Mid-way of our trip thru Italy (Venice, Tuscany, Cinque Terre), I have a one-day cooking class in Cortona. For the class, I meet the chef for coffee in Cortona and go with her from there. My question: should we actually stay in Cortona for a couple of nights or stay elsewhere? We'll have a rental car for this portion of our trip. I've booked a B&B in Cortona, but I'm a little concerned about how much walking up and down stairs will be involved since the car must be parked outside the walls. Any advice?
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Stay inside the city! The steep climb is from the parking area to the town, but I think there is a bus that you can take (when I was there two years ago the bus stop in the upper town was under construction, so there wasn't that option).
It's so beautiful to walk the old streets at night and to see the town wake up in the morning, I am going back this summer for a couple of days.
Enjoy your class!
Posted by
OP
Tennessee USA
111 posts
Zoe,
Thanks for the tip about a bus - we'll look for it! I'll post info about the class afterwards. It is an all-day cooking extravaganza, starting with shopping for the ingredients once we decide on menu I want to cook. Can't wait!
Posted by
Bay Area
3551 posts
If you stay at the convent near the TI in Cortona you can use secured parking area on the premises of the convent included in your stay. I cannot remember the convent name but it is just a minute walk downhill from TI (contact them)and you can enjoy Cortona better that way. greta value , spartan but clean, cool and quiet. Have breakfast in the village rather than in the convent. We loved our stay there.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32405 posts
Sharon,
I'd also suggest staying right in town. There's a car park just below Piazza Garibaldi (free, as I recall) and from there it's VERY easy to get up to the main part of town, as there are two outdoor escalators. If this link works, you can see the layout on this map....
The car park is on the lower side of Viale Battisti and the Escalators leading up to Piazza Garibaldi can also be seen (you may have to zoom in). From there it's an easy walk along Via Nazionale to Piazza della Repubblica, which is the main part of town.
Happy travels!