Sienna or Cortona

Linda: More people posting on this board go to Siena than Cortona. But your decision should be based on your preferences and research into both destinations. They are both wonderful places--can you do both? That would be a great solution to your dilemma!Using the search box (upper right), you can search on both destinations and see reviews here (spell Siena with one n).Your choice of lodging depends on your budget; without knowing your budget (hotel cost per night), we can't give very useful advice.

Linda,

Siena is a bit easier to get to than Cortona, but I'm sure either would be good. As Kent mentioned, pick whichever one is more interesting for you (again as mentioned, why not see both).

"Where to stay" will depend on which city you choose. Check the Italy Guidebook as it contains quite a few listings in different price ranges.

Happy travels!

We have a limited amount of days, we are doing Florence and Cinque Terre and prefer a laid back atmosphere. We are open to higher end accomodations.

Linda: Do you have Rick's book Florence & Tuscany 2009 that are generally priced in the moderate range (moderate for Italy)?To find reviews posted by travelers here, use search box upper right to search on Cinque Terre, Florence, Firenze, and similar terms. The search function on this site is not very good but if you give it a few tries you should find recommendations from people here.

It depends on what you are looking for. Siena is a larger town with more sights to see. Cortona is a small town on top of a hill. Both are crowded with tourists during the day, but delightful in the evening after the daytrippers have left.

Someone mentioned that Cortona was more challenging to get to than Siena. I think it depends on where you are coming from. Cortona is not far from the train line between Florence and Rome. Take the train to the Camucia stop and then catch the local bus to the town of Cortona (about 15 minutes up the hill). If you are planning on taking daytrips, there will be more options from Siena as it is a much larger town.

I'd suggest you read a little about both towns and go with the one that sounds better to you.

If you decide to stay in Cortona, I had a very nice stay in 2007 at the B&B Le Gelosie (www.legelosie.com). There are a number of reviews on tripadvisor. It is a small place with just 4 rooms that is very clean and tidy and just steps from one of the main squares, Piazza Signorelli. They don't actually have a breakfast room; instead, they give you a "ticket" that you can take to a cafe nearby for coffee, juice, and a croissant. I really enjoyed sitting out in the square for breakfast and watching the shopowners open their shops.