I would like to travel to the Tuscany region for 3 days from Sorrento before going to Rome for 3 days, then flying out from Rome. If we go to just one town which one would that be? What would be the least amount of traval time. We don't have a car.
If you've never been to Florence, consider using it as your Tuscan base. It's connected to Rome by high speed trains and would be the least amount of travel time. If you prefer a medium-sized town, then Siena would be a good choice. It's about an hour more of travel time from Rome. Either city is an easy day trip from the other, and both provide easy public transportation connections to nearby towns like Lucca, Pisa and San Gimignano. There are some great small hill towns too, but they take a bit longer to get to and your day trip options will be limited. Montepulciano and Volterra are good picks in that category. Hope I haven't confused you by suggesting more than one, but I didn't know whether you were looking for a large, medium and small town in Tuscany.
The draw to Tuscany, for me, seems to be the old world feel of the Medieval and Renaisance achitecture and historic towns. Thanks for you input.
Kathy, as Frank suggested, either Siena or Florence would be good choices. To reach either place from Sorrento, you'll have to use the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Naples, and then catch a high speed train to whichever destination you choose.
One point to mention is that if you chose Florence as a "home base", you could make a day trip to Siena. Travel by Coach (Bus) is the best option, as it drops passengers in the centre of town rather than the bottom of the hill. It's about a one hour trip from what I recall. The Bus station in Florence is right next to Firenze S.M.N. station, so it's easy to access (a good idea to pick a Hotel in that area).
Happy travels!