Please sign in to post.

Itinerary & Montepulciano or Florence for 5 nights

We are making our final decision between either city for our home base for 5 nights. It is our first time in Italy and we really want the agriturisimo experience but we are going end of February. We plan on doing Uffizi and Statue of David for a day or two but will limit the amount of museums and churches in favor of food, wine, local culture. We really want to explore the countryside and only planned on staying Florence for 3 days , 2 nights and 3 nights in the countryside. Our itinerary is as follows:

Feb 21 - Fly into Venice
Thurs Feb 23 - Train to Florence
Sun Feb 26 - Rent a car to Montepulciano ( stop at Siena on the way )

Wed -March -1 Drive to Orvieto ( possibly stay the night )
Mar 1 or 2 - Train from Orvieto to Rome for either 3 or 4 nights
Sun-March 5 - Fly home

Thoughts?

Posted by
11613 posts

It's rather difficult to separate Italy's culture from art and churches.

If you will have a car, Montepulciano might be a happier choice, but keep in mind that Firenze is a transportation hub that can take you on daytrips more conveniently in some cases than driving (finding a parking space, ZTLs, getting lost). On the other hand, many cities have parking garages on the outskirts of town, and you can park, then take a local bus or walk into the heart of the city.

Posted by
1175 posts

Your present itinerary has you staying in Florence and an agriturismo in Tuscany which looks fine to me if you desire that agriturismo experience ! Go for it !

Remember that Florence has ALL of the food, wine, and local culture you desire. Cross the Arno and wander the alleys, hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo, bus up to Fiesole, watch the sunset over the Ponte Vecchio...

We love Florence, but we also love staying in various agriturismos over the years and driving from village to village to explore.

Posted by
56 posts

We based in Montepulciano for a week and loved it. If you have a car, it is a great base as it is centrally located to many hill towns. We liked staying in town so we could walk to restaurants and shops and wander through town in the evening. The town is small enough that it is easy to drive in and out of. You have a great itinerary, enjoy your trip!

Posted by
8077 posts

Your experience should be relatively uncrowded in February. I would expect the Agriturismo experience to be, maybe, a little dull at that time of year. There are an unlimited number of hill towns you could visit, but you should understand that they are all "ready for tourism". I'm not slamming them, I'm just telling you that they each have walk-in local produce stores that are an urban dose of agri-tourism. But they have something in common with Zabars. (A New York City delicatessen.)

We liked Orvieto very much, and it is, perhaps, less intensely touristed than Siena. But Siena is much, much larger. Do not rent the car before you use the search box here to learn about IDP, ZTL, insurance, and parking.

Your use of the term "home base for 5 nights" is a little confusing. I can't recommend driving into Florence for your two days of visiting there. As noted, it is a good place to sleep if you are content with the several places you can get to easily by train or bus. But that would be less of a "countryside" visit that you say you want. We didn't stay in an agriturismo, but it seems like you would be well advised to select yours carefully, with a lot of reliable research. Note that the best wineries want an appointment. Mom and pop places, not so much.

I trust that Feb 21 is your arrival day in Florence, not your departure day from the USA. Taking your preferences at face value, I would add a day in Venice (because it is so unique, and because you'll be jet-lagged) and subtract a day from Florence (because you aren't that interested in History of Art, and Tuscan countryside is important to you.)

Posted by
16235 posts

It's up to you, really!
Any other time of the year, I'd say your plan is great. In February, however, I like to stick to cities, as small villages become ghost towns. For sure, I wouldn't stay in an agriturismo, especially for just 3 nights. It takes half a day to become acquainted with the huge premises, the appliances, and stuff. Many are isolated in the boondocks, in the middle of farm fields, not walking distance from any village or town. Also if there are icy roads, driving on curvy country roads at night, or possibly long muddy driveways, is not going to be fun. Find hotel accommodations in a town, whether it's Montepulciano or Pienza or Colle VE or even Siena, doesn't matter. Just make sure the hotel is outside the town's ZTL (or is otherwise accessible by car) and possibly has parking.

Posted by
1832 posts

Overall your plan seems rushed especially for Winter when the hours of sun are not that long.
Your plan is (unless I missed something)
2 nights Venice: keep in mind your first day you will be jetlagged
2 nights Florence
3 nights Montepulciano or somewhere else in the Val D'Orcia
1 night Orvieto
3 nights Rome
Doesn't seem ample time to me but I guess is doable.

Not sure why you say 3 days in Florence if you only have 2 nights.
If you want to see the Uffizi and David that is 2 museums and take up your 1 full day yet you say limited museums?
You really have limited time in Venice as well (2 nights) so might not leave Venice until afternoon and by the time you get to Florence in winter sun may be set.
You then have a full day the next day, day after if you want to spend the day in Siena you have no time for more siteseeing in Florence and would need to leave Florence in the early AM ; it takes time to check out and rent a car. This gives you 1 full day in Florence not 3 and you are wanting to go to the 2 biggest museums on this day.
I would feel come comfortable with your plan if you were skipping both these museums.

I would love to stay in the town center of Montepulciano would be completely different from Florence, surrounded by countryside and farms easily reached with your car; high up with amazing views but still have the history and walking distance shops and restaurants.
I would not have much desire to stay in an agriturisimo there personally any time of year compared to staying in town but especially for Feb it would have even less appeal.
I think many get enamored with the authentic experience and beautiful countryside but staying in the walled area of these smaller towns is an even more authentic experience in my opinion and has better views of the same countryside since they have commanding views above them. These car free hilled towns are amazing. To me a random farm next to a major road where I can walk to nothing doesn't quite equate.

We did something very similar and it worked out great, stayed first in Florence and then rented a car, stopped in Siena for the day and then stayed 3 nights in the Val D'Orcia.
We stayed in nearby Pienza. Of the two there is more to do in larger Montepulciano and I hope to return to the Val D' Orcia area someday and likely will switch our base to Montepulciano to try some place different. Pienza has some advantages I think and I still do recommended it.