I'm looking for suggestions on how to spend 3 days in the Tuscany area... We'll be coming from the Cinque Terra by train (Tuesday), and plan to be in Rome on Saturday. That leaves 3 full days & 2 or 3 nights (depending on if we travel to Rome on Friday night. We don't plan to rent a car. We'd like to see the rolling hills/vineyards, spend at least part of a day in Florence, and experience small-town Tuscan culture. We don't want to spend too much time looking at art in museums unless it's a "can't miss" museum. SO... Where should we stay? What towns should we go to? How can we get to the towns? Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Posted by
Little Rock, AR, USA
116 posts
My suggestion is to train to Florence. Walk through the various piazzas and the David is a 'can't miss' at the Academia. Rent a car upon leaving & drive south along the Chianti Road into Siena. Any of the towns south of Siena are wonderful, but our favorite is Orvieto where you could return your car, then train into Rome. Any place you go or stay is worthwhile, so you can't go wrong doing it by the seat of your pants.
Posted by
Gretna, NE, USA
11 posts
I have almost the exact same scenario! My question, how much would that kind of car rental cost? We were going to train to Florence (from Rome), spend some time in Florence, bus to Siena, try to find a half or full day trip into the countryside with a driver, and then, have a day left to plan. Would it be more affordable to rent the car or try to piece it together? THANKS!
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
153 posts
While I have no idea how much a car rental would be, we hired a tourguide (winetourintuscany.com) out of Siena who was great. For two of us, it would have been ~160 euro pp, but a group of Canadians joined the fun bringing it to ~100 pp for the day. Well worth it to see a lot of Tuscany in just a day. Both Florence and Siena are musts in my opinion, and you don't really have much time. Both have Duomo's that are well worth your time, and I agree with the Accademia recommendation. It's a small museum that packs a punch (the Uffizzi is massive, and great, but I think that's what you are probably trying to avoid). My suggestion would be to take a bus to Siena (train station is a mile or so out of the center) and spend the day in Siena, then return to Florence. Or you could possibly do it in reverse (train to Siena; bus to Florence and back) and get a tour from Donatella with the extra day in Siena. We also elected to bus it to Rome from Siena even though, that too, left from the train station.
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
153 posts
You could also hop the train en route to Florence in Lucca and bike the ramparts :)
Posted by
Sheboygan, Wisc., USA
934 posts
My suggestion would be to stop in Pisa(for a 4hr visit to see the tower) enroute from the CT to Florence.Then take a day trip to Siena by bus one day and use the other day to take a train to any hill town that looks good to you.
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
Yes I agree with stay in Florence, and you can train anywhere - Prato, Pistoia, Lucca, Bologna, Arezzo, etc. and/or the bus to Siena. You are not going to get to real "small towns" though unless you do something like take a local bus directly to one.
Posted by
Moriches, New York, United States
32 posts
I liked what Ken had to offer. I was looking for a private wine tour and the price quote I received was similar. I am staying in Florence for a week in April and I want to visit the Chianti region. I can't imagine driving a rental car and visiting wineries at the same time...no way I want to be the DD. So I am taking a bus to Siena and then hooking up with a guide...