We arrive at the Rome airport at 11 am on a Friday (after flying all night). We are joining friends at a Villa outside of Siena in the early afternoon on Saturday. We need to obtain a rental car before arriving at the Villa.

This will be our third trip to Italy. We are comfortable with and have experience with both driving and train travel.

My first thought was to stay the night in Rome, knowing that we will be tired. But I've rethought that based on taking a taxi into the centre of Rome on Friday and then leaving again almost immediately - either by getting on the train or by taking another taxi back to the airport on Saturday to pick up a car.

Now I'm thinking that maybe we should choose a place that we have not been to before that is somewhere between Rome and Siena. Likely we would pick up a car at the airport and just drive there but we could also train there if it made more sense.

We have so enjoyed our previous trips that we tend to gravitate back toward places that we've been already. However, I would like to be adventurous and try something new! Keeping in mind that we will be tired, jet lagged and likely not up to too strenuous or mentally engaging tourist activities.

We have stayed previously in Orvieto, Florence and Siena. We have visted but not stayed in Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, and San Gimignano so I would be open to spending a night in one of these places.

Where would you stay between Rome and Siena for a quick trip for something interesting and different? Accomodation recommendations also gratefully accepted!

I would consider Montalcino and get there on the route of A-12 from FCO and then Grosetto--keeps you off of the GRA. Hotel Giglio is hard to beat.
Visit St. Antimo and Bagno Vignoni the next day before going to your villa.

I suggest staying in Pitigliano and visiting nearby Sorano on your way to the villa. Both are very interesting and different than the places you have previously visited. Pitigliano is magical and stunning in the evening.

Here are a couple of links to give you an idea-

http://www.pitigliano-toscana.com/

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/pitigliano.htm

I would think that, if you're staying at a villa outside Siena, you would be likely to make day trips to Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, and San Gimignano from the villa.

I, too, thought of Pitigliano and the villages in that area. The Etruscan paths in that area are intriguing, as well.

Thank you so much for your replies! The agony and ecstasy of trip planning - everything sounds marvelous and we want to go everywhere!

I clicked on the links above and WOW! We have not explored that area at all and it looks fascinating. Thank you so much!

bob - my husband seconds your opinion. He loved Montalcino and would be thrilled to spend "quality" time there, especially doing some wine tasting and touring!

I found this hotel online while researching a trip that never happened and have always dreamed of going.......
http://www.lasaracina.it
Its on your way, but not really in the middle.

Montalcino would also be my pick. It's our favorite town in Tuscany. We love the view rooms at the Hotel dei Capitani. If you're there in the summer, they have a lovely pool.

However, one year we did spend our first night in rome and then move on the next day by train (to amalfi coast). It was actually really nice and relaxing. It gave us a chance to recover from jet lag and spend some time (and have a couple of meals) in a great city. We didn't regret it at all. It's really not a bad idea.

Following Bob's route from FCO is a very good idea, I did this a year ago on the return to airport and it's a good road, traffic flows well. But rather than going all the way to Montalcino, I'd suggest stopping in Porto Santo Stefano for a night by the sea. It's a small seaside resort town on the Argentario peninsula, on the edge of the Maremma, where Tuscany and Lazio meet the sea. It's popular with the Italians but you will see few visitors from other countries here. There are restaurants at the port where you could have a nice dinner before a little walk back to your hotel for an early night. Here are some images of P.S-Stefano and the surrounding area, if you're interested: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/c1683864.html

This is very near Capalbio and French artist Niki de Saint Phalle's garden in wooded hills at Garavicchio, which you might also visit if you're not in a rush the next morning. http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p52976254.html

My second suggestion would be to go north toward Viterbo, where there is a lovely B&B in an old villa located at La Quercia, a quiet place between Viterbo and Bagnaia, called Villa Farinella. Here's a photo: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p56445983.html And here's a link: http://www.venere.com/bandb/viterbo/...a/#information Just a few minutes walk out the front gate and up a quiet street is a wonderful small restaurant where I have enjoyed some of the best home-style cooking in all of Italy. This is a rural area, and the villa is situated in the midst of fields of olives and vines and horse pasture. To rise early and walk down to greet the horses as the sun just begins to rise is a lovely way to start the day: http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p51050026.html and http://jmstudio.fotopic.net/p51050033.html

Just a few miles away, at Bagnaia, is the most exquisite Renaissance garden of Villa Lante: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p51177390.html It is so perfect, and so beautiful in early morning or late afternoon light that it takes your breath away: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p51177401.html and http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p51177388.html

Excellent input from Julia !

Si si!! Thank you all so much for such great responses. Julia - your photos are stunning. This is all exactly what I was hoping for - ideas that I probably wouldn't have thought of myself. Now the hard part of trying to decide!

Thanks again!