2 days Florence + 2/3 Days Tuscany - Itinerary

[lsd]

HHi all,

I plan to arrive in Florence by train at about 9:30am from Venice.

I am planning to then spend 2 nights there and then potentially heading to either Siena or other Tuscan countryside for 2-3more nights.

Preferences:
• A fairly relaxing sight seeing time.
• I have no need to "check" everything off the must see list – just the more significant ones.
• I enjoy art but would probably just want to see the more well-known ones.
• I am interested in local markets and florence food - steaks i heard r pretty good! And perhaps some street food.
• i am hoping to check out Tuscan Countryside: Siena, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Chianti with a specific emphasis on authentic good Tuscan food, wine and cheese.
• At the end of my time – have to be back in Florence for a train to Rome.
• I am very keen on spending 2 nights in Tuscan Countryside (perhaps Siena?)



With that in mind my questions are:

1. Should I spend my first and last night in Florence while 2 nights in Tuscan in between.
2. If No.1 – how should I plan my itinerary?
3. When in Siena should I do 2x1 day tour to Montalcino and Montepulciano and another to Chianti? Leaving Siena to explore at night?
4. I have deliberately left out Lucca and Pisa as i reckon it would be too rush. Am i missing much? Its my first trip to Italy..let alone Florence/Tuscany...but my gut feel is i might be disappointed by rushing an already packed schedule just to see Pisa and Lucca.
5. Should I add in an additional one night in Florence/Tuscan which means cutting my Rome trip from 4 nights to 3 nights.

Thank you for hearing/reading my questions!

Lean

[DonnaDenise]

Buongiorno,

I am giving you some feedback on your questions, but feel free to come back with more detailed questions:

With that in mind my questions are:

1. Should I spend my first and last night in Florence while 2 nights in Tuscan in between.
-> I think this depends on when your train is. If it is an early morning departure, then it would be a good idea to already be in the city. If you it is an early afternoon or later than I would do two straight days in the city and the other days outside of the city.

2. If No.1 – how should I plan my itinerary?

->Two days in Florence: https://www.visitflorence.com/itiner...-florence.html

As your days in Tuscany, Siena is definitely a beautiful place to base yourself, I recently visited this agriturismo which is within walking distance of the city:
https://www.chianti.com/wine-tasting...e-tasting.html


3. When in Siena should I do 2x1 day tour to Montalcino and Montepulciano and another to Chianti? Leaving Siena to explore at night?
->I suggest you read through this article for some an idea of what it is like: http://www.discovertuscany.com/itine...n-tuscany.html

My suggestion is to dedicate
2 days Florence

1 day Lucca

go to Siena ->

half a day to Montalcino / half a day in Siena (Montalcino is close to Siena so you can do a half day easily)
(https://www.discovertuscany.com/what...itinerary.html)

one day Chianti - It would be a full day, but you are still fairly close to Siena to get back to enjoy an evening in Siena. For example Castellina in Chianti (http://www.chianti.com/castellina-in-chianti/) and I particularly like Poggibonsi (http://www.chianti.com/what-to-do-in...-overview.html)

One full day in Bagno Vignoni, Pienza and Montepulciano. From here you could go straight back to Florence on the Autostrada or drive back to Siena and then the next day go into Florence for your train.

4. I have deliberately left out Lucca and Pisa as i reckon it would be too rush. Am i missing much? Its my first trip to Italy..let alone Florence/Tuscany...but my gut feel is i might be disappointed by rushing an already packed schedule just to see Pisa and Lucca.

->These two can be done on the same day - however Lucca is quite charming and laid back - if you cut a day in Rome I think you will find that this town has lots to offer.
Pisa is lovely - and it is one of a kind - however, most people limit their time just to the tower - and personally I would not send you there JUST to see the tower.


5. Should I add in an additional one night in Florence/Tuscan which means cutting my Rome trip from 4 nights to 3 nights.
->If you do an additional night in Florence then make that the day you go to Lucca - train it over and back and sleep in Florence before you leave.



Buon Viaggio,
Donna Denise

[lsd]

Ciao Donna Denise!

Thank you for your detailed reply!

So we have made some changes to our itinerary and now have extended our stay to spend 3 Nights in Tuscany and then 3 Nights in Florence. (Our overall Italian plan is Venice:2 Nights, Tuscany:3 Nights, Florence 3 Nights,Salerno: 5 Nights,Rome: 5 Nights)

We are, still arriving from Venice and then heading straight to Tuscany.

