where to stay in tuscany
 

Please help!!

My partner and i are driving to the italian lakes and around tuscany for two weeks. We seem to be struggling with the location to stay in tuscany. We are looking for a base to stay for a week and would rather stay at a small hotel/villa/ b&b with amazing tuscan views. it has to be just outside a small town that we can walk into on an evening for either food or drink. we also need somewhere with a pool. We have been looking but don't seem to be able to tick all the boxes unless it's at a high price. We have been looking around the Chianti area but open to any other suggestions as long as we have the typical tuscan views. Thanks.

You will get as many, or more, different answers here as you would in reading a good guide book.

There is someone who "loves" every place and someone who would skip the same place.

S, be prepared to be confused - you are probably better off doing some reading as a means of narrowing down your prospective areas/towns and then coming back for specific recommendations.

Here is a good start. I prefer south Tuscany to Chianti--that is what you see in the photo books:


BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TOSCANA

A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. Relais La Saracina www.lasaracina.it 230 to 300E
Fabulous country home near Montepulciano—helpful owners

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello


4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Agriturismo apts. near San Quirico— www.poggiolo.info/ About 110E

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 130 to 180E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.tuscany.net/oliviera/ 130 to 180E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
New boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 130 to 180E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

7. Fattoria Vignale http://www.vignale.it/eng/ Four star hotel in Radda in the heart of Chianti. About 230E for double

Thanks for the replies so far,

it does seem like it's a big ask what we are looking for, there does'nt seem to be the perfect holiday accomodation that we thought we would get. there are so many towns but most of the accomodation is too far to walk into the local town. any other suggestions will be appreciated.

What do you consider to be a reasonable walk into a town....how many km?

Southern Tuscany near Pienza/Montepulciano/Val d'Orcia is my favorite area.

This place, located at the edge of one of my favorite small villages in Tuscany- Montisi, looks like it may tick all your boxes-

http://www.lagrancia.net/code/intro.html

The area is lovely and a good base for exploring.

I always stay at this agriturismo, located 5 minutes by car from Pienza-

http://www.fontebertusi.it/eng/

If you need a villa i think you should try http://www.villalefonti.it

We have stayed in this Val D'Orcia apartment twice. It has the views and the pool, but you will have to drive a bit to the nearest town. Still, a fantastic base for southern Tuscany. www.cozytuscanyapartment.com.

We are renting a villa in Torre Alfina, a small town at the southern end of Tuscany about 45 minutes NW of orvieto. It is for 8 people, but there is also a hotel in town that has a swimming pool. http://www.nuovocastello.it/index.ph...ask=view&id=12

I understand the rooms are simple but clean and comfortable. The town is quite small.

Torre Alfina is actually in Lazio, but in a little sliver of land between Tuscany and Umbria.

in reply to lowcountrycarol,

We were thinking around a 15/20 min walk into town maximum. We are trying to achieve this to avoid driving so we can sample the local wine. Besides that we are driving from england and during the day throughout tuscany so don't really want to be driving on an evening as well. Our perfect place would be waking up to nice views with breakfast on a terrace, having the choice to swim if desired and being able to have a chilled stroll in to town whilst watching the sun go down, maybe this is too much to ask?. do you have a place in mind??

We chose Terre di Nano after Bob brought it to my attention. 1.5 miles to Montichiello (walkable), 3 miles to Montepulciano, I think an easy enough drive.

Montichiello has 2 nice restaurants Taverna di Moranda and La Porta, both of which are supposed to be very good.

The owners of Terre di Nano will also cook dinner for you, and give tours and tastings of their olive oil and wines. You can choose from B&B rooms, or lovely apartments. Some of the apartments have their own terraces. They have a pool.

1.5 mi. might be walkable in the daytime, but you certainly don't want to do that at night in the dark, along narrow winding roads. Stay in one of the small towns - Vecchia Oliviera in Montalcino sounds like it has everything you're looking for.

We stayed at Palazina Cesari http://www.montalcinoitaly.com/ 2 summers ago and loved it. Right it the heart of Montalcino. Easy to walk the entire town. Best place to eat was a place the B&B called a "bar" right across the street. It was a little cafe but entire wall was windows with the most breathtaking view of Tuscany. We sat by the open windows every evening. Didn't like the feel of Pienza and Montupulciano as much but you know how you end of liking where you are familiar with the most. Chianti reagion was mostly green hills and not as "Tuscan" of a feel in our opinion. food and wine is to die for!

I get how people love "southern" Tuscany - I love it too. But the north and north east never seem to get as much attention. We really like the more mountainous areas, especially up the Serchio River Valley above Lucca. Barga is a very interesting town that may have the kind of accommodation you seek also.

I always try and split my Tuscan stays in two. We usually stay at our favorite agriturismo (Podere Torre-great views and prices)in Greve and either in Montalcino,or nearby.
I like Lucca (and Barga is a nice stop),but would choose the other areas first.

thanks for all your input, we have ended up going for the apartments at IL POGGIOLO near SAN QUIRICO, this ticked the majority of the boxes. we will be using this as a base for touring around tuscany and open to any suggestions of what to see whilst around there. we are going to the usual places - pisa, siena and florence but will consider any others.

thanks.

ride4change,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Henry

On my "bucket list".

Excellent responses, and we always appreciate the web sites.

Yup - my bucket list, too, & nice to have links in one spot like this.