A month in Tuscany

I would consider finding a place in or near Florence for a month- it is so easy to get into the countryside from Florence and you would have the flexibility to see much more than if you chose one small town. You will need a car if you decide on staying in one of the smaller towns. Having said that, if you are determined to stay at a hill town I will get the ball rolling by nominating Montefioralle for its charm, lack of tourists and being a stones throw from Greve in Chianti, on the main Florence-Siena route.

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

One way to start making plans is to consider the type of experience you would like to have. Would you like to be in a small town so that you can become familiar with people who live there and have a cultural travel experience? Would you like to stay in an apartment in a castle or farm outside of small towns so that you have privacy and quiet but have driving access to hill towns? If shopping, a bit of hustle and bustle and art museums are more important than staying in the counrtyside, then staying in Florence is a fit. However, keeping and driving a car is a hassle in Florence. If wine and hill town access is more important, then staying in a town that has easy access to Florence or Siena by train would be best. One cultural travel experience that I had last week while traveling with my mom, aunt and 7 yr old daughter was to drive from Reggio Emilia to Modena to visit an authentic balsamic vinegar producer. The production occured in a 150 yr old house owned by the family that lives there and produces the balsamic vinegar. Regardless of where you stay, if you have a car this visit, tour and tasting is worth the drive! You can find more by looking up Acetaia di Giorgio http://www.acetaiadigiorgio.it/ Melissa

I figured we would have a car. I also wanted to avoid staying in a larger city, like Florence. My dream would be in the country, with a great view, close to cities and towns, a place where we can enjoy an evening meal, a swim, and a sunset while sipping local wine. Sigh.....I hope to go in September, and there are a couple of relatives/friends who may go with. Once I figure a region, I'll look for a house. Another concern is flexibility. My interests may not be the same as my brother's...so it has to be an area that allows us to access hill towns and larger cities with museums and such.

I would recommend drawing a circle around the Siena area and staying there. We loved Siena and it's easy to stay on the outskirts and travel all over the area.

I currently live in Arezzo to study here, and I think it is a nice base to see much of Tuscany. You can do this easily by train or bus, and car of course if you have one. It feels genuine, there are not many tourists besides during the Giostra (the semi annual joust) or the monthly antique fair (started by my relative!) Living in a city like Arezzo will give you access to many other cities by train, but is also on the autostrada and you can drive to some of the small hill towns if you have a car. I would recommend Arezzo or Siena over Cortona. Cortona is much more tourist-focused.

We just rented a farm house about 8 miles north of Siena. The first thing you need to know is that the hill towns are not close to each other and the drive between towns is not always easy. We used a GPS and each drive was always and adventure. Parking was not easy and it took a good week to get comfortable driving. Many roads are dirt roads and all are narrow and full of curves. So a 25 mile drive can take 45 minutes. That said, you want to be in an area that is near a main road with easy access to food shops etc. Our farm house was located off a very steep dirt road. It took us 20 minutes just to get to the nearest town for groceries. But we loved it. The house was secluded, had beautiful grounds. We were 30 minutes from Siena and 1.15 from Florence. We visited every hill town and more during our two week stay. So my best advice is to chose a location that is easy to get to and from.

Don't stay too far away from a good size town. August of 2009 we stayed 2 weeks in a small stone cottage that was absolutly incredable. The only problem was that we were so far away from everything we felt trapped after a few days. The closest restaurant was 20 min away. Do your homework.Don't sign up for the first Villa you see on a hillside overlooking a vinyard.

Ah....a villa on a hillside overlooking the countryside.....glass of wine, a loaf of bread... sigh. I do plan to be careful about location. I want a place close to a town with restaurants and cafes, but not necessarily in a city. We will have a vehicle, but it would be nice if we were within walking distance of some sites too. Also, the size of the group going will determine a lot of what type of place we rent. But the where question will apply to small and large groups.

If you are talking about being in walking distance from some "sites," (I don't know what your definition of it is) meaning churches, parks, monuments, etc, I think you would need to be in a city. You could choose a small one, but you won't be in walking distance from much if you are staying in a villa in the countryside. I would choose a small city (not Florence, maybe not Siena) and base yourself either in the city or a villa a few km away. That way you are still close to restaurants, but you can get the Tuscan countryside feeling as well.

Are you planning to rent a car? We found wonderful farmhouse accommodations, which included a rental car, through www.untours.com. Fabulous experience using that organization. They have accommodations all over Tuscany, Umbria and a few other locations. You can rent for a week or more in several locations. We stayed in Buonconvento and loved it. You do need the car, though. Took daily side trips to lots of different hill towns, including the Chianti Vally. Loved it all. Consider a month other than July, Aug & Sept due to the crowds of vacationers then. You can also get to a train station for trips to many different places.

Yes, we plan to rent a car. We will be going in September, thought it would be cooler than in the summer months. I see it is still high season for rates.... maybe I should think about October too.
Thanks for the tips.

Check out the area near Montalcino, a small city with enough to do, but close enough to other places. Great Brunello wine.