Where's a great place to stay and take day trips?

I vote for Cortona.

This is our first trip to Italy. Can you tell me a little more about what the highlights around Cortona are? Thanks for your help!

we did the cinque terre, pisa, florence, siena, sorrento, and rome. you have lot's of options for day trips. may i suggest a guidebook and lot's of research. good luck :):)

Thanks, Bruce! I've been researching my head off, but sometimes people on this helpline have a favorite that helps more than all the books I keep reading! Did you ever go up to Genoa from CT?

Begin your search with a map if you haven't already. Pick the towns you want to see which are near one another. Then do a google search for each one.

Ask for "Viterbo sights". Or attractions.

Then do the same for each town. You can then read about what is available in each one.

Cindy, will you have a car or will you be depending on public transportation?
What activities are you looking to experience. What are the ages of your group?

Cindy,
See http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

We plan to rent a car so that we can venture wherever we want, although I'm sure we'll pick up a train or public transportation if we head into a big city to sightsee . Our boys are 12 and 14. It's clear we need to stay in a hilltown in Tuscany or Umbria for a week. I'm looking more into Cortona and Volterra based on some of the suggestions I've been given (thanks everyone!). But I'm assuming there must be other parts of Italy that are low-tourist and a good base for daytrips. We are also considering the CT, but I hear such mixed reactions about that area. We will be in Italy in late April and May. We like places that are uncrowded and not on the typical tourist route. Any other ideas?

Orvieto. Sweet small towns around there. Radicoffini, San Cascinao de Bagni.
Lovely countryside.

Cindy,

We love Pistoia, a small city of 90,00 about 15 miles from Florence. Easy East/West train access for all of Tuscany. Feel free to PM.

My suggestions are 1) Venice 4-5 days. It's expensive but with a week, you might want to consider staying nearby and taking the train. If you have a car (which you don't need for Venice), there is a large parking lot on the island. You can drive to the Dolomites, Padua, Vicenza and Verona. 2) An agriturismo in Tuscany 7 days. With a car, you can visit all of the Tuscan hill towns. You can take the local trains to Siena. Best, you can take the bus or train into Florence once or twice. Do not take the car. 3) An agriturismo or hotel in Umbria 7-days. There you can visit, Cortona, Perugia, Montipulciano, Chiusi and best of all Assisi and Orvietto. 4) Rome-Sorrento 10-days. It's tough to recommend where to stay but Rome has so much history and great teaching sites for the teens. So does Pompei. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are just beautiful to visit and relax. You won't need a car for these areas but if you do, there are large parking lots in Rome.

Finally, how you schedule would depend on where you are flying in and flying out.