The gf & I are planning a trip to Italy hitting Rome, Florence, Tuscany & Venice. We are not sure where to stay in Tuscany. (Yes, we know Florence is also part of Tuscany.) Most likely we will have a car when we leave Rome & until we arrive in Venice. We want something central to use as a hoping off spot and see the likes of Siena, Montepulciano, etc. that is scenic and relaxing.
How many days do you think we need in each city/ area? For example, you only need two days in Berlin, but a minimum of 3 -4 in Vienna.
In addition, obviously I would like to rent a bike. Any help on where to rent an upscale bike would be appreciated.
Went rented a Villa in outside of Lucca / Pisa last year for a week. We also rented bikes from Daniele at eco rent. http://www.ecorent.net/?q=node/30. I had a super nice Giant carbon bike, he will deliver it and pick it up from you, also take you on a tour of the local roads if you book one. He’s a GREAT guy, Pantani like climber, and very knowledgeable about bikes. Send him you measurements and he will have the bike ready to roll. Tell him I sent you!
As for places to stay, tough question. My favorite places are the smaller hill towns in Tuscany llike San Gimignano or Volterra or any of the small towns on the S222 (chianti road). I’ve spent at least 3-4 weeks in Tuscany, and its a big place. Nothing is close.
How long do you have? Depends on what you want to see, art, architecture, food, wine??? I can say I love Rome most of all, so I would spend more time there. Venice, maybe 2 days. It’s like walking around Disneyland, it looks just like it does in the pictures, but I was there for 4 days and it was wayyyy tooo long. 2 days is probably enough. Florence is great by crowded and hot. I would say at least 2-3 days there. The Uffizi is the best art gallery on the planet IMHO. So much to look at and see. Siena, I really was not that impressed with.
I don’t know, I loved having the villa out in the country and riding to Volterra, Lucca, wherever and meeting my friends and the rental van there. The riding is absolutely fucking unreal and amazing and if you are a cyclist you will kick yourself in the ass forever if you do not rent a bike. I hope you and the GF like hills. Lots of them, but super super fun.
Reply back and I will try to give you more insight.
We were in Tuscany for 6 days during a 2 week stay in Italy last March. Stayed in a little town called Certaldo- it was midway between Florence, Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano. Was a GREAT place. Rented a car and didn’t have any problems getting around to the outlying cities. There was a train that took 30 minutes to get to Florence.
Our hotel was Hotel Certaldo, and was a VERY nice place. Cost us $53 a night, and was nicer than all $150 hotels I’ve been in. It also included a great breakfast. The staff all spoke perfect English, and helped us set up a wine tour at a nearby castle.
I don’t know if they rent bikes, but there was a very nice, but small, bike store in the town.
How is this for an itinerary?
Fly into Rome
Rome - 3 nights
Somewhere in Tuscany - 4 nights (open for suggestions for a good agriturismo to stay in. We want to visit the vineyards, do a little biking, good areas to see, relaxing, and obviously good food)
Florence - 3 nights
Venice - 2 nights
Fly out of Venice
Any hotel/ villa suggestions are welcome in any city.
Tuscany - countryside, again San Gimignano is killer. Volterra is killer too, but in terms of riding, I would caution that its a quite nasty (or awesome) 6 mile climb up a pretty good hill to get up to the town. But you’ll love the climb. Radda, Gaiole in Chianti are superb as well.
I stayed in a villa last year so we were out in the countryside. Most of them rent only for the week, but you could combine a week if the country with your Florence nights to get a week. Florence is a pretty big noisy crazy place. We stayed in a hotel up the hill in a town called Fiesole in 1999. Much cooler calmer and lovelier up there. And the view of the Duomo and town from up there was superb. Did I mention nasty hill climb, yeah, Fiesole had one too.
Most of the villas they have a large, we has 8 adults and our 4 bed, 4 bath, pool villa ended up costing use each about $500 per person for the week, Screaming deal.
If you have time, you may want to check out the Cinque Terre region. We took the train from Florence to the area. We stayed in Vernazza for three days and hiked the trails that connect the towns. It’s a very cool region.
We stayed in a hotel in Radda (sp). It was nice quiet and relaxing. My guess is 3 nights in Florence may be too much. Unless you are going to day trip out to Pisa.
Vineyards a.k.a. wine tasting in Italy is much different than the US. It will take several hours at each winery. They do full tours. It’s fun, but not a drunk fest. Also you may want to look for English tours. If you’re Italian isn’t good.
i wish I could remember their name, but we stayed at a bed and breakfast in a small town in the middle of tuscany run by an old lady and her husband. VERY pretty, nice rooms…and holy mother of science the breakfast she prepared was epic in both size and quality.
I would book the same place for the entire time in Tuscany/Florence. Florence may be a 30 minute train ride away. Plus, when you realize that it is just another big city, you can spend more time enjoying the Tuscan landscape and not in an urban area.
Oh, and we just got a ticket in the mail from our trip 15 months ago. Seriously, WTF?
Ha, same damn thing for us in Pisa. We were on a road that we weren’t supposed to be on and were tagged electronically. Did you end up paying them? Has to be a huge money maker for them. Am probably not going to pay it, but would like to return to Italy at some point…
I would book the same place for the entire time in Tuscany/Florence. Florence may be a 30 minute train ride away. Plus, when you realize that it is just another big city, you can spend more time enjoying the Tuscan landscape and not in an urban area.
Feel just the opposite. I spent a month in Florence and felt there was still more to see. There are beautiful landscapes everywhere. But I love art and museums, YMMV…
although I agree with picking a spot and sticking with it as a base. You can get around pretty easy there.
Thanks everyone. We have decided to stay in Pienza in an old monastery. It is close to both Montapulciano and Montacino. Plus, it looks like the riding is really nice. We both enjoy art so we will spend the time in Florence, this will just ensure that I have to read Agony & Ecstasy again, with a side trip to Pisa. From what I have heard I really don’t have a great desire to go to Pisa, but I guess it is one of those must sees.
When I was in Tuscany for a wedding 2 years ago, I hired a guy named Jesse (someone from ST gave me his contact info) to take me out on a ride leaving from Florence out into the country. He was an American living in Florience. He arranged for the bike rental with a local shop and I met him there. Very nice ride with lots of climbing.
I don’t know if the contact info I have for him is still valid, but PM me if you want his e-mail address and I’ll send it to you.
Go to Pisa, take some stupid pictures of the tower and then hit the train for Cinque Terre. We went there to watch the Giro TT stage last year, hiked on the trails to the road where the TT was, from Monterosa di Mare, and then took the train back to Vernazza for a very nice seafood stuffing before heading home…
Bring you bathing suits. The water was divine even in mid May.
