Where to spend 6 days in central Italy

We lived in Umbria for the past year and we would recommend staying in or near Orvieto. They have a wonderful train station and you can take day trips into Florence, Siena, or most of the larger spots. If you have a car, you can get into Tuscany easily from Orvieto to places like Montepulciano, Pienza, and other hilltowns. It would be less expensive than Florence and less crowded and very relaxed.

You could also spend the night in Florence and then travel out to Orvieto from there if you are traveling solely by train.

Good luck and have a wonderful time!

We spent 6 days in Florence, did a day trip to Lucca, and I would say that was about 2 days too many in Florence, which is very expensive.

I love Candace's suggestion of Orvieto. It's a beautiful town, with enough to keep you busy for 2-3 days depending on how fast you go. You can easily day trip to Florence and Rome, as well as some other small towns like Chiusi.

Jeff - I've mentioned it to a few folks BUT I will also suggest to you guys that Casolare di Libbiano, just outside of San Gimignano would be amazing as a base of operations. Owned and opereated by Berta and her Husband Andrea I can tell you that you would love the property. Close to Sienna as well as Volterra. Each room is done in a great tuscan way - please check out their website. I'll go out on a limb and say that you both would love it. Also close enough (35 miles) to Florence.
WWW.CasolareLibbiano.It

Ciao, Greg

I think Florence is the best place on earth to stay for 6 nights. I have stayed as long as 9 nights and never tired of it.

Yaaaay Florence!

Thanks for the great replys! I like the sound of Orvieto, but the RS book says it is a 2+ hour train ride to Florence? That sounds like a lot of time spent on trains for the Florence day trip. (may still want to go into Florence for 2 days).

Still trying to decide, though...

We booked the Antico Podere di Pomaio in Arezzo for a 5 night stay in Tuscany. It looks to be a fabulous place with a vineyard and private pool. We plan to travel to many hill towns, including Orvieto for dinner at La Badia one night.
www.villapomaio.it
We booked for 175.00 per night and we have the whole villa to ourselves in September.

That Villa looks like a nice find! I will save that one for next trip, maybe bring some friends.

It depends a lot on whether you will rent a car or depend on public transportation.

The train from Orvieto didn't seem to take that long...hm. It's a regional train, which means it makes a lot of stops along the way, but they're all pretty short. According to Trenitalia, it is just over a 2 hour ride, so I could see how that might be a bit much.

Perhaps consider Cortona, which is only an hour away? Or you could go ahead and stay in Florence the 6 nights and do day trips out for 2-3 days, but then you have the time issue running the other way. I really like Florence, I just found it a bit much for a full week.

I really like the suggestion that Candace made about using Orvieto as a base--it's a great idea!

Orvieto is a great suggestion and I spent 3 nights there last year, but you might want to consider Perugia. The four of us spent a week there several years ago and were thoroughly pleased with the town and hotel. There were very few American tourists there, as well. The hotel was the Hotel Fortuna. We took day trips to Assisi and Gubbio. The rest of the time we just hung-out.

If you decide on Orvieto, which is a good choice, the Hotel Corso was a nice place. I found both places on venere,com and Frommer's guides.

Buon viaggio,

RB

6 days in Florence would be heaven...there is so much to see and do and if you try to see it all in just a few short days you will suffer from 'culture overload'. The evenings in Florence are wonderful to sit and watch the people and listen to the Bosnian music players stroll around.

Visit Romanelli's art place, they are world famous for their sculptures, bronzes and table tops, and they ship any where in the world...very historic place. I sought out a brass foundry in Florence and brought back wall sconces and door hardware, actually they shipped it back.

The villas to visit, the gardens, and all of the sights take time to visit and digest. RS's book is a wonderful guide for what to do. Dine late in the evening and enjoy witnessing the night life.

Then stop in Orvieto, there is a wonderful lady there who will paint dishes for you and ship them back to you....she will personalize them however you like...she is very talented. If you like to buy items of local artist, get Laura Morelli's book, MADE IN ITALY....it is a good guide as to where to buy and what not to buy in certain cities.

One can not help but have a wonderful time in Florence, take it slow and obsorb the feel of what Bernini must have felt when he designed all of the fountains.

Claudia
St. Louis

As you can see from the replies, there are lots of options. Since you are interested in Florence, and don't want to go thru the packing/unpacking thing, I'd say stay in Florence. In the evenings when you come back from day trips there will be plenty to do; a glass of wine, strolling around, fine dinners.

I assume you are travelling by public transit; if you have a car, be sure your hotel registers it or you will get a bunch of expensive tickets for driving in the restricted zone! By public transit I'd sugges you spend some time looking into buses which go many places in the region, and may be more convenient for visiting hilltowns than the train. I've done it by train; you go to the stop at the base of the hilltown such as Cortona or Perugia, then take the local bus up to the top. Its fine that way, but every time you switch transit modes figure on losing 20-30 minutes and it adds up quick. Next time in the area I'm going to use the regional bus lines.