Where to spend a month?

We once spent two months in Florence in an apartment in Oltrarno and loved it. It is a good base for visiting other areas by bus or train and the city is full of so many wonderful artistic treasures.

We have spent two weeks in Montepulciano in an apartment using it as a base for driving trips in Tuscany. And we had spent two individual weeks in earlier years in other spots doing the same thing. Montepulciano is a good base because it has lots of restaurants and fairly convenient amenities like grocery stores (outside the historic center but close). You must have a car to enjoy Tuscany but if you do this is a good base for the region. We rented a place in the center with parking.

I assume you are aware of the visa issues. If you are from Oz or the US, you can only stay in most of Western Europe (Schengen) for 90 days out of 180 unless you have an extended visa. This obviously isn't an issue if you are from Europe.

Thanks for these insights! I have not looked into the visa restrictions - good to start looking at that. We're planning to be in Asia some as well - but might exceed the limit in Europe. Does it matter if you return to the US for a short period - like 2 weeks? We also stayed in Montepulciano on a previous trip and enjoyed it. Not sure how much driving we want to do - honestly, our least favorite days where when we had to drive! Of course, we had to navigate Florence so that wasn't fun! We want to spend a considerable amount of time just living our lives wherever we land - as opposed to feeling like we have to be tourists every second. Thanks again!

No, leaving the Schengen Zone does not re-set the clock. What you need to do is be sure that for every rolling 180-day period of your sojourn, you do not spend more than 90 days in the Schengen countries. So you'll need to plan strategic escapes. Among the possibilities are: Ireland (I think), United Kingdom, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Macedonia, Ukraine, Cyprus, Turkey and Morocco.

Also keep in mind that both your arrival day and your departure day count for every trip into the Schengen countries. The penalty for an overstay can be in the thousands of euros and being banned from re-entry for a number of years, so don't cut it too close. Allow for the fact that you might be unlucky enough to fall ill just before your 90 days are up; it happened to me.

So - it looks like, from the info I'm reading, that we can not reenter the Schengen zone for another 90 days after we have been there 90 days? Correct? So if we are in France for a month and Italy for 2, we'll have to leave for 90 days? Or, of course, we can spread the 3 months/180 days out. Is that correct?

Basically, yes. But count those days very carefully. The day you leave the Schengen Zone counts as a Schengen day, so it is not your first countable day outside the Schengen Zone. Also, the day you go back into the S.Z. counts as a Schengen day, so you'll really need 92 days (including parts of the first and last days) in countries like England to make return to the S.Z. possible.

It really is most annoying that the cap applies to all the countries in aggregate, but at least you found out early in the planning process, and with advance planning you can snag very cheap flights to the places in which you choose to spend your non-Schengen time.

More newby questions about the Schengen Zone. If we were hoping to spend a month in each of the following countries - Greece, France, Italy (2 mos), Scotland or Ireland, Norway - that is a total of 6 months. We can only be in the Schengen Zone a total of three out of six months - is that correct? So the above plan doesn't sound possible to me. Thanks for your help with this! Glad I started researching before our bags are packed!! Starting to think we might need to use an agent - what are your thoughts about that? I typically do all my own travel planning but this could be more complex. Thanks again!

Scotland is in the U.K. so outside of the Schengen zone. You can spend up to 90 days ( be careful of the dates) in the Schengen countries and then up to 180 days in the UK.

Here's what the US Dept. of State has about the Schengen Agreement on their website:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/schengen.html

I would hesitate to assume that all travel agents would understand this, so be careful and double-check your dates if you have someone else make arrangements for you. Remember, don't count months, count days. Give yourself a few days' leeway as well, in case flights or other transportation is delayed. Lucky you, to get to be in Europe and Asia that long!

Unfortunately, that State Dept. website still says "three months" rather than "90 days"--which falls into the "What are they thinking?" category for me. That is just plain wrong.

I’d spend one month in Florence or Tuscany depending on whether you want a larger city, Florence or smaller town , Tuscany. Beautiful area in Italy!

