Tuscany Questions

Thought Pienza made a good base if you will have a rental car
May be too touristy for you but has a different feel morning and at night, it's main benefits are proxmitity to best Tuscan countryside, view from town, walkability due to flatness of top of town, plenty of good restaurants for a multi night stay, small size makes it very easy see the town on foot but also to get in and out of from day tripping

How are you getting from Luzern to Cinque Terre? It is over 9 hours by train. Why rent a car when you arrive in Florence, you don't want a car there. To see CT, Venice and Tuscany...you'll probably go through Florence at least twice.

Richard is right, wait until you leave Florence to rent the car. It is waste there. Don't worry about driving in Italy. It is fun and easy. Just take your time, you are on vacation. Stay to the right on the Autostrada however, they go fast.

Pienza would be good as would the normal wine towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano. On the eastern side of the A1 you the chianti towns, Panzano is pretty cool. It gets a little more hilly over there though for driving.

Might I suggest you a little further south and try northern Umbria? Perugia is a major city but Assisi isn't, or Orvieto. There is a little town called Montefalco on the sagrantino wine trail that is very quaint and not too far from Assisi. A trip to southen Tuscany or other Umbria locations would be easy, perhaps Deruta for ceramics.

Have a great trip.

Montefalco is a very small town with enough to do for a full day. Then there is the surrounding wine country.

If you don't want to venture further than Tuscany, consider Arezzo and Anghiari.

I agree, see Firenze first and then rent a car.

Sorry for the confusion.....

Last time we came we "did" Florence...this time we will simply take the train in from Cinque Terre and pick up our rental car there and go on to our Tuscan destination. I don't know what the possibilities of renting cars are in the smaller towns so we were going to pick up our rental car in Florence....do our Tuscan stay of 5 nights and then return car to Florence and catch train on to Venice. Our intention was not to use the car in Florence or stay there. We just wanted suggestions of a cool town to use as a home base with the option of driving on some days and possibly doing a tour on a couple days so H doesn't have to drive...more wine consumption on those days! lol

In that case...Montepulciano. We are splitting time between Siena and Montepulciano and doing day drives. Anywhere in the Val D'Orcia would be good. I like staying in a town where I can walk to my lodging after dinner and drinks.

Yes, Richard we do too!