Spending two nights in Tuscany but have yet to find lodging. Looking for a very picturesque experience to offset the big cities we are staying in and give us a typical Tuscan experience. Our budget is around $200/ night but have been quoted upwards of $300 for the Amorosa - any other suggestions?

Sherry, we loved the Hotel Residencia San Sano. Paid about $110 US in May 2000 for an extra large room for 2. About a 20 minute drive north from Siena on the Chianti highway. TINY village in the middle of olive groves & vineyards. Excellent food, pool, great views. Very near Castello di Brolio.

If you want picturesque, I would recommend Assisi. Not sure about rates but we stayed at the Fontabella, very charming. Enough places to wander around and you can hire a car or take train somewhere else for the day if you want. Enjoy!

my wife and i just worked our way from rome to venice w/ two nights in tuscany. stayed at the villa san paulo just north of san gimignano. very nice hotel that ran us about $130 a night although that was at the tail end of low season. nice grounds w/ a pool that was not yet open and a beautiful view of the country side and san g. in the distance. we hit lucca and pisa on the way to san g., spent the second day exploring siena and san g., then returned to florence via the chiante road. if your set for a similar itinerary, villa sp or something in the area would be ideal.

Tuscany is a rather large area. Do you have preferences as to what part of Tuscany you want to stay? Are you traveling in a direction that would make it more convenient to stay in one area rather than another? Do you want to stay in a central location from which you can explore for your 2 days? There are dozens of beautiful, picturesque hill towns and little villages that meet your general criteria. A few are Castellina in Chianti, Lucignano (my favorite), Pienza, Montalcino, Arcidosso, Poppi, Montecchio, and San Quirico d'Orcia.

Thanks for all your help. Dayle, do you have any info on the Residencia San Sano? And Wayne to answer your question we are either traveling from FLorence or going to Florence after, so i would like somewhere not too far from the Chianti region.

Ciao Sherry! Here you go: Residence San Sano, Lecchi in Chianti<BR>phone (0)577-74 61 30 <BR>fax (0)577-74 6156<BR>Signore & Signora Matarazzo<BR>4 Star<BR>14 rooms<BR>breakfast included & served outside in the herb garden under the arbors<BR>dinner optional, but reserverations needed, menu varies nightly<BR><BR>20 km north of Siena via S408<BR><BR>out of Fodor's "Hotels & Country Inns of Character & Charm - Italy"<BR><BR>this info is a couple years old now, hope the fax number hasn't changed<BR><BR>Buon viaggio!<BR>

We just got back last night from a week in Rome and a week very near Cortona. The place we stayed in was fabulous. A newly renovated farmhouse that was first class. We had a lovely bedroom with king bed, great bathroom a complete kitchen and a great back yard garden with a view of the Cortonesee mountains. It was about a 5 minute drive to Cortona. Vittorio is a young man who speaks English and was most gracious to us. We paid $270 a WEEK plus $60 heating since it was cool this last week. Would go again. Good location for driving to Assisi, Florence, etc. Contact Vittorio at [email protected], website www.terretrusche.com and ask about staying at I Pagliai farmhouse. He also represents a lot of other properties in the area.

Dogday, glad you liked the villa san paolo. We stayed there about 5 years ago and really liked it. Pool was open then and in the morning the mist was so thick over the hills and valleys between the hotel and San G. that it looked like a lake in the distance. Magical.

We use the following website when booking for Tuscany (and other parts of Italy),,,,there are soooo many to choose from:<BR><BR>http://www.tuscany.net/index.html<BR><BR>it is probably the best hotel website I've ever used. <BR><BR>

Thanks again everyone. Where is Cortona in relation to Florence. We are staying in Rome for the first part of our trip and then figured we would take the train to FLorence pick up a car and drive somewhere else. Is there another town to take the train to that might be an easier drive to a nice hilltown?

topping<BR>

Hi Sherry! We picked up rental car in Siena & dropped in Orvieto. If you're coming from Rome, you could do the reverse. Easy & beautiful driving throughout Umbria & Tuscany. Many wonderful hilltowns to choose from on the way!