We will be 2 days in Florence and 2 days in Montepulciano area before going to poppi and Arezzo for 2 weeks (cooking classes). After the class we have 2 days to spare before going back to Florence. Any recommendations for things to do and places to stay will be appreciated .
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17974 posts
Will you be in Poppi for 2 days or 2 weeks? I am not clear about your plans.
There are lots of agriturismi (farmhouses) in the valley, but two days is too short. Generally they rent for one week or more.
As far as regular hotels in Poppi, I would suggest La Torricella. I have a house in the area and go there often to eat but I heard it’s a nice place to stay as well. There is also a nice modern hotel in the area, which is called Parc Hotel.
The Casentino Valley has several things of interest. Poppi and its Count Guidi’s castle (Dante lived there while in exile), the Sanctuary of La Verna (St. Francis of Assisi), the Convent of Camaldoli, Santa Maria del Sasso, Stia, the Romena Castle, and of course the Casentino National Forest, one of the largest in Europe, in case you like hiking. Just Google “Casentino” and you will find plenty of ideas.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your suggestions.
To answer your question, it’s actually both. We have one week booked 4 kilometers from Poppi and one week booked 15 minutes from Arezzo with organized activities including cooking classes. After that we have 2 extra days free to explore before we have to drive back to Florence. For those 2 days we don’t have lodging because we need to plan where to be or what to do.
Thank you again for your reply.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
2093 posts
Staying in Arezzo would probably be the easiest and depending on your schedule you could return the car in Arezzo and take the train to Florence. If you feel you will have seen Arezzo enough in your time there then maybe this doesn't appeal.
This is a super specific interest but in Stia - on the same train line as Poppi - there is a museum built into an old woolen mill that chronicles the wool production process and the history of the mill in the town. There is still some wool production there and you can still buy samples and products of the area.
https://www.museodellalana.it/en/museo-dellarte-della-lana
There are a couple of more small museums in the town and it might be worth a look since it's 10-15 minutes from Poppi.
If this interests you there is a really good textile museum in Prato - 20 minutes from Florence by train - also in a an old wool mill.
If you feel you've seen the local area then you might branch out for a couple of nights. The nice thing about the Arezzo area is you are closer to the eastern places that are too far from the Siena area. Cortona is certainly the most famous and is 45 minutes drive from Arezzo. Or Lago Trasimeno is a little more than an hour if you want to do the lake thing. Also the scenic walled city of Castiglion Fiorentino is in the area about 30 minutes from Arezzo with Ristorante La Piana - widely regarded as one of the very best restaurants in Tuscany if you can get in. If you are there for the culinary experience this might be what you are looking for.
https://www.la-piana.net/en/
Sounds amazing - have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
8766 posts
Castiglione del Lago [Trasamiento] is a lovely town, with a big town museum, and a ruined castle. We were told it had good food, but we had already booked an absolutely superb and glamorous lunch with wine tasting at the nearby Avignonesi Winery. It straddles two provinces, so they have some unusual blends. Lunch was the best food of our trip. Shopped after lunch to work off the alcohol, and refused many refills.
I assume you have already been to Orvieto, but it's on the way back to Rome by car.