My husband and I plan to spend about 7 days and nights in Tuscany and Umbria the end of September. Can anyone suggest where to stay as a home base to explore several different villages? We plan to have a rental car and I thought we might stay in two different locations for 3 or 4 nights each. My husband loves to walk the city streets late at night so I was thinking staying in a town might be better than staying outside of town, but I'm also open to a farm-stay.
Posted by
Marin, CA
532 posts
Orvieto is a great size and a wonderful town full of ambience and perfect for lovely evening walks. We stayed in Rick Steve's recommended and perfectly located La Magnolia. We also stayed in Montalcino which is very cute but tiny with a great location for winery touring.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32392 posts
Noma, Two locations you might consider.... > Siena (Tuscany) - it's a great place for late night walks and has some fantastic sights. The Duomo is magnificent! > Orvieto (Umbria) - another beautiful hill town. You could also stay at an Agriturismo outside of the town. I believe there are some listed in the Guidebook. You don't need a rental car to visit either of those cities, but if you do want to have a car for visiting other hill towns, be sure that you're aware of the usual "caveats" regarding driving in Italy (ie: IDP's ZTL areas, CDW, parking, tolls, fuel costs, etc.). If you need further information, post another note. Where are you going after that part of your trip? Happy travels!
Posted by
Toledo
653 posts
Noma, if you want a smaller town, try Todi as one base and Spello (about 7 km outside Assisi) as another. Siena is also a great option, very crowded during the day but beautifully quiet at night.