Tuscany - 6 nights - Home base in Agriturismo or Montepulciano?

I know a lot of people love to stay in an agriturismo and I've enjoyed the occasional nights I've spent in them, but most of the time I prefer staying in a town. For one thing, as you say, there's the problem of where to go for dinner and if you drive yourself then at least one of you can't drink. But also, I just prefer to walk around in the evenings and look at people and things and so find an agriturismo rather boring after a day or so. But I don't think there is really a right answer. But you asked for thoughts - I'd split the time and spend at least half of it in town.

I personally would split up the stay. Three nights in montepulciano and then 3 nights in an agriturismo in another part of Tuscany or another hill town. Agriturismos aren’t great if you don’t have a car unless you can walk to the train or bus stop.

I don't like to change bases often, and for a week there's plenty to see and do from Montepulciano without needing to drive too far. We rented twice in Montepulciano, one rental no longer on the market. We stayed over a week at the following agriturismo on the edge of town, about a 15 minute walk to the town walls, and it has countryside views at the back. Clean and comfortable accommodations, very friendly and helpful hosts. They have installed a swimming pool since we stayed.

https://www.fontecastello.it/

I guess I'm confused. If you stay in an agro outside of town you said you are concerned with taxiing into Montepulciano at night for dinner. You didn't mention a concern with getting around other than dinner. How you do plan on getting around during the day time or do you just plan on staying at the agro all day? Are you driving your own rental car during the day? Can't you drive into town yoruself and just limit your alcohol intake at night to a glass at dinner?

My choice of to stay in town or at an agro would be based on the experiences of each and not drinks at night controlling my stay.

Staying in town usually means because you don't have personal transport while those staying at agros typically have a rental car.

Another RS contributor suggested this place before our own trip a couple of years ago https://www.montorio.com/ and we wound up booking it ourselves for 4 nights. It's located a short walk from the church at San Biagio, which is just across the street from Ristorante La Grotta - one of the best restaurants in the town. The apartments in the villa are all gorgeous, and we found that the location made it a snap to get on the road every morning to explore the other hill towns in the area as well as the beautiful Val D'Orcia. The free parking on site was also a bonus. Can't recommend the place highly enough.
Driving around the Tuscan countryside was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing things we've done on any of our travels.
A very enjoyable way to get from Montepulciano back to Florence (or the reverse) is via Siena and the beautiful Chiantigiana road (the SR 222 on the map) - probably one of the most scenic drives in Italy.

@Mike — the original poster said they didn’t want to drive to dinner because they like to have drinks with dinner (therefore making it illegal to drive back to their accommodation after dinner). It seems they will have a car for getting around otherwise. It’s just that they sensibly plan not to drive it when they will be drinking.

Agriturismos can be rustic, or significantly fancier, with meals, activities, etc. An Agriturismo with meals, etc might be a good compromise (no driving after drinking required) when mixed with a stay in town for a livelier atmosphere.

We spent two weeks in an apartment in Montepulciano that had parking -- it was perfect for touring Tuscany. It was our third week long visit and our favorite location. You cannot drive and drink in Italy so it is nice to be in a place like Montepulciano that has lots of good restaurants to walk to. Our apartment was on the town wall and so we had a gorgeous view over the valley from our balcony and our front door was in town to stroll out for the morning bread or the evening restaurant. Montepulciano is also gorgeous and the views from the ramparts on all sides of the old town are stunning. The view from our balcony is at the end of this photo journal post. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/patterns/
And there are a couple of shots of the views from Montepulciano as well as of the town itself. I noticed someone mentioned the restaurant in Montepulciano la Grotte and it is certainly one of the lovely dining experiences there.

I don't like the isolation of agriturisimos -- although if you are in one with an excellent cook the restaurant issue is less important.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and comments! Seems like staying in town would be our best bet, as we do love taking an after dinner stroll to just enjoy the scenery. We will probably just plan to visit an Agriturismo for lunch.

Thanks again!

I am also planning my holiday to Montepulciano this summer since it was cancelled last summer due to covid. I have stayed a few times in Montepulciano and it's one of my goto places when I am looking to get away from the larger cities. Montepulciano has come a long way with public transport since I started visiting many years ago. If you need a driver or taxi service, here is the official link to transport options: https://www.montepulcianoliving.it/it/trasporti/.

If you are looking to stay in town, I highly suggest Alberto 57, one of the apartments by Charming Homes (https://www.charminghomemontepulciano.com/en/alberto57.html). I've stayed here a few times and it's spacious, clean, and Alberto, the host, is wonderful.

If you are still open to a place outside of town, there is no better place than Fonte Martino bed and breakfast (https://www.fontemartino.com/). It's 5-minutes outside of town with beautiful view of town. The rooms are spacious, modern, and the hosts David and Toby are amazing. I stayed here in summer 2019 and this is where I will be staying this coming July.

Best of luck with your planning! -Norman

Thanks Norman! I’ll definitely check out those accommodations