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To stay between Umbria and Tuscany, or in both?

Posted by (Providence, RI) on

Hello and Happy pending 2025!

My wife and I and another couple are in the early planning stages of an 10 day visit to Tuscany and Umbria in late September or early October if 2025 Were all in our late thirties and very active.

I've done a bit of reading on some older threads here enough to know that there are differing opinions on strategy for visiting this area. I'm hoping that some of you can help us decide what option to choose.

We know that we'd love the experience of staying at an agrotourismo(s) where we can slow down, relax, enjoy a small restaurant for the guests or maybe even do some cooking of own some mornings or evenings, but definitely wanting to also venture out.

All of us have experiences in the food, wine, and hospitality fields so we're very interested in visiting firsthand whatever agricultural gems of the regions that we can - the many wine regions (we love small producer wines of Orvieto, San Giminiano, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Montefalco, Chianti, it goes on and on!) pecorino cheese making, prosciutto & salumi, and olive oil and the rest! We certainly have the itch to eat drink well wherever we go, and hopefully meet the lovely folks who make and share all of these beautiful things!

We're also interested in spending time in various smaller villages and soaking in the histories, art, and culture of each - maybe even a day to get out on a bike ride or day hike somewhere beautiful too?

From a logistical perspective, would it be a reasonable strategy to book a place around Montepulciano as a base to day trip from into both regions by car for the entire time? Is another town better situated to do this from? Or would we be doing ourselves a disservice by trying to do everything from one location and instead consider booking two separate accommodations in the heart of each region?

I guess another question is presuming we fly into Rome, should we rent a car from there and drive to our destination. Or is it wiser the train the Florence or Sienna and then rent from there?

Feel free to ask clarifying questions or give a reality check if we're thinking about something in an way that isn't quite realistic. Thanks in advance for sage wisdom and experienced perspectives!

Cheers!

Posted by
8371 posts

We and done a lot of Tuscany, but not Umbria.
I did find a great tour of Tuscany and Umbria. It is run by Road Scholar and visits the villages and towns of both areas.
We stay in Siena for five days and visit small towns of Tuscany, then to Spoleto and use it as a base to do the same.

Posted by
1740 posts

Take the time to look up Montepulciano on a map, then consider: when you drive the A1 highway, your speed will be 120 km/h but the exits close to Montepulciano are at Val di Chiana and Chiusi, that is to say the exits are not close at all. All other Tuscan roads are endlessly windy so the average speed is close to 60 km/h.

If you look at the road network, you will see that Montepulciano is a close drive only to Pienza and S. Quirico. Other places in the Siena province are maybe not so distant but roads are slow; and anything around the A1 begins driving half an hour to the closest exit.

So the reply is: if you plan to stay near Montepulciano and walk around and sit at a table sipping your wine, Montepulciano is a good choice. But if you plan to drive a lot, well, you are going to drive a lot to get anywhere. Siena is a little more than one hour away, for example.

The point is not being in Tuscany or being in Umbria, is how fast the connections will be from your stay.

Posted by
11644 posts

After many trips to Tuscany, we finally decided to stay in Umbria. It is less crowded and offers some differences in food and wine. We spent two weeks in Spello and highly recommend this town.
As far as car rentals, we have found it less expensive to pick up the car in Rome which surprised us.

Posted by
520 posts

We love Cortona. It’s pretty much on the border of Tuscany and Umbria. Florence and Arezzo are easily accessible from the train station in Camucia, the city right below Cortona. And Siena, Montalcino, Montepulciano, and Assisi, and other towns, are fairly easy car trips from there.

It’s easy to get to from Rome or Florence. If you fly in and out of Rome, consider staying the night in Orvieto the night before. Or even two nights so you can visit Civita di Bagnoreggio (sp?).

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