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Perfect Tuscan Hills Drive?

This August we will be taking the overnight train from Paris to Rome, Florence or Bologna to be decided upon the chosen itinerary. We will be spending 10 days in Italy, based out of Bologna, and are planning to visit Venice 3 days, Verona 1 day, Florence 2 days, Rome 2 days.
We would love take some time off the beaten path, rent a car and drive along the Tuscan hills. If at all possible stay at a local farm/Winery and suck into the local culture.
Which would be the best towns to visit for that picture perfect Tuscan drive? Can anyone recommend a local farm? Should we rent the car as soon as we get off the train in Rome or Florence? Should we straight to bologna and rent a car there?
We have been to Italy before and except for Verona (which is a must for our 13 year old daughter) we have been to all places. Our return flight leaves from FCO, so we must spend at least 1 night in Rome.
Thanks,
Julia

Posted by
11247 posts

Some clarification please: When you say "based out of Bologna," do you mean you are day-tripping to Venice, Verona, Florence and Rome and actually sleeping in Bologna? Did you want this drive to be when you leave wherever you are (Bologna, Florence) and on your way to Rome?

You will probably arrive in Milan if you are taking the TGV from Paris and have to change trains to go to your next stop, although you could rent the car in Milan. The SlowTrav.com website used to have a handful of Tuscan drive recommendations, but it seems to be gone. At least I cannot get any links to load. I know that the drive from Montepulciano to Pienza to Montalcino is delightful.

Posted by
15043 posts

Not sure if using Bologna as a base is cost effective or time efficient if you want to take day trips to all those places. The round trip train to Florence is almost 40 minutes long and costs €50 ($60) per person round trip. If it's 3 of you, that's $360 if you go twice. Venice or Verona are even farther since you are not on high speed railways (almost 1.5 hours and 50 min each way respectively) and just as expensive. If you plan to go to Venice 3 times that is going to be a lot of time on the trains and quite a bit of money. If you drive from Bologna to Tuscany, let's say Siena area, it's at least a couple of hours each way. The cost is around $60 a day for the rental. Gasoline is over €1.55 a liter (that's over $7 per U.S. gallon). Rome is way too far from Bologna to even consider it for a day trip. So unless your accommodations in Bologna are free (maybe you are staying with friends or family), I would reconsider your plans.

Posted by
6 posts

Laurel- yes, we will be day tripping to Venice, Verona, Florence and actually sleeping in Bologna. Rome will be our last stop as our return flight leaves out of FCO airport.
Roberto- Our accommodations in Bologna are free. We have already consider the time it takes from Bologna to Venice/Verona/Florence and we are OK with 1.5 hours long trips. I didn’t think the train tickets were so expensive though. Would it be cheaper to get an Italian train pass?
We realized that driving from Bologna to the countryside would be too long. The plan is to rent a car and drive for a couple of days in the countryside. We can take the drive from Montepulciano to Pienza to Montalcino as suggested by Laurel and since our accommodations are free – we have some flexibility. Would it be more time effective to do the drive on our way to Bologna or on our way to Rome? Is there an overnight from Paris to Florence? Would Florence be the best city to rent a car in?
Thanks,
Julia

Posted by
11613 posts

The drive through Tuscany will probably work better on your way to Rome. Montalcino (one of my favorite towns) is less than an hour's drive south of Siena, for example.

If you can tie yourselves down to a specific train departure time/day, you can get cheaper tickets up to 120 days in advance on Trenitalia's website. Bologna to Florence, Bologna to Venice are on high-speed trains which offer super-economy tickets with no changes to the ticket permitted.

Posted by
11247 posts

You can research trains from Paris to Italy at SNCF. There is an overnight train. Whether you'll get any rest is another matter.

Posted by
15043 posts

For your car trip to Tuscany, I would do it at the tail end of your trip on the way to Rome (if you fly out of there).
Rent in Bologna, that way you save the whopping super high speed (and super high price) ticket on the train to Florence. Besides I think that starting your trip from your Bologna accommodations with a car is more convenient with no luggage to haul to the station and on trains, just load it in the trunk at the place where you are staying.
To visit a few towns take a couple of nights along the way. You can base yourself in the Siena area and visit San Gimignano, Volterra, Certaldo, the Chianti, etc. Then, the following day(s) on the way to Rome you can hit, Montepulciano, Pienza, Montalcino, the Val D'Orcia, since they are farther south from Siena.
To return the car in Rome, the easiest is to drop it off at the Tiburtina station, which is near the freeway exit coming from Roma Tangenziale Est (east). If you stop and visit in Orvieto you could drop it off in Orvieto too, then proceed by train (Hertz is in Orvieto, but not Europcar).
Don't return the car at the airport unless you are staying at an airport hotel, or unless you are flying out as soon as you arrive at the airport with your car.
I'm not familiar with the train passes nowadays, since I haven't used them in a while. Depending on how many trips you take, some alternative formulas might pay off. Or you could buy the high speed tickets ahead of time. However once you book a specific train and pay, then you are locked into that specific train. If you change your mind or if you miss that train, you lose your money as they are not refundable nor changeable.

Posted by
6 posts

I will leave my car trip for the end part of my trip and visit some of the wonderful towns which have been suggested. I will also work out a schedule and try to buy the train tickets in advance.
Thank you all for sharing your time and traveling wisdom with me.
Julia

Posted by
4105 posts

Is there a reason you don't want to fly from Paris to Bologna?

Easyjet, a budget carrier, flies from CDG-BOQ 2hrs. 40 min. Cost would be less expensive and more

comfortable than an overnight train.

Posted by
6 posts

Gerri- Good point. I will look into this.. Thanks

Posted by
4105 posts

Just be sure to check baggage restrictions carefully. One carryon is just that, not a purse and bag.

I put my purse in my bag.

If you will have more luggage, pay to check it when purchasing tickets. Same with seats, prebook them.

Posted by
6 posts

I checked the flights from Paris to Bologna, and found some reasonable fare prices. We have decided to flight and will be booking our tickets soon.
So far this is what our itinerary looks like.
Day 1- PM flight from Paris to Bologna
Day 2- 4 – Venice. Day trips or 2 nights stay depending on the train fare
Day 5- Bologna
Day 6- Day trip to Verona
Day 7 –Day trip to Florence
Day 8- AM car rental in bologna and travel to San Gimignano (stay at Agriturismo Fattoria Poggio Alloro)
Day 9- Countryside drive thru Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, Orvieto (stay at Agriturismo Antica Olivaia)
Day 10- PM drive to Rome, return car to airport with hotel by airport
Day 11- Flight home out FCO
Questions: for days 8 & 9, does is make sense to stay at a different place each night? They both seem great and have excellent reviews. Or should I stay both nights in 1 place? Which one would you recommend?

Posted by
11613 posts

I would stay two nights at one place, save the other one for another trip.