One month in Tuscany

Without knowing where you plan to stay or where you plan to visit it's impossible to say if you'll need a car or not. I always get a car when we stay in Tuscany. It just makes it easier to visit the smaller towns and be on your own schedule.

I suggest that you first decide which towns you plan to visit and then decide a location that is central to all of them. You have a lot to choose from. October is high season so a lot of properties may already be booked out. I would start searching and compiling your list as soon as you can.

Donna

Thanks for the reply. We will be staying the entire month of October and our delemia is where to base from. We plan on renting a place for a month and would like to know where that place may be that would be central. We would like to see it all bit don't really want to stay out in the country.
It is overwhelming now with all them possibilities.
Thanks for any suggestions.

As Donna stated you need to tell us what cities/towns/sights you plan to visit and then we can suggest a place that is central to them and also which places are easily reached by public transportation and where you will need a car. We can't tell you what you want to see while in Tuscany, only you can do that. You must have some reason you want to stay there, some places you want to see.

If you look at the map see what else you would like to visit and pin point your stay from there. I always suggest a apartment which is cheaper and you can cook breakfast or whatever on your terms. I just visited there and its beautiful. I am going back end of august but I am rotating B&B 3 times. You will need a car since Tuscany is large and not like a city where they have busses everywhere. I drove there a few month ago as well and its not difficult at all. Rick Steve's guidebook was a help it had all the signs in it and don't forget you need an international drivers license which is available for a nominal fee at AAA. Main road has tolls so don't forget euros or CC. I know my first time was very overwhelming and still is a bit for my next trip. I can enclose a link to a winery I went to in Tuscany and maybe you can see if you find lodging near there? The winery was so great we are going back there for another luncheon and tour. Enjoy your trip! https://www.avignonesi.it/en/hospitality

You should be able to get an apartment for a month for about 3 times the cost of a weekly rental and sometimes in the country it is more like 2.5 times. I like the Val d'Orcia for beauty and a town in that area is a good base. I like Montepulciano -- good location for driving around the area and great town for the evening for restaurants and such. There is not good access to groceries, bakery and such centrally (although we did find the hidden local bakery) but just outside the historic walls there is a supermarket for stocking up the apartment.

We stayed in Montecatini Terme which was pretty central to lots of towns and sights in Tuscany. Here is a thread from a couple of months ago with more details: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/montecatini-terme-food-sites-drives.

You might consider splitting the month into two 2-week stays with one base farther north and one farther south in Tuscany. It's a big place and again, you need to decide what you want to see (at least a general idea of a few towns you want to visit) before picking a central base/s.

Here is another fairly recent thread on the subject of a base in Tuscany: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/best-home-base-for-tuscany-hill-towns

Hope this helps a little.

Greve in Chianti is a charming town pretty much smack dab in the middle of Tuscany. It has a great October wine festival. Take a look there.

If you want to enjoy some local festivals here are 4 around Tuscany:

1) Montalcino Sagra del Tordo - http://www.montalcino.net/ - Scroll down a few until you see Montalcino Sagra del Tordo - Festival of the Thrush in blue letters in the middle of the page. You'll see a long description about it and the events around it.

2) Sagra del Fungo e della Castagna - http://www.valdorcia-info.com/castiglione_dorcia.htm#.V03O-eIrJhE Mushroom and chestnut festival. Scroll down to the middle of the page

3) Another Sagra delle Castagne in a diffeernt town. http://www.sagretoscane.com/sagre/fi/marradi/sagra-delle-castagne.html

4) Palio dei Caci Volterrani - http://www.volterratur.it/en/eventi/23885/

The wine festival in Greve listed above is in the middle of September. (10-13) this year

http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/important-dates/important-dates-eng.htm#.V03Pi-IrJhE