Need "home base" in/near Tuscany near train station

Have you considered Florence? It's certainly the central hub in Tuscany for rail travel.

We would prefer a small town, not a big city. We were thinking it would be nice to rent someone's second home in a smaller town that has a train station, like Siena, Orvieto, etc. We thought someone might have already done something like this and give us suggestions....but thanks for the post!

Tuscany small towns and convenient to train travel are two opposite concepts. Technically, Orvieto is not in Tuscany, it's in southern Umbria. But it may be close enough for what you want to do. "in a smaller town that has a train station, like Siena, Orvieto, etc." Some people wouldn't call Siena exactly a small town, pop. probably 50,000+. But it's small compared to Cleveland. Siena is not exactly a hub, train-wise. But there is a train station, down in the flatlands. Some travelers here feel Siena is not the most car-friendly place, either, although how many places in Italy are? Cars have been made to work there, but getting lodging that provides overnight parking might be something to consider. Orvieto might be a better choice, although you'll want to ponder a map and consider how far south Orvieto is from some Tuscany sights that you might have in mind and then decide.

Gigi, If a location in northern Tuscany might interest you, I'd have a look at Lucca as it's somewhat smaller than Florence and still in a reasonably good location (depending on what you want to see). There are some accommodations outside the city walls but close to the train station (check the Guidebook for details). Some may provide parking. Be sure you don't forget to pack your I.D.P.'s for driving in Italy (compulsory), and be vigilant to avoid ZTL areas (these are especially prevalent in Florence). Happy travels!

I recommend that you pick your day trip targets and then triangulate a central base camp with a walkable train station (which rules out Siena) and that provides a day trip friendly train schedule. You don't want to spend each day trip day waiting for trains. Tuscany is not a small territory. Lucca to Montepulciano (or to Grosseto) is the same as Chattanooga to Knoxville. That's a tough 200+ mile round trip day trip, even if you are using a car. So if you want to do both North Tuscany and South Tuscany you might want to move from a northern base camp to a southern one. You've got a whole month (envious am I).

I'm pretty sure Siena's train station is walkable now that there are about 7 levels of escalators in a shopping mall connecting the old town with the train station. There are also lots of bus connections from the city.

I think what you want is a town with good bus connections. Few Tuscan towns are served by train but all are served by bus. Avoid taking busses on Sunday. Siena is the most central and has both bus and train service but is a pretty big town and more expensive than a small hill town. But it's a wonderful town in the evenings after the tourists have left on their own busses.