Since you now have much advice on the Schengen, I will go back to your question. I would pick Florence and either Venice or Rome. Each of these offers many day trip options, endless things to do in the city itself, and great connections via bus and train.

OK, one thing about the Schengen: you can apply for a visa no more than 90 days out from your planned travel. As I have experience in Italy, I will couch my advice in terms of that country. You must apply in person at the Consulate nearest you. Info to start is here. This is a PROCESS. A large amount of info must be provided and a fee paid. You also must register as a resident in Italy upon arrival. You need a contract for a rental, health insurance (not Medicare as it is not valid overseas), proof of sufficient assets, a criminal background check, among other things. Acquiring the visa and subsequent permission to stay allows you to remain for up to a year and to travel in Europe. It is not a guarantee that once you apply you will be given the visa. It's a pain-in-the-rear process, not to be undertaken lightly, but it does free you to stay longer in the Schengen.

There may be some school-of-thought that the visa only allows you to live in the one country you apply in and that it does not allow you to travel. From my experience, it was not a problem. We went all over Europe when we lived there with an Italian Permesso. HOWEVER, when we entered or departed the U.K. there were always a lot of in-depth questions about our plans and our status.

While it is true that, without a visa, you are restricted to 90 days within the Schengen area, getting a visa is not an impossibility. I would look into it if I were in your shoes.

In general, you have to show that you can support yourself during your extended stay and show documentation of where you will be residing while you are there.

Also, I agree Florence would be a fine place to live for a month.

A second-hand recommendation...consider Turin or Livorno.

Thanks for the great advice. So just to be clear - we would be applying for a visa in ONE of the countries we plan to visit then traveling to other countries with that visa?

Is Sienna, in your opinions, too touristy? We were thinking of small-mid size cities for our day to day living with access to trains/busses to get to the cities when we want to go. We have been to Sienna.

Yes you get a visa from one country, the one in which you enter Europe. France is different from Italy in visa requirements so be sure to research.

Siena is not as well-connected via train as is Florence.

Schengen issues notwithstanding--hope those get worked out--I think if you're picking two bases for a month each, it should be Florence and Rome, mainly because transport options from either are great and frankly in either place you won't run out of things to do, even if you stayed put the whole duration. Neither are small like you desire, but the possibilities for daytrips (or a couple nights away) are almost endless.

There are differences, however. I've spent about a week at a time in both cities, each time in March, and what I've taken away personally is that while there are plenty of similarities re: assimilation with the locals (if that's what you want), in Florence (esp. in the most heavily-visited area) you're naturally dealing with locals as part of the tourist service economy. Not that it's bad, but that's what they're there for, definitely skewed that way. But if you like art, virtually everything is within walking distance.

Maybe it's me, but I found Rome with tourists seemed to be fully integrative, locals simply going on with their normal business of the day. Certainly, at all times of the year there are plenty of tourists in Rome, but it just seemed easier to chat up a barrister, a bank worker, a gardener, people on the bus going to or coming from work. It was a cool place to be on a daily basis.

If cost is a concern, I happen to think that--again, from my personal experience only--there are more inexpensive choices of reasonable value for lodging and food in Rome than in Florence. I thought I could exist for a longer period of time quite monetarily-efficient in Florence...until I got to Rome.

Enjoy your planning!

For Italy, Rome is the big kahuna. You can spend a week or more there and not see everything.

Florence is my next favorite city and you can do day trips to Siena, Luca and Umbrian cities.

Getting a long-stay visa will not be a slam-dunk, I don't believe. I met an Australian couple in Italy who had been through the process. They reported that it took either 3 or 4 trips (I don't remember which) to the Italian consulate to get the visa squared away. And they were spending all of their time in Italy, so they had a signed lease for the full period of the visa. I don't know how someone planning to move around Europe would be able to deal with what I think is a standard requirement for proof of lodging. That issue has been enough to stop me from even trying.