Question for the Tuscany enthusiasts out there: My husband and I will be spending 7-10 days in Tuscany in May, and I am starting to put our itinerary together. I can't decide whether we should: (a) Pick a home base city and just do day trips from there; or (2) sleep in a different city every couple of days. What do you guys think?
PS: We've been to Florence twice already so no need to spend significant amount in Florence.
Thanks!!!!
Thais
You will get both answers... but I am one who tends to like to move around a bit in a new location. I would pick 3 different areas or perhaps 3 types of lodging... maybe an agriturismo for a few days... a B&B in a village and a nice hotel in someplace like Siena or maybe find a monastery or spa hotel. Look at the places you want to visit and see what makes sense for the different areas. One of the most fun places I stayed in was a tiny village of San Donato (near san g). There was a church and a few hotels, a vineyard, and that was about it. It was on a hilltop and our room overlooked the vineyard. There were a group of artists there as well and when we rounded the corner there were painters with their easles painting the countryside. It was like a scene out of a movie. The hotel we stayed at was Antica Dimora. Loved it. Also stayed at Poderi Archangel in the countryside near Certaldo and it was also great.
The accepted wisdom is to avoid one-nighters. However, we are also going to be in Tuscany for 2 weeks in May; and as I was planning our itinerary, it seemed to make sense to avoid a lot of extra driving. Changing lodgings when you're staying in a small town or at an agriturismo in the country is not as much of a hassle as when you're in a city or traveling by train. You won't unpack much, and your car will probably be just outside the door. I decided that when our next destination is along the route we are following, and it's a half- hour or more away, we'll move and stay the night there. Adding an hour of driving isn't much fun, and gas is expensive in Italy.
In your situation, I think I would split the 7-10 days between 2 different base cities. As someone else suggested, you might stay in an agriturismo for a few days (it's a unique opportunity) and then in a B&B or hotel for a few days. It makes sense to split your time between 2 places so that you won't have to do a lot of backtracking. I would not switch lodging every night or two but every 3-4 nights would be fine. Have a great trip!!
First of all you need to decide whether you intend to have a rental car at all or if you intend to rely exclusively on public transportation.
Since you've been to Florence twice already I would rent a car and base myself in an Agriturismo (farmhouse) or a B&B in a small town (if you prefer in-town accommodations) located between Impruneta and Siena, somewhere along the Raccordo Florence-Siena freeway. From that location I would do day trips. There is no reason to go to the trouble of splitting your stay. From the area I mentioned nearly nothing in Tuscany in farther than 90 min away by car. Besides, if you want to stay at an Agriturismo, many of those rent only a min. of one week. I would consider splitting bases, only if you want to visit both Tuscany and Umbria. In that case I would still stay where I mentioned for Tuscany, then I would base myself at or near Assisi for visiting Umbria (and do day trips to Umbrian towns from there).
If you fear driving and prefer to rely on public transportation only, then the best is to stay in Florence, Tuscany's capital and transportation hub. For Umbria, if Umbria is also in your plans, you might consider Perugia (Umbria's capital and transportation hub).
