Hello! Seeking advice on which Tuscan town to visit to get a dose of Tuscany in the time we have. We will be coming from Riomaggiore and really want to spend 3 nights in Tuscany before we need to be back in Turin on the 4th day before noon. Given those parameters, would you recommend a town like Lucca or do we have the time to go deeper into the region? We don’t want to be rushed and unable to enjoy this special trip (celebrating a graduation) but also want to experience a bit of Tuscany if possible. We’ve considered spending the time in the Peidmont region instead of Tuscany and still open to that idea depending on your recommendations. Thank you for your insights.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1388 posts
Hello kbatemanleis, and welcome to the forum,
Lucca is certainly Tuscan but it is on the flat and is not the rolling hills of Tuscany of film and photos. The reality is that rural Tuscany is not well served by mass transit which makes it hard to visit briefly. I like Lucca and you can easily visit Pisa as well, but when people say "Tuscany" they usually have an image of mist hanging over hills with lanes bordered by cypress trees and this area is not that. And that certainly exists but is harder to get to than you would want.
Three nights is two full days of exploring so you don't want to spend too much time getting there. If you want to dip your toes into "Tuscany" I would think about Siena. It will be a longer trek - 3+ hours going through Florence to get there. But Siena will show you some of the charms of picturesque Tuscany but will also easily fill a couple of days of exploration. Siena is a large city - relative to the usual small Tuscan hill towns - but that also means there are a lot of places to eat and things to see.
After Siena it is an easy bus or train ride back to Florence for the fast train to Turin - about 3 hours direct - so that would be an early morning out of Siena to get to Florence to leave before 9:00am. Alternatively you could stay in Florence and explore there for a day and then day trip to Siena or an organized trip to San Gimignano to get a quick look at rural Tuscany. Because Florence is a great city and the center of Tuscany but you are also close to the train station for an easy departure the morning of rather than 6:00am out of Siena.
One last check - when you say you need to be Turin before noon you are not flying out that day correct?
Hope that helps,
=Tod
Posted by
5714 posts
We need to know your transport preference. I have paired that area with Lucca and also with Piedmont, the latter would be more efficient, but it is possible to get further into Tuscany, but I would only do it with a car.