Itinerary needed for ten days in Tuscany - Help!

djmum

New member
My husband and I are travelling to Tuscany at the end of August. We arrive in Rome, plan to spend a night there then pick up