Hi all,
Looking for recommendations on a home base town in Tuscany. We will spend about 10 days in the region wine/olive tasting (Chianty and Montepulciano) ending up with 2-3 days in Florence. We are a group of 4 adults. We thought about Siena but not sure. Willing to spend time in different towns.
Also, if you can recommend an arbnb, B&B, agroturismo or hotel would be greatly appreciated.
Siena is very congested (down the hill from the center city) and parking is quite difficult. But I like the countryside outside of there for an agriturismo.
I also like the area around San Gimignano and Certaldo to stay in. When we were there, we shopped at the two great supermarkets in Poggibonsi. You can easily get to anywhere in Tuscany from there, and Florence may be 30 minutes to the north.
Will you be renting a car? Transportation in this area is very limited.
gerri
We will have a rental. Then we will drop it in Florence, stay 2-3 days then take the train back to Rome.
We stayed at Palazzo del Capitano in San Quirico d'Orcia - it was lovely with an exdeptional restaurant - centrally located in Tuscany. Lovely small town. We highly recommend it! We were there for our 20th Wedding anniversary.
This one is in the Val d'Orcia by Montalcino. Their site on Agriturismo.It is only in Italian
http://www.booking.com/Share-5CGdW3
This one is in the Chianti region with good access to the whole region.
Both are beautiful properties with helpful hosts.
gerri
Those places looks spectacular and very well located. Do you have recommendations on small family own hotels or B&B in or near the centro storico in any of the villages? We are into wine country but would like to do the evening "passegiata" and walk in a local piazza with the locals.
I don't generally stay in the smaller towns, unless parking is provided in a non ZTL zone. We usually stay in agriturismos out in the countryside. Your best bet would be to locate a town that apeals to you, then go to booking.com, set your filters for price and property type. I find it easier to do each category (hotels, b&bs, etc) separately. Look also at VRBO, and Tuscany Accommodations.
Check out Greve in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti. They are all close to Siena.
Further south Pienza would be a central base for the Val d'Orcia. From here you have very short drives to Montepulciano and Montalcino. It has good access to the southern Chianti area.
If you would like to stay in Chianti, we loved Greve..........It has a beautiful piazza in town, surrounded by shops, restaurants, etc.
Very walkable. And Radda.......Also has beautiful views of the surrounding hills/valleys/vineyards.
If you would like to stay in Southern Tuscany, we absolutely loved Montepulciano. We stayed in a beautiful palazzo, right on the square.........Palazzo Nobile.The palazzo has been renovated with gorgeous antiques and hand-painted frescoes, by a young woman whose family has owned the building for generations. There is a public parking area a few blocks away. However, Montepulciano is a walled hill town. The streets can be very steep. So if walking hills is a challenge, areas in Chianti might be a better option.
Happy travels! :)
