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One Week Around Florence and Bologna in October

Posted by (Atlanta, GA, USA) on

Hi, continuing my “where should we go” thread, now that we’ve decided on Italy. I’d love some input on my initial thoughts!

Our family of four (kids are 12 and 14) is planning its next European adventure this October. We are flying open-jaw via FLR and BLQ, and have about a week. We intentionally added overnight CPH layovers on each end, so will spend our “zombie” day there.

Most of our trips have been in major cities (Rome, Amsterdam, Barcelona, etc.) on public transportation, but did drive in the Greek Isles and had a blast. Otherwise, our only experience with towns and smaller cities is Orvieto (day-trip from Rome) and Coimbra (one-night stay after Lisbon). In case those are useful benchmarks, we we enjoyed both, but preferred the nighttime vitality of the larger cities.

I’ve read RS cover-to-cover, and would roughly prioritize like this. Wherever we are, the first priority is strolling / shopping / eating / outdoor spaces. After a couple of museums and churches, we get the gist--unless they are truly remarkable interiors (love those).

  1. Florence (but only a light dose of the major sites)
  2. Siena
  3. Tuscan Countryside (not for wine, but the scenery)
  4. Bologna (very interested in learning about food, and maybe cars)

For 3, I assumed some combination of Rick’s drives in Crete Senesi and Val d’Orcia (and maybe Chianti?). Pisa doesn’t interest me, but the wife and kids might overrule me. Cinque Terra feels like a different trip. And Ravenna seems too far away.

Here are two initial ideas …

Option A (3/2/2)
Sun Oct 13: Arrive FLR 10:30am, o/n
Mon Oct 14: Florence o/n
Tue Oct 15: Florence o/n (flexibility for Pisa daytrip—or not)
Wed Oct 16: To Siena in rental car, o/n
Thu Oct 17: Drive around Tuscany, Siena o/n
Fri Oct 18: To Bologna and drop rental car, o/n
Sat: Oct 19: Bologna o/n
Sun Oct 20: Depart BLQ 8pm, so we have all day

Option B (2/3/2)
Sun Oct 13: Rent car from FLR to Siena, o/n
Mon Oct 14: Drive around Tuscany, Siena o/n
Tue Oct 15: To Florence and drop rental car, o/n Florence
Wed Oct 16: Florence o/n
Thu Oct 17: Florence o/n (flexibility for Pisa daytrip—or not)
Fri Oct 18: To Bologna via high-speed train, o/n
Sat: Oct 19: Bologna o/n
Sun Oct 20: Depart BLQ 8pm, so we have all day

I don’t love having three separate accommodations, but can deal with it. Very open to advice on streamlining. I realize the Sun/Mon combo upfront will be a factor, due to closures.

Posted by
29 posts

Either option sounds like a good trip. I think from what I've read online that an international drivers permit is recommended for Italy. I only used trains, buses, and ferries in my two trips there. Yeah, depending on what your kids like I agree it might be good to limit the number of museums (tickets ahead of time our good for the popular ones). Hope you have a good trip! Cheers.

Posted by
95 posts

I should add that I've read advice here to just base in Florence and daytrip from there, which does simplify things. But in our case, I assume that means one daytrip to Siena via bus, and then another to rent a car from Florence and drive around the countryside--a longer drive, to boot. Not to mention the possibility of a daytrip to Pisa. I'm new to this, but it seems like adding a third base in Siena is a lesser evil than serial daytrips.

Posted by
333 posts

We're planning a very similar trip the week before yours! No kids though. Totally agree on keeping it light on art/churches. We're doing an extra night in Tuscany to be able to drive two days and spend time in Montepulciano and Pienza. We're also staying on a farm outside Siena. Do you think your kids might like one of those agroturismos with a pool? Maybe farm animals too?

So I vote for taking a night from Bologna and adding it to your Siena (or outside Siena) stay. I hear a lot more about Tuscany than Bologna.

Posted by
95 posts

I'm starting to think that Option B makes more sense, even if it requires driving on the first day of vacation (but again, because of our overnight layover, we should just be "regular tired" and not jet-lagged zombies).

We have to get from Florence to Siena (and back) anyway, so instead of riding a bus on a highway, why not take scenic drives to be more efficient? And by leaving immediately from FLR, we'd avoid the time spent getting a car later.

So, it would look something like this ...

  • Sun Oct 13: Arrive FLR 10:30am, rent from airport, to Siena via scenic route (o/n Siena)
  • Mon, Oct 14: "Walking around day" in Siena, but have car if needed (o/n Siena)
  • Tue, Oct 15: Drive back to FLR, indirectly via scenic route (o/n Florence, etc.)

Questions

1) RS doesn't describe a "Chianti Drive," but fair to say that on arrival day, we could drive to Siena via Chianti? Maybe stop at one town along the way, while still arriving in Siena before dark?

2) For the day we drive back to FLR, I realize Crete Senesi and Val d'Orcia are south of Siena. Is it feasible to take the (very) long way back to FLR to see both of these areas, with a stop in one town? It's OK if we don't arrive at FLR until evening. If that sounds exhausting, then we'd either add a night in Siena for more breathing room, or use some of our "walking around day" for a shorter car ride. Or just skip Val d'Orcia, although I'd hate to be so close and miss seeing it.

And I do think we'd stay in Siena itself, because I worry that with a rural stay, our days would end too early because of ~6:30pm sunset.

Posted by
95 posts

Hi again, here’s our current plan (Siena 3 nights / Florence 3 / Bologna 1), which is still very flexible. Would love any advice. Grazie mille!

Top questions:
1. Oct 13: Are these the right stops with kids and no wine agenda?
2. Oct 15: Too ambitious before 6:30pm sunset?
3. Oct 15: Just drive to Florence at night? Worth it to trade crowded mid-day SG visit (Wed) for more time elsewhere?
4. Oct 19-20: I’m struggling with the Bologna part. The “least Bologna” plan is to just daytrip there our last morning, since our flight is so late. But that’s a Sun, and I really want to walk the Quadrilatero (too quiet on Sun). The “most Bologna plan” would be to skip that San Gimi day and spend two nights in Bologna, comfortably allowing for a daytrip to Ferrara, Motor Valley, Ravenna, etc. The best compromise might be to stick with the plan below, and on departure day, attempt a daytrip if motivated. I’m not sure if the 8pm flight allows enough time for that (we would leave our luggage at/near the train station).

Sun Oct 13
Arrive FLR at 10:30am (it’s not an overnight flight) > drive SR222 > lunch in Panzano (Sunday market ends 1pm) > maybe gelato in Castellina > Siena

Mon Oct 14
Siena sightseeing (maybe afternoon drive)

Tue Oct 15
Drive Crete Senesi > Val d’Orcia w/ stops in Pienza and Montepulciano > Siena

Wed Oct 16
Drive San Gimignano morning > Florence late-afternoon (drop car)

Thu Oct 17-Fri Oct 18
Florence sightseeing

Sat Oct 19 (flexible)
Train > Bologna (I figured noon-ish)

Sun Oct 20
Depart BLQ 8pm, so we have all day (more Bologna? Daytrip via train?)

Posted by
95 posts

Thanks for the feedback! I've now heard from several Italians (or maybe expats?) that this plan looks solid, so I'll stick with it and stop over-thinking it. I'm still a little stumped on how to best enjoy "food tourism" in/around Bologna, but I saw your separate post about the NY Times article and will reply there.

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