Day trips from Montepulciano ?

Pienza's old town is worth visiting.

Providing you have a car, and know how to avoid the ZTLs. Montalcino, Cortona, and Arezzo are less than an hour away. Orvieto is just over an hour's drive.

The drive between Montepulciano and Montalcino with a stop in Pienza is lovely.

Thank you all. I should have added that we don't drive in Italy. We always depend on public transportation.

Montepulciano is tough for day trips. The nearest train station is a 15 minute cab ride away and bus service can be very slow and limited.

Arezzo might be a better bet.

Laurel is right. We stayed in Montepulciano one year and managed a day trip to Pienza and one to Siena by bus. A few years later, we returned to Montepulciano with a car and were able to visit several smaller towns a day. Those four days in Montepulciano constitute the only time we rented a car in 20 trips to Europe.

Without a car your options from Montepulciano are limited and time consuming

Hi! I enjoyed staying in lovely Montepulciano. I just travel by public transportation. I took the train from Arezzo to Chiusi-Chianciano where I switched to a bus to Montepulciano. When you reach the bus station at Montepulciano, it feels more like a small parking lot with a 7-11 type store. Go inside it and purchase the tickets for the small orange shuttle bus that takes you up to the top of the steep hill of Montepulciano. (Buy extra tickets, so you can ride it when you want to head down for day trips.). I just went to Pienza as a day trip; otherwise, I was busy enjoying Montepulciano and walking down to the San Biagio church.

After my three days there, I took the bus back to Ch-Chian… to catch the train elsewhere.

There is a direct bus from Montepulciano to Pienza (30m) and back.

Pienza - Buon Gusto gelateria. Don’t miss this one!