Good morning
Searching for a nice home base, house in Tuscany for 4-5 couples. We plan to visit Florence and Venice so somewhat close to a train station would be ideal. Also like to be walking distance to a town with a pub, etc.
Any suggestions are appreciated
Do you plan to rent cars for use during your stay? That will make a big difference in where it is most practical to stay. How long do you plan to be there? At what time of year?
ViaMichelin estimates the driving time from Florence to Venice at 3-1/4 hours, but that doesn't include any stops, getting lost, looking for parking, or getting yourself from the parking place to the part of the city you want to see. Folks who drive in Europe (I do not) suggest adding at least 20% to ViaMichelin's time estimates (taking this one up to nearly 4 hours). Depending on where you stay in Tuscany, your drive could take a bit less time or much, much more.
Because of the availability of fast Frecciargento trains between Florence and Venice, the trip takes only 2-1/4 hours by train. Staying anywhere else in Tuscany will substantially increase the travel time by train, because you'll have to start the trip by either driving to a station served by the fast trains (which would probably mean Florence) and finding parking or taking a much slower train.
The top tourist spots in Venice (Rialto Bridge and market, Piazza San Marco) are overrun during day-tripping hours, so a one-day visit from Florence is probably going to be a disappointment.
acraven has asked a lot of good questions! I'll agree that because of the time to get there and back from Tuscany, a day trip to Venice only makes sense from Florence (at least 4 hours via rail; 2 hours each way). Even if willing to put in that amount of rail time, day-tripping it puts you squarely in the middle of the day-tripping mob. While you can avoid some of that by heading off to further reaches of the island, that may not be what you wish to do. Anyway, during high and shoulder seasons, the golden hours are the early mornings and the evenings when most of those folks have gone so staying overnight has its advantages.
Florence has a GREAT deal to offer - too much for a single day unless you're really not much interested in her treasures - so I don't consider that one a day trip either. If planning to do a significant amount of sightseeing, it makes sense to just stay in the city.
So how much time are you going to have to work with, and would it be possible to split it between two city stays + a less urban location?
