We are planning to fly into florence and will go see sienna. We ave about 9 days in the Tuscany area before we go to vies us tries on April 24th. We want to go to insiders and see other hill towns. Where should we be sure to go to see and what other town besides florence and sienna is a best to stay the night.
Posted by
OP
Lincoln, Nebraska
21 posts
Yes we plan to spend 3 nights in florence and perhaps one night in sienna. There are 4 adults traveling together. We do not plan on getting a car just taking trains and bus. Thank you
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
7737 posts
What does "we want to go to insiders" mean? And please let us know what your interests are. Thanks.
Posted by
OP
Lincoln, Nebraska
21 posts
Sorry my iPad sticks sometimes. We just want to go to wineries and see some hill hill towns. Are there must see places to see and even perhaps to spend the night
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
Also, something mysterious about "...before we go to vies us tries ..." Presume it is a typo but cannot fathom it.
Posted by
OP
Lincoln, Nebraska
21 posts
Yep before we then go to vienna Austria for about 5 days
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10737 posts
Do you plan to stay in Florence? Do you want to stay some of the time in a Tuscan hill town? Will you have a car at any point in Tuscany? How many people are traveling with you?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
You can have a comprehensive guide to Tuscany and its towns and areas in the website below. You can click by province and see what is to see in each. www.borghiditoscana.net
(click on the English flag for English version). You have 9 days and don't plan to rent a car, you said. Florence and the other provincial capitals of Tuscany (e.g. Siena, Arezzo, Pisa, Lucca, Pistoia etc.) are best visited without a car, due to traffic restrictions in the historical centers. A car would be however more efficient for visiting the smaller towns and villages, where public transportation is more infrequent. But you can still get to them by bus or train, you just have to be mindful of the bus timetables because service is limited, especially on Sundays, when bus service is extremely limited. If you plan to visit the smaller towns by public transport it is best to base yourself both in Florence and Siena, both of which are transport hubs. For example by staying 6 days in florence and 3 in Siena (or 5 and 4). Siena itself will require just a day to visit, but it's a good base for visiting the towns in the southern part of the province of Siena (Pienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino etc.)
Posted by
Ontario Canada
691 posts
We've had a car the 3 times in Tuscany but a lot can be done by bus and trains. Roberto as he posted is most knowledgeable. I am a lover of Volterra(bus), Montepulciano and San Gimignano. April will be less crowded but still these 3 towns are quite popular. Again bus is probably your best bet to and from these towns from Florence.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
Tuscany is best when seen from automobiles rambling from town to town. We started in Florence last year for a weekend and picked up a rental car as we left town. We were staying on an agriturismo outside Certraldo. My favorite hill towns were San Gimignano, Volterra and Orvieto. I found Siena very congested, and parking was difficult. It's best visited as a day trip from Florence by bus.
Tuscany roads are well paved, however they're pretty crooked due to the region being so hilly. Roads are well marked, and navigation is no problem even without a GPS.