In Tuscany, we are hoping to see Chiant,Siena, Montepulciano, Montalcino, Val D'Orchia, San Gimignano and possibly Assis. We understand it is difficult to see all of these places without rushing and are willing to give up seeing some of them if it means a more enjoyable experience but we are unable to decide what to give up! Lol

So my question is then
1.) Where should i base myself should i be keen on seeing most of these places? (We are also hoping to have a Chianti farm dinner that ends at 10pm on the 3rd Night of our time in Tuscany)
2.)How would you plan our itinerary? And what should we give up? We are hoping to experience and sightsee different sights.
3.) Would u suggest getting a car on our own once we arrive from Venice? I am worried about the ZTLs and etc.
4.) Any recommended agriturismo?

Thank you for being so patient in your responses. Italy especially Florence and Tuscany has so much to see..i am already planning on returning next year lol

Grazie!
lsd

[DonnaDenise]

Ciao again!

1.) Where should i base myself should i be keen on seeing most of these places? (We are also hoping to have a Chianti farm dinner that ends at 10pm on the 3rd Night of our time in Tuscany)
4.) Any recommended agriturismo?
I will be answering both of these questions here. There are soooo many places you could stay, but I am going to suggest you look at these three places. All three are a good central location for all of your intended day trips and they all have the possibility of a meal on site (Casolare di Libbiano and Borgo Argenina have fantastic cooking classes with a meal!!):

http://www.discovertuscany.com/san-g...-libbiano.html
http://www.discovertuscany.com/siena...ontanelle.html
https://www.chianti.com/chianti-bed-...-argenina.html


2.)How would you plan our itinerary? And what should we give up? We are hoping to experience and sightsee different sights.
I would give up Assisi - not say it isn't beautiful or worth the visit - but it is a day trip allon its own so I am sticking to my first suggestion of places to visit for three days in Tuscany:

half a day to Montalcino / half a day in Siena (Montalcino is close to Siena so you can do a half day easily)
(https://www.discovertuscany.com/what...itinerary.html)

one day Chianti - It would be a full day, but you are still fairly close to Siena to get back to enjoy an evening in Siena. For example Castellina in Chianti (http://www.chianti.com/castellina-in-chianti/) and I particularly like Poggibonsi (http://www.chianti.com/what-to-do-in...-overview.html)

One full day in Bagno Vignoni, Pienza and Montepulciano. From here you could go straight back to Florence on the Autostrada or drive back to Siena and then the next day go into Florence for your train.

3.) Would u suggest getting a car on our own once we arrive from Venice? I am worried about the ZTLs and etc.
Train it to Florence and then pick up your car while there. If you are worried about the ZTL zones keep in mind the car rental company will give you a good map to get out of the city or you can pick up the car at the airport and avoid ZTL - it also leaves you close to the Autostrada which is the first road you will take to get whereever you decide to stay while in Tuscany. Stay your first days in Florence. When you rent your car look into a drop off near Montepulciano (Chianciano-Chiusi) and training it into Rome - save you some time and no back tracking.

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise

[lsd]

Ciao Donna!

Thank you sooo much! You are absolutely right - so many amazing places to stay!

Now...as i am arriving on 5th of September which is a wednesday..spending three nights in florence would mean wed,thurs and fri be in florence while Saturday, Sunday and Monday be in Tuscany countryside

In the general scheme of things..sightseeing, museums, restaurants...would this plan be better? or to switch it around with Tuscany Countryside?

Thank you so much for your help..and i hope i can keep the questions coming...planning a trip to Italy let alone Florence/Tuscany is proving fairly overwhelming! So many good things to see and so little time.!

Thank you!

[DonnaDenise]

Ciao -

that timing actually sounds pretty good because if you were going to "luck" into any small town events, most of them are held on the weeks.

Check out this calendar for events in Tuscany in September - remember to look back the week before you arrive for updates!

https://www.discovertuscany.com/tusc...n-tuscany.html

AND - there is the Rificolona in Florence on the 7th of September...a fun to see event. Check out the link below for more info on the Rificolona and other activities. It will be updated with official dates by the end of August...sorry, I know it seems so last minute, but the Italians are horrible about getting the offical dates for anything out there

Events in Florence in September.

Donna Denise

[lsd]

Thank you Donna!

I finally settled my accomodation in Tuscany. We will staying at Strada prov.le 23 delle Ville di Corsano, 53014 Monteroni D'Arbia SI, Italy!

So we have settled to 3 Nights in Florence and 3 Nights in Tuscany! Man there is so much to see!

Do you think we should just drive back from Tuscany to Florence and then train to Rome?

Gracie Mille
Lean sing

[DonnaDenise]

Buongiorno -

I wouldn't drive into Rome - but you could drive "close enough" - like Orvieto.

but if you are going to be considering time - then travel the southern part of Tuscany in the beginning of your stay and the northern part, including near Florence, on the the last day(s). Then take the train...so much more comfortable.

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise