Staying in Tuscany

Siena home base + rental car + day trips to Tuscany.

If you decide to home base in Siena, give some thought to the 2 issues of 1) overnight parking and 2) avoiding or minimizing driving into or through the historical center area of Siena.

Pienza! Wonderful Rennaissance town centrally located to so many things, including Siena. Incredible views of the Val d'Orcia. Very good, reasonably priced restaurants. (Darn, now you have me wanting to go back.)

I must say the folks at www.cottagestocastles.com was a God send for us. Spoke with Teresa, who immediately phoned me back from the UK, was not only helpful, but as a liason for the owner of the property, was outstanding. They have multiple properties that made it painless for us. Perhaps they will have suggestions if you give them your ideas. Warm regards!

Ashleigh,

As the others have mentioned, one of the concerns with Siena will be parking. There is a parking lot close to the Church of San Domenico, but I can't remember details on costs. You might try to choose a Hotel that offers parking.

Someone else suggested Pienza and that's another possibility. However, it's a smaller town so will be a bit "quiet" in the evenings. That may not be a concern? While in Pienza you might try Pici al Tartufo which is a locally made pasta with Truffles (I can hardly wait to try it again!). I can provide the name of a restaurant if you're interested.

If you'd prefer more of a "country Hotel", you might have a look at This Hotel. It's not far from Pienza and located in a beautiful part of Tuscany. It's just below the Spa facility at Bagno Vignoni, and there's a great restaurant there as well.

Also note that for driving in Italy you'll need the compulsory International Driver's Permit. This must be used with your home D.L. and drivers can be fined on the spot for failing to produce an IDP. A GPS unit along with a good Map would also be advisable.

Happy travels!

Ashleigh,
This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

We made Siena our home base mainly because of the size and easy access to all the hill towns. We rented a car for a day and drove to Asciano, San Giovanni d'Asso, Pienza and Montepulciano. If you want to be more south, you may want to look at Orvieto.

Two years ago we stayed at Il Canto del Sole, an"agriturismo" located about 15-20 minutes from Siena. Perfect location for visiting Siena as well as day trips to hill towns. Good reviews on tripadvisor, as well. http://www.ilcantodelsole.com

We are renting a car in Rome and staying in Castellina which is between Florence and Siena. We were looking for a centrally located so we co make day trips to those two cities as well as Pisa and the coast.

I suggest Agriturismo Marciano just 10 minutes from Siena's walls. It's a wonderful place. We stayed 4 nights there last September & had a car & drove to various hill towns every day. Can't say enough great things about the agriturismo (read reviews on Trip Advisor) but I agree with the others that parking will be difficult. The agriturismo is only 10 minutes away from the walled city yet you feel like you're in the country & parking was no problem. For me, it was the best of all worlds. The agriturismo is a working vineyard & olive grove. They offer optional dinners which are to die for & are paired with their homemade wines & the ingredients for the meals are fresh. The owners will give you a tour of the vineyard if you ask. They are very gracious & lovely. Have a great trip. I'm jealous!

We love Cortona. It is easy to visit Florence and Arezzo, and probably other cities, by train from there, and Assisi, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Siena, and several other places are easy day trips by car from there. We have even taken a friend to the airport in Rome and then stopped in Orvieto and Civita on the way back as a day trip from there. Plus, it is a wonderful place to visit on its own, two good museums, many good restaurants, and two gelato places that I can never decide between for my favorite.

We stayed at Il Canto del Sol, an agriturisimo very close to Siena. It is convenient for exploring Tuscany, the accomodations are very nice and the owners, Laura and Luciano and exceptional. PLUS Laura is an incredible cook who put on a meal for about 25 people one night (20E pp) that was out of this world. Parking is free, there is a great pool of you want to take a break and relax. If you will have a car, that's great. There is parking in Siena but my only recommendation is to make sure you note on a map where you parked. We parked our rental van in a parking garage and thought we knew where it was. Two hours later, after walking up and down the hills, we finally found it! Hope you have a great trip.