My husband and I have three nights and two-three days to spend in the Tuscan countryside. What hill-town would make the best base camp for touring the other towns? We have been told Siena and Cortona are good choices. Any suggestions? We'd like to see Montepulciano, Montecino, San Giminano, etc. Also, should we pick up our rental car in Florence or take the train to the city we plan to stay in? Which is the more economical, less headache choice? Appreciate the help!
Angie
Picking up a rental in Florence isn't too bad but if you can arrange to do so in Siena you'll have less traffic. With a car, I'd look for an agriturismo somewhere outside of a town. They usually have free parking which is a headache in the well known hill towns.
We rented a car last May at Milan airport and drove for 3 weeks from Bellagio all the way down to Paestum. Tuscany was fun to drive in, and I've heard trains are few and far between. Our first home base was Siena. From there we visited Florence, Volterra, San Gimignano (eat great local food at Chiribiri), and Asciano (gorgeous drive). We then visited Cortona on our way to Assisi (stayed at wonderful Martini house); then visited Orvieto on way to Civita di Bagnoreggio, where we stayed at our absolutely favorite place: Romantica Pucci. Pucci is listed in Rick's book, and made our Tuscany/Umbria time magical. We even stayed in the Magnolia Room, which is where Rick stayed twice!
Thanks for the advice. I think we actually came to the conclusion to pick up our car in Florence so we can go from town to town and wing it a little. I thought I would work up a rough iternary, but leave us open for the three nights in Tuscany so we can have a little freedom. We will have already spent two days in Florence and three in Venice.
At the end of our trip we will spend two nights in Bologna, where we fly out. Since this city isn't explored in Rick's book -- any do not miss activities/sights?
Thanks!
