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Base for staying in Tuscany

Posted by (California) on

Hello! Here is my current itinerary for Italy this summer (It's my first time, but wife visited years ago when she was in college). Wife is much more interested in the Renaissance art, and I'm looking forward to food and culture. We know we're leaving out Rome but feel that's the right call for the pace we like to go on during our travels.

Land in Milan, train straight to Varenna/Como (two nights) > Venice (two nights) > Florence (four nights) > Tuscany (five nights) > Fly out of Florence.

The plan in Tuscany is to rent a car, stay at an agriturismo, and do some day trips but also slow down and just enjoy some time in the countryside like with wine tastings or cooking classes. My question is if the area around San Gimignano is the right call for this. It seems like within driving distance we have San Gimignano, Poggibonsi, Certaldo, Colle di Val d'Elsa, and Volterra. The other reason for this area is that it's only about an hour from the airport, so we won't feel terribly rushed trying to make our flight home.

The other agriturismo we're looking at is near Ginestra Fiorentina, and I'm not seeing a whole lot in that area that would make it a good base, but it would be better as a staycation it looks like.

Any thoughts or advice here? Thanks.

Posted by
16133 posts

It's up to you, depending on which towns you want to visit and which accommodations you like better.
The area of San Gimignano would be my choice since you are closer to the places you probably want to visit (San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni, Colle VE, Volterra, Chianti Hills, Siena, etc. However Ginestra is not that much farther away (maybe an extra 45 min.). The advantage of Ginestra is that it's considerably closer to the airport (20 min drive).

Posted by
11609 posts

We always stay in the Chianti region, between Siena and Florence, in one of the small villages such as Castellina or Panzano.

Posted by
872 posts

www.chianti.com

Skip Varenna, where you have only a single full day, add the time to Venice; 4 hours on the train from MXP with a change downtown. Leaving Venice a train to Florence [2:14] and taxi to Via Palagio degli Spini, the FLR complex; car reserved through Autoeurope. Return the car, staying in Florence at the end, since you should be there before flying out. Get an IDP from your local AAA office ; be cognizant of ZTL issues.

www.agritutismi.it

The are very uneven, and I would not stay in one without a recommendation. The farmhouse La Fonte outside of Pienza gets rave reviews; has an excellent restaurant. So does the Agriturismo Marciano outside of Siena, elaborate dinners served on the big table in the kitchen; baker up at 3am making pastries for breakfast.

Posted by
2 posts

Appreciate the responses here. We're going to stick with the San Gimignano area due to its proximity to nearby towns that look like they'll be fun to visit, as well as finding a couple of resorts that offer a nice level of luxury.

I thought about ending in Florence instead of in the Tuscan countryside, but we prefer to front-load our travels with the sightseeing, and the end it on a more chill and relaxing note. Thanks all!

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