itinery----help needed!

[rhancock]

Hi there

Am planning a trip to Tuscany beginning of June with my partner for 5 days.
We will be flying in to Pisa. Need help deciding where to go and in which order. Any tips or suggestions greatly appreciated!

-Not wanting to spend any time in Pisa itself.
-Interested in spending 1/2 nights in a city to start with... Cannot decide between Florence or Sienna?
-Wanting to then go to rural countryside, either Il Chinati or Apuane Alps. Is there time to do both? Which you recommend due to wanting to go to Florence or Sienna too??

Thanks for any tips you may have!
Rose

[Lourdes]

Ciao rhancock and welcome to our DT forum!

Have you been to Tuscany before? If not, then I definitely suggest staying in Florence. Siena is also a must see, so I recommend the rest of your vacation staying in Chianti which is the countryside between the two cities so that you can also get a chance to take a day trip to Siena.

The Apuan Alps are also beautiful - do you like to hike? If you do, then you'd love the Alps, there are lots of marked trails for you to do.

If this is your first time in Tuscany, then Chianti is more traditional "Tuscany" if that makes any sense - rolling hillsides covered in vineyards, estates offering wine tastings, small villages on top of those hills.

Apuane and the area right next to them known as Garfagnana are also beautiful, yet they are mountainous and thus less "typical" of what you might expect. There are also beautiful villages on top of hills, many along the sides of the mountains so the charm is there for sure - you could try to do both Chianti and the Apuane, but I think since they aren't right close to each other, you'd feel in a bit of a hurry.

So my recommendation is to do Florence and Chianti or Florence and the Apuane on this trip and on a future trip you can do the other one you miss this time around! I am sure once you come you'll find lots of reasons to come back!