I will be traveling to Italy for the first time next June with my husband and 16 year old daughter. We are planning to rent a car in Rome, leave very early Saturday morning and take our time driving to where we will be staying about an hour north of Florence. I'm trying to figure out the timing and how to prioritize. We only have 2 days to do Florence and the rest of Tuscany, as we will be leaving that region on Monday. We are looking to spend most or all of Sunday doing Florence, so Saturday is our driving around southern Tuscany day. It looks like there are a bunch of great things to see between Rome and Florence. What are the "don't miss" stops and how long should we spend at each? How early should we realistically leave Rome? We are thinking very early (6ish?) to miss city traffic and maximize our roaming around southern Tuscany. However, I'm concerned that, if we leave too early, nothing will be open yet as we hit the towns in between. Does anybody have suggestions on an itinerary with approx times for each stop between Rome and Florence? We'd like to arrive at our BnB about an hour north of Florence by dinner time.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Orvieto is a beautiful town, you may want to start a bit later, take the train to Orvieto and pick up your car there (although fewer choices than at FCO). Hopefully you have a plan not to drive in Roma.
If you do want to drive out of Roma early, a stop in Todi (near Orvieto) might be a good choice, then Perugia or Assisi, then Siena or Arezzo. Firenze is about an hour from either Siena or Arezzo.
These recommendations are partly based on convenient parking with most having shuttles into town.
Note that churches open early, but museums don't.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16210 posts
Where is it exactly that you are going? One hour north of Florence is already around Bologna.
I'd concentrate on areas that you are unlikely to drive back to, given the distance. Therefore Orvieto and/or Montepulciano/Pienza would be my stops.
Posted by
OP
14 posts
We are staying at a bnb in Barberino di Mugello. When I looked it up on google maps it looks like it’s about an hour north of Florence. So, yes, we want to do things south of Florence on our way there since we won’t be going back that way.
Posted by
Virginia, USA
792 posts
Orvieto is pretty close to being a halfway point to Florence. Well worth a visit
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16210 posts
You are a bit north of where most people like to visit, but I guess you like to shop at the outlets.
In order of appearance from south to north, these are some choices along the route that are not too far from the A1 freeway.
A - Orvieto.
B - Montepulciano+Pienza
C - Cortona
D - Arezzo
You could possibly cover 2 of the above with the time available, if you have an early start.
If you are in Rome long enough, you could take a day trip to Orvieto by train, that way you could take care of that before hand, and would be left with B, C, and D still to visit. But if you have less than 3 days in Rome, then you don't have much time.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32398 posts
If this is your first time driving in Italy, be sure that each driver has the compulsory International Driver's Permit. It would also be prudent to do some research on the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which now exist in many Italian cities and towns. Each pass through one of these areas will result in expensive fines, which you won't know about until several months after you get home. Do NOT drive in Florence as the city is just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras.
You may find this helpful - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm
Posted by
Seattel, Washington, USA
125 posts
I love Montepulciano so would recommend that. If you want smaller then Pienza. That said, I would enjoy the drive to Florence and spend time there. One day in Florence is not enough. Spend Saturday afternoon and Sunday in Florence and then the next time you are in Italy spend your time in Tuscany, rent a car, and get good and lost seeing the countryside.
Enjoy.