I am headed to Italy have 5 nights devoted to staying in the Tuscany area. I will be driving from Rome, headed to Le Spazia. My husband and I want to visit Assis, Deruta, possibly Siena, and Chianti area. We want to do some exploring, wine tasting, and possibly a cooking class. We are torn between staying a few nights in Pienza area and the remainder in Chianti or another town, vs staying the entire time in 1 town. We don't want to do big driving each day, maybe an hour-1.5 driving from where are are staying to towns. Any suggestions?
Posted by
11500 posts
Stay in one place and drive to a variety of other towns.
In Deruta visit Ubalde Grazia, a ceramics maker dating back to 1500! We bought several of their beautiful pieces, had them ship all of them and they all arrived in perfect condition at our home.
Siena is in Chianti and makes a good central base to stay in. Pienza would work well too.
Assisi is not in Tuscany, rather located in Umbria. It is special, but in your list, an outlier.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15829 posts
It’s a lot of real estate to visit from one location, certainly if you don’t plan to drive more than 1.5 hours each way on a day trip. Chianti is just north of Siena between Florence and Siena, and can be reached from Siena iin just 30-60 minutes. Pienza and Montepulciano are a bit over one hour south of Siena. So the Siena area is a good base for both areas.
Assisi and Deruta are in Umbria, and 1.5 hours aren’t enough to reach from Siena, therefore you either choose a second base in Umbria, or drive almost a couple of hours from Siena.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
Check out Dario Cecchini in Panzano. Chianti area. You could have lunch at his butcher shop. He is a peronality. If you google him watch the videos. https://www.dariocecchini.com/
Posted by
Michigan
64 posts
Definitely stay in one place. We stayed 7 nights in Tuscany this past June. We did daily trips out to towns, monasteries, hot baths, gardens, Siena, etc. Our longest trip being the hour drive to Siena. We stayed about 20-minutes outside Pienza very close to the tiny town of Castelmuzio. We stayed at La Moscadella by The Isabella Experience. Isabella curates cultural events for you. For example, we took a pici pasta making class, visited the family farm in Pienza, and got to tour private Etruscan caves on their farm. This was for my family of four (tween girls) and my parents in their 70s. There was something for everyone. A true destination in itself! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1092580-d17387772-Reviews-La_Moscadella_The_Isabella_Experience-Castelmuzio_Tuscany.html
Posted by
Portland, OR
1120 posts
I have done it both ways and I would definitely opt for two locations, especially if you’re going to do any wine tasting. These are long country roads and everything takes longer to drive to. Pienza, Montalcino or Montepulciano would be a great first stop for two or three nights.