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Five days in Tuscany

Posted by (St. Paul, MN, US) on

Our upcoming trip to Italy is coming together. What's left is to figure out our five days in Tuscany. On October 2nd, we will leave our apartment in Riomaggiore (CT). We fly out of Florence on October 7th. We are tentatively planning on staying in Florence the 4th until the 7th. So now what to do the weekend of October 2nd-4th...

We are considering Siena for two nights, finding a smaller town where we can take public transit for a couple days, or else renting a car and finding a villa somewhere, maybe in the Val d'Orcia area. If we didn't stay in Siena, we could take a Walks of Italy day trip from Florence to the Chianti region which would include a stop in Siena. How important do you think it is to spend time in Siena? We are thinking it would be nice to spend some time in the countryside.

Would love to hear lodging and restaurant recommendations in these cities as well. We are looking for moderately priced (100-150 Euros/night) spots.

Grazie!

Posted by
3551 posts

Actually Siena is a great place to base and visit. The bus can take u easily from Siena bus station to Pienza, Montepulciano and San Gimignano. That is plenty for u to choose with your allotted days.
You can rent a car from Siena but why when bus is so handy just be aware of schedules especially off season October.
It is worth a splurge to get a room with a view hopefully of countryside and Siena s central plaza with cathedral.
So beautiful is Siena.

Posted by
75 posts

I agree. Siena is a great base and at the very least, deserves a night since the town is much different in the evening when the crowds disappear.

Posted by
7175 posts

Lucca comes to mind as another option, but perhaps only for 1 night.
I also like Siena, with a day excursion to San Gimignano and possibly Volterra.
How heavily are you into art for your time in Florence? If not such an art person I would scale it back to 2 nights.
Oct 2 Riomaggiore to Lucca (1 nt)
Oct 3 To Siena (2nts)
Oct 4 Excursion to San Gimignano and possibly Volterra
Oct 5 To Florence (2 nts)
Oct 6 Florence sights
Oct 7 Depart from Florence

Posted by
34 posts

Thanks for the answers everyone. Also, does it make more sense to go to Siena between Roma and CT, or should I stay with the original plan of going from Roma to CT? I just checked with our Riomaggiore apartment, and they do have something available if I make this switch. I am just thinking less train time since we wouldn't have to backtrack toward Siena after CT. Thanks again!

As for Florence, I definitely want to see the Duomo, Accademia, and the Uffizi. We would want to make sure to have enough remaining time just to chill and enjoy the city.

Posted by
7175 posts

Most efficient travel for both Rome=>CT and Rome=>Siena is via Florence, so probably not much difference.
Perhaps 4 nights in Florence, giving you 2 full day for the sights and a tour perhaps for Siena/San Gimignano on the 3rd day. Alternatively, drop Lucca ...
Oct 2 Riomaggiore to Siena (2nts)
Oct 3 Excursion to San Gimignano and possibly Volterra
Oct 4 To Florence (3 nts)
Oct 5 Florence sights
Oct 6 Florence sights
Oct 7 Depart from Florence

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