We will be staying a week in a villa about 30 minutes southwest of Arezzo. We will be there the first week in July, with three generations ranging from age 8 to 70. What are your favorite towns to visit in Tuscany, or possibly Umbria? We will have vehicles to drive.
Thanks!
Stacey
So Many! :-)
On the western side:
-Siena is an absolute must and worth a good day.
-Volterra
-San Gimignano but very early in the morning or end of day around 4-5pm as there will be a lot less tourists
-Montepulciano is another great small town to visit. The old square, a couple of nice wineries, the old streets... Wonderful
-Pienza as well, very charming
-Orvieto will be around an hour away from you. I was absolutly charmed by the city and especially the cathedral.
-Montalcino especially to go on top of the fortezza for great views, visit a winery closeby and visit the Sant'Antimo abbey, 15 minutes away.
-If you have time and want to drive: Pisa will be 2 hours away and Lucca probably 1 hour 45 minutes.
On the other side:
-Arezzo of course
-Assisi is an absolute must as well. The basilica, the streets... Superb
-Gubbio is a wonderful village that hasn't change from medieval time
-Perugia is a bit bigger but very charming. The Piazza, the streets, the museum(national gallery I believe) is great.
-Cortona, a great looking village made famous by the movie Under a Tuscan sun
Head over to Gubbio one day. It's very multi-generational friendly! The parking lot is about three blocks from an elevator to the upper old part of town, so folks who don't want to walk long steep hills don't have to do so. Then, up in the old town, there are a few manageable blocks of shops, restaurants, old buildings, scenic vistas, etc among which you all can stroll easily. During the summer, there is a "train" (runs on wheels, two people in each row) that runs all around town from the main piazza (hourly, I believe), so that you can see "the sites" in comfort. Finally, the walk-in "ski-lift" the "Funivia Colle Eletto" is so cool! You'll find it at the end of the main road up in the old city, about a 5 block walk from the main piazza. The guys running it do slow it way down for the less frisky folks to be able to step on safely. It takes you up-up-up the hill to a wonderful scenic view. About a 10 minute stroll from the top of the Funivia takes you to a lovely outdoor cliff-side cafe, from which you can eat your panini or gelato while looking waaaayyy out over the town and valley below. Look at pictures of Gubbio on tripadvisor to get an idea about the Funivia and more...
Use this as a reference for festivals in Chianti.
http://www.chianti.com/what-to-do-in-chianti/events-and-sagras.html
Some of my favorites are. Radda in Chianti, Gaioli in Chianti, Castellina in Chianti.
In the Val d'Orcia Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, Bango San Filippo (outdoor free spa), Vignoni, and while probably not suitable for someone with bad knees, Castiglione d'Orcia.
I really enjoyed my stay in Castellina in Chianti.
Dittto on jmauldinuu recommendation on Gubbio if you can make it over there, Go!
My favorites were: Siena, Volterra, Cortona, Arezzo, and Assisi. I'm assuming you will be spending some time in Florence, if you haven't already been there. It's the jewel in the crown.
Orvieto and Siena are my favs. I particularly love to be in Siena in the late afternoon & evening.
In Umbria I enjoyed visiting Assisi, Spello, Spoleto, Montefalco & Bevagna... And... Orvieto, of course!
In Tuscany I enjoyed staying in Siena very much. One day I took a day trip to San Gimignano but was overwhelmed by how crowded it was.
Have a wonderful trip!
Thanks, everyone! This is great information! (And yes, we're definitely going to see a little bit of Florence, but won't be focusing all of our time there. We want to enjoy the countryside and slower pace.)
We had a little “off the beaten track” experience. We stayed at a really excellent hotel/restaurant//spa called “Le Tre Vaselle” in Torgiano, Umbria. The hotel was great. The staff was wonderful and helpful. The food was unreal. My beloved spouse is not a food person but she was posting photos of our meals. I understand that the facility been renovated since our visit two years ago.
Torgiano is not much of a town. Not much more than a post office, laundromat and gas station.
The hotel has good parking and is centrally located for day trips.
Try the truffles.
In May 2017 we stayed a week just outside Cortona and had a rental car for transportation. This was after having finished the Heart of Italy tour, so by then we were ready for some exploring on our own. We visited Cortona, Montepulciano, Siena, and Orvieto. We absoultely loved every town we visited. Siena was the most difficult to find parking and navigate the local traffic. We missed Pienza, Gubbio and Perugia because we needed some time to relax and decided to skip them until our next visit. With a little bit of preparation and help from this forum, we found wonderful places to eat and sights to see in every town. We found the shop owners to be extremely helpfu, so be sure to ask for their local recommendations while completing your purchases. No matter which towns you visit, you will have a wonderful week in Tuscany and Umbria.
