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Best sites to see with short time frame near Tuscany

Posted by on

Hi! Thank you in advance for any advice you may offer me.

I have been to Italy before, but only via a cruise. My husband is traveling with me and has never been to Italy in his life. I have spent a day in Rome, a day in the Cinque Terre area (Portofino as well), and a day in Florence. We are attending a wedding in Tuscany (near the train stations of Barberino Val d 'Elsa and Poggibonsi) and were looking for a couple of other sites to add to our itinerary on either side of the wedding. We will have roughly 36 hours (including whatever time it takes to travel there!) both before and after the wedding. The 4 day wedding already includes a long tour of Florence.

I am considering Rome and/or Venice (I have never been there!), but maybe I'm overlooking better options. We could also add more time in Florence, or go somewhere like Portofino? If you had only 36 hours to get somewhere from Tuscany where would you go and what would you do?

Thanks again!

Posted by
16895 posts

My first choice in that area would be Siena, if it's not already in the plan. There's plenty of history, architecture, and culture there for 36 hours. Venice is another favorite, with a very different feeling, but train travel time is 3.5 - 4 hours one way from Poggibonsi. (See train schedules through DB.)

Posted by
30 posts

Definitely get out of Florence! 4 days in Florence is plenty, especially if you're going on a long tour of the city.

What are you interested in doing? Do you want to do wine tasting? Hike/enjoy the countryside? Check out a small town, or a big city? One day in Rome is pretty overwhelming and there's a lot to pack in there, but if you're city people and are dying to see the Vatican, the Roman Forum/Colosseum, etc. it can be done.

When will you be there? In the summer, Venice is super crowded with tourists - I mean, all of Italy is, but Venice feels like it's populated entirely by tourists that time of year. I wasn't all that impressed, I found it really crowded and dirty, and I prefer cities like Amsterdam and Brugges to get the canal experience. If you do choose to go to Venice, don't miss Verona, which is very close by - it's so lovely!

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you so much for the helpful replies! I will definitely look into Siena, I had not given that any consideration but it sounds perfect for before the wedding.

We are going the first week of September. We absolutely adore Amsterdam, do you think that Venice will be a huge disappointment? I'm leaning towards excluding Rome because as you mentioned it is SO MUCH in so little time. I would say my husband and I mainly travel for culture and food. Are there any other can't miss cities in Italy within a few hours of Tuscany I'm missing?

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