I've heard from a lot of people that they enjoyed Tuscany more than Florence. On a 15 day trip, with three days currently planned for Florence, would you skip it all together and just go to Tuscany?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23726 posts
Tuscany is not a city - it is a geographic area - pretty big. It is not comparable. Tuscany is the country side, lots of small towns, wineries, olive groves. If going to Tuscany you need a car to see it well. Florence on the other hand is decent size old city with museums and lots of history. Maybe you need check out some travel DVDs from your library and guidebooks so that you know what to expect for each.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32417 posts
Ginnie, Just to clarify, Tuscany is a region and Florence is within that region. IMO, Florence is definitely worth at least three days, but I suppose that will depend on your interests. Florence is an interesting and vibrant city, with some of the most remarkable renaissance art in Italy. Most people like to visit at least the Uffizi and Accademia, especially to see the statue of "David". Where else are you planning to go in Tuscany? You'll have to choose some definite places. One very popular spot is Siena, but I wouldn't want to spend 15 days there. Happy travels!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16364 posts
If you menage to go to Florence without going to Tuscany, please post here how you did that when you return. I've always wanted to visit Dallas without going to Texas, but haven't figured out a way yet.
Posted by
OP
Irving
5 posts
Ok, that was stupid. I guess what I meant was: should we spend more time in the hillside of Tuscany or in the city of Florence? By the way, Roberto, you are able to visit Dallas without visiting Texas. There's a Dallas in Georgia, Wisconsin, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Oregon. There you go! :)
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
"should we spend more time in the hillside of Tuscany or in the city of Florence? " No one can answer that question for you, for they are apples and oranges. Do you want to see a city, or see small towns and countryside? Of course, people can enjoy one or the other, enjoy both, or enjoy neither. Since you haven't been, all you can do is read about them, and watch travel videos (Rick's are on Hulu and YouTube), and to your best to figure out how to apportion your time.
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
2085 posts
Ginny, hi, glad to see you took Roberto's comment in the spirit he intended. I live in MN now, but am moving back to Ft. Worth in a few months. I used to live in Irving. So, long winded intro to say the first time I went to Florence was while I was staying in a small villa in Tuscany. We went to the local train station, took the train to Florence and spent the day. So it is possible to get the best of both.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8373 posts
To answer your question: With 3 days, stay in Florence. If you have the time, take a bus ride down to Siena for one day. Too bad you've allotted so little time to the region. I'd also tell you to visit some of the other hill towns like San Gimignano, Certraldo and Volterra. Or, rent a car in Florence and just ramble from city to city for a day.
We also enjoyed Orvieto, just north of Rome.
Posted by
Luxembourg
16 posts
Crazy to stay in the countryside and not spend most of your time in Florence. And mosquitos are vicious in Tuscany. Need a net and long light colored pants. Fortunately, you can stay in the country very near Florence. I recommend the hills south of the river. You will feel like you are in the country, but the Porto Romano is just a couple of kilometers down the hill. If money is no concern, stay here:
http://www.torrebellosguardo.com/ If money is a concern, look for an apartment near there. We stayed in a TOWER from the 1200's just down the street from there. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Torre_di_Montauto.JPG Unfortunately, it looks like it is no longer available. Point is you can have Tuscany with Florence.
