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Seeking advice on our itinerary for Tuscany (September 2017)

Posted by (Vancouver, BC) on

We are planning a 1-month trip to Tuscany in September 2017. The third week we join a bike trip in Florence to tour the Tuscan coast area, ending in Rome. Based on these ‘hard edges’ here is my tentative plan so far:

Overnight flight to Rome from Vancouver, BC arriving around 2 pm; train to Orvieto (2 nights) giving us time to recover from the flight

Pick up a car and drive to Cortona via Spoleto & Assisi; day trips to Arezzo and Perugia (4 nights)

Drive to Montepulciano; day trips to Sienna, Montalcino, Pienza (4 nights)

Drive to Lucca via Volterra & San Gimignano; drop the car; possibly take a day trip to Pisa via bus (3 nights)

Train to Florence (4 nights) 3 full days

Bike trip (6 nights)

Rome (6 nights) 5 full days

Never having been to Tuscany, I’m looking for feedback on our choice to stay in Cortona and Montepulciano– are they good bases for exploring other towns? Montepulciano was chosen because we love wine and like the descriptions of the wine bars and restaurants featuring the local wine; Cortona was recommended by a friend. Initially we were going to stay in more towns for a couple of nights in each but decided it was better to stay put longer and do day trips rather than move frequently to different towns.

I'm planning on staying inside both towns rather than outside to ensure we can easily walk to dinner in the evenings. On the bike tour we will stay at an Agrihotel in Collemezzano, a resort in Castagneto and an Agritourismo in Caldana so we will have an opportunity to experience more secluded accommodation.

We’d like to take a cooking class along the way and are looking for recommendations for one that is geared toward English speakers and experienced cooks. We prefer to sample wine with food thus we aren’t planning any formal winery tours but might stop into wineries when we are out and about.

We are not fans of Renaissance art so are assuming 3 full days is sufficient to see the highlights in Florence and plan on spending most of our time wandering about and soaking up the atmosphere. We love exploring cities thus 5 days in Rome but perhaps it’s too long? I haven't started the research and planning for Rome yet and we haven't purchased our tickets so that part is flexible.

What have I missed that’s worth seeing? What changes or tweaks would you recommend to make the most of our time in Tuscany?

Posted by
11851 posts

It is a lovely itinerary! I love that you are staying in a few places but not town-hopping every couple of nights. We like to stay in towns, too, so that we don't have to drive after dinner.

Just stopping into wineries is iffy. My experience is they like to know you are coming. You might consider a wine tour with someone, or visit the Enoteca in Montalcino where you can taste dozens of wines. (They ship, too.)

Pamela Shelton Johns does cooking classes near Montalcino.

From Lucca, you can easily go to Pisa by train. Be sure to allow a day just for Lucca, though!

Posted by
907 posts

You might get bored in Cortona for four nights. Some say Arezzo has more to do. I haven't been to Arezzo so I can't say. Perugia is a hopping town, a university city much larger than other around there. It might be a good choice too. I like Spoleto for a visit, be sure and go out to the bridge on the east side of the castle.

You can certainly day trip Lucca from Florence if you like. And, Pisa is right in your way between Volterra and Lucca, might be worth a stop for you. Go to the Campo Santo if you go to Pisa. Fascination reconstruction story.

It looks like a wonderful itinerary. Good job putting together.

Posted by
1175 posts

Just a thought:

You noted that you would like to take a cooking class. If you opted to stay at Cretaiole or Borgo Argenina, 2 agriturismos OUTSIDE of town, both offer cooking at their place with all of the guests. It is a delightful evening with everyone sitting down to a sumptious meal.

You might like one agriturismo out of town and one in town B&B.

In Florence, try florencetown.com for cooking classes.

Posted by
1953 posts

I agree that this is a terrific itinerary. My only suggestion is to consider staying in Siena, which I think is worth more than a day trip. If you don't want to add an additional location for your lodging, you might consider staying there instead of Montepulciano.

Whatever you decide, you're going to have a wonderful adventure!

Posted by
16232 posts

Cortona and Montepulciano are both good as bases.
From Cortona you can also visit Castiglion Del Lago, Lucignano, Castel Fiorentino, and a bit farther, Anghiari (a gem). Arezzo and Perugia are a bit bigger than a town (more like small cities).

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