I am planning to pick up a rental car in La Spezia or a nearby town and make my way south through Tuscany for 7 days. I want to see Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra, Sienna, Pienza, Monticchiello, and drop off the car in Orvieto. I will have already been to Florence so that isn't factored in these 7 days. My question is can anyone give me some advice from past experiences on how to make the most of my time or any other places I should see along the way? I'm open to making changes.
Posted by
OP
Lahaina, HI, USA
69 posts
I forgot to mention that I haven't decided if I'm going to stay in one place all week or get accomodations as I travel. I'll be going in October so getting a place as I go shouldn't be a problem, right? That's what I'd rather do as I am traveling alone.
Posted by
Sheboygan, Wisc., USA
934 posts
We stayed in Montalcino and found it a nice town.The ride from Siena to Montalcino is listed in Steves Italy book amd is outstanding.
Posted by
Verviers, Belgium
6 posts
Siena! Don't miss it. It's my favorite place in all of Italy. I'd skip San Gimignano, though. If you see other hill towns, you don't need that one--to me it's like "Disney does Tuscany". I'd recommend going to places that aren't so touristic.
The exception being Pisa. Very touristy, but awesome.
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
5 posts
our RS tour guide took us to a small town in Tuscany after going to San Gimignano called Certaldo. There are many sites with information on it. Not many tourists go there, and it was really neat to see.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
We hated Siena! Dirty, clausterphobic, very unfriendly locals, not pretty, not charming. Hated it!
Posted by
525 posts
You cannot do the area justice if you pick up your car in LaSpezia and end up in Orvieto. My husband and I picked up our car in LaSpezia. Drove to Pisa and rushed our visit then drove on to a agriturismo just north of Siena. We went to Siena and spent a couple hours then drove to Orvieto to use as a base. The hilltowns are not a quick drive down a country road. If you stay in Siena, you would have to backtrack to San Gimignano. It takes awhile to get from LaSpezia to Pisa or San Gimgnano. It looks like you would have to spend 1 night in each area or you will be backtracking. Our itinerary of hilltowns went out the window very quickly. We took the autostrada to get to just a handfull of hilltowns from our list of many. You will definitely make changes when you see how long it takes you to get to one area.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA, USA
1449 posts
It's probably no surprise that preferences differ, as the posts here show. As for me I didn't find that much charm in Sienna, although that could have been influenced by the weather when I visited. I'm a big fan of the hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria; you can stand there and feel transported back across the centuries! Some favorites are San Gimignano (where you have to climb the tower), Spoleto where you can walk across the new bridge that dates back to the 14th century, built on the site of the old bridge (a Roman aqueduct). I like Perugia which has a large central plaza (Piazza IV Novembre), Assisi because of its history, Spello with narrow windy streets. I also liked walking around in the plaza in Greve in Chianti and browsing in the shops there.
Its possible to visit 2 towns a day if you do one in the morning and have lunch, then another after in the afternoon.
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
135 posts
I guess my only concern about your itinerary is "moving" almost every day- I'd recommend a little more reseach (about what you'd really like to experience) and do 3 towns-
Siena is Ok, (been there 3 times) but I drew the line on our last visit when they tried to charge us to go into the duomo- it's a CHURCH -and with a required admission fee, the city fathers have "SOLD OUT" to the almighty EURO.
Volterra is authentic, and wonderful- top of the hill, alabaster, 2 wine bars, lots of cinghiale dishes- excellent place!
Do a dash in and out of Pisa- see the Piazza di Miracoli/Baptistry/Duomo/Tower and consider an overnight in Lucca.
Orvieto is well worth one or two nights-
Just some thoughts-
tony
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
We have great memories from Orvieto--amazing food and very friendly people. I think it's worth a couple of nights.
Posted by
covina, CA, USA
6 posts
I stayed 5 days in Tuscany and made one home base. It really lets you enjoy your time. We stayed at the Borgo Argenina B&B in Gaiole, Siena in the Chianti Region. It is a good location for day tripping. The B&B is so charming and the view the property has is amazing. A wonderful place to wind down with a glass of wine from your days of sightseeing. Elena runs the B&B and has free covered parking and breakfast. You have to like dogs, though as she has 2 very well mannered ones at the property. Rick Steves recommends this B&B and so do I! It's lovely. www.borgoargenina.it 170 Euros