My wife and I (ages 69 and 78) are planning to spend 2 weeks in Florence in March/April of 2023 (meeting family there), and then we want to spend a few weeks in a mid-size town in Tuscany/Umbria. We would like something relatively flat, given our ages, but we are still mobile. We prefer a town with an old historic center, preferably with medieval architecture, old churches/cathedral, winding streets, and the like. Do not need a place with a lot of nightlife. We would like a place that has some museums, good restaurants, perhaps a weekly market, and easily available car rental facility (we plan not to use a car too much). We much prefer renting an apartment for the whole time, both because you generally get more space, and because we like to cook. We have been to Italy before, and have seen the Perugia/Assisi area already and want something new (hence Tuscany). We would also like to attend an Italian language school while we are in the “perfect” town. We are in preliminary stages of planning, and have identified Arezzo and Siena as possible towns. I know that Siena can be somewhat hilly, but thought that if we got an apartment somewhere in the centro storico, we could avoid having to hike up a lot of hills, and could take a bus down to the lower part of town when we needed to (e.g., to rent a car). What do people think of our possible cities? Any other suggestions? Any suggestions about finding an apartment? Thanks.
Posted by
11214 posts
Siena and Arezzo are good choices. Add Cortona too, another hill town though.
Posted by
Irving
2979 posts
Siena is a good home base for exploring Tuscany if you’re interested in visiting Pienza, the hilly town of Montepulciano, San Gimignano and Volterra but you need a car. I’ve been to Siena three times and don’t remember hills. All three times I stayed in the historical center which is magical at night after the day trippers leave.
A good base in Umbria is Orvieto but you won’t be as close to the Tuscan hill towns mentioned above. Furthermore, San Gimignano and Volterra are too far for day tripping. If you want to tour Tuscany stay in Tuscany.
Posted by
Centennial, CO, USA
1883 posts
Look into VBRO or AirBNB for a long(er) term stay. Siena is hilly outside of the historic center as you know. Expect anything close to the center to be fairly noisy as you will be living close to everyone/everything. If you are looking for a language school, you are going to have to limit where you stay...Siena is a good option for that.
Posted by
Western Canada
3148 posts
Your description perfectly describes Lucca!
Posted by
Milwaukie, Oregon
1056 posts
I agree with the suggestion of Lucca. It’s a town that is flat, walkable and has a lot to see, particularly if you are music fans, as it is Puccini‘s birthplace. There is car rental available, but you won’t need it to see the sites in the city. There’s also a very good Italian language school in Lucca.
Posted by
OP
169 posts
Than ks for the replies so far. I have ruled out Lucca, for a couple of reasons. First, we visited there a few times when we were in Perugia. Second, I did not find that it had enough interesting sights to hold my attention for a prolonged stay. So I am ruling it out and focusing on Tuscany up in the hills. Peter