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Favorite Town/Village in Tuscany for relaxing and unwinding

Hello,
We are planning a month in Italy and I've posted regarding Piedmont and Bologna area.
Now, I would love to know which is your favorite Town/village in Tuscany to unwind for a week that offers good restaurants, markets, quiet evenings and a beautiful setting. We will have a car, but train is also a good option for a day trip. Would love to stay in a place that has a full kitchen and make some meals with things purchased in the markets. (Outside the town, in a villa/apartment etc. would also work for us) A place to relax before our last week in the Amalfi coast.

I've stayed in Orvieto 6 nights and loved it..(husband wasn't along-sister trip, and I would stay again) Cortona was a base for a week years ago and that was lovely as well. I would prefer someplace I/we haven't been to. We are looking at Lucca:any comments on Lucca and if you loved it, where did you stay? Any other places you stayed for a week that offered enough to do and not too sleepy?
We will then stay in Sorrento for a week after Tuscany, and that is already decided on.
Thanks in advance: just Tuscany area is uncertain.
Greatly appreciate all the help everyone gives on this site.

Jody

Posted by
111 posts

I stayed in Lucca last May for 4 nights at a b &b inside the walls. I loved Lucca. Great shopping and restaurants with many things to see and do. Walking or biking the wall is relaxing and fun. Or just sitting at a cafe with a glass of wine and a bowl of olives, watching the people go by. I would go there again in a heart beat. I’m sorry I don’t have any info about apartments there. Have a great time wherever you end up staying.

Posted by
11834 posts

We are very fond of Montalcino for the very reasons you list. Great base for the classic drive to-and-from Montepulciano by way of Pienza. I don’t have a specific apart,ent to recommend as we stayed at a B&B.

Posted by
23 posts

Thank you for your replies.
I will look into more info on both locations. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.
Jody

Posted by
7175 posts

We stayed in Montecatini Terme for a week and found it a great place to go back to in the evening after touring during the day. Plenty of restuarants, the spas, easy access to train travel, quiet in the evenings but not 'dead'. It was easy to get to the old town of Montecatini Alto with it's medieval streets and restaurants using the funicular. From there we did day trips that included: Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, Cortona, Volterra, Prato, Pistoia,Arezzo - some of those were combined into one day trip and were pretty long days, which is why it was nice to come back to the same hotel in a quiet area in the evening. I'm not sure if I would do so much if I went back and would actually spend some time enjoying those spas.