My wife and I hope to celebrate in Italy this September the 50th anniversary of meeting one another. My plan is to fly into Rome and then immediately take a train to Florence. I am thinking the first 4 days in Florence and the last four days in Rome, from which we will return home. But what to do between those two destinations is my issue. We want to see some of Tuscany/Umbria, but don't want to rent a car. Any suggestions? Thanks
Posted by
Washington DC
27096 posts
Florence is a major rail hub, and I'm sure it's the center of a significant bus network as well. There are a lot of places in Tuscany you can get to on day trips from Florence; it's just that you can't get to very many of them on the same day, and you'll be tied to bus or train schedules. I travel that way all the time; you just need to go into the trip realizing that if you want to see small towns, there will be some inefficiencies.
Larger towns that are easily reached from Florence include Siena, Lucca and Pisa. I believe San Gmignano and Volterra are accessible by public bus; I know I've seen one-day bus tours that go to both. Others here can recommend tours they have taken from Florence, I'm sure.
You could do some of your day-tripping while staying in Florence and then perhaps move to Siena or another location.
Orvieto is a really nice Umbrian hill town where you could spend a night or two on your way back to Rome.
Alternatively, Bologna has a very large medieval district and is also a great base for visiting some very attractive small cities like Ravenna and Ferrara.
It's hard to go wrong in Italy. Just about anywhere you go will be wonderful.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8138 posts
I agree completely with ACRAVEN about the region.
We rented a car and stayed 30 minutes south of Florence on an agriturismo, and found a car the most efficient way to ramble from hilltown to hilltown. Paving is good and we had no problems navigating the roads.
I agree about Orvieto to be a great hilltown to start your visit of Rome from--70 minute train ride into Rome Termini. We enjoyed the place.
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1743 posts
If you don't want to rent a car, there are still plenty of options. You could easily spend four days each of fast-paced sightseeing in Florence and Rome and not see everything.
Florence has a number of easy day trips, as was mentioned, via bus or train. Some of the smaller or further-away Tuscan hill towns are harder to get to, but still can be done if you want to go by bus. A very easy and short excursion by metro bus is to Fiesole, on a hilltop overlooking Florence. Lucca is also an easy train ride for a day trip.
If you are looking for some places to stay between Florence and Rome, my first pick would be Siena. But get a guide book and read about some of the other places that have been suggested, and my guess is something will jump out at you and you'll know where you want to spend a few days.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15582 posts
1-2 nights in Assisi, then 2 in Orvieto, spend an extra day in Florence for a day-trip to Siena. Maybe stop for a night in Perugia on the way to Assisi.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my request for suggestions. This forum is such a valuable tool. What a remarkable asset the internet really is!!!!!