if so how many nights 1 or 2?

we also wanted to take a day trip to siena and possibly another day in lucca/pisa if its possible.

august 26 and 27 ----florence
28--- maybe day trip to sienna
29-30 chianti region and maybe a day trip to lucca and pisa

should i forget about lucca/pisa and spend more time in chianti region
any suggestions on nice bed and breakfast places.

thanks in advance any help will be appreciated.

annhig

mmm sobepal - what else are you doing besides going to florence? 2 days is a very short time to be there, though you don't have to book your trip to Siena in advance of course - so if you don't want to go, that wouldn't be a problem. In a whole week we did only 1 and 1/2 trips out of the city - 1 day to siena, and a half day up to Fiesole.

you can also do a day trip to Chianti - there are a number of firms on the www offering these trips. that might be a better use of your time than moving to another hotel.

you can't do Lucca, Pisa and Chianti in a day.

Jean

If your reason for going into Chianti is just for wine-tasting, then I wouldn't recommend changing hotels. I would just stay in Florence and hire a guide to drive in/around Chianti for a day. Only you can decide whether you'd want to have more time exploring Chianti rather than spending a day in Pisa/Lucca. It just comes down to what you enjoy more.

I haven't been to that area in August, but I would imagine it will be crowded and I know it will be hot. You may find the heat takes some of the enthusiasm out of your ambitious plans, and you may want to take some time in the middle of the days to do very little.

sobepal

After reading many suggestions I think you all are right.

These are plans
August 20-24---Paris because we r meeting family there
August 24-26 Venice
August 26-30- Florence if we feel like picking up and exploring chianti or sienna we will decide there if not we will stay and enjoy it there
August 31-4 - Rome

Jean

Another option out of Florence is a short bus or taxi ride to Fiesole in the hills above Florence. If there's any breeze at all, it will be slightly cooler. See the Archeology Museum, the ruins of a Roman amphitheater, a couple of churches, have lunch. I think there are performances in the amphitheater in the summer.

annhig

sobelpal - good idea.

the trip up to Fiesole is lovely and in August, it might be fun to do in the evening and watch the sun set over Florence.

in Rome, if you want to get out of the city, the trip to Tivoli to see the villa d'este is fun, and in Venice, Burano and torcello would get you out of the city and onto the water.

i hope that your accommodations have a/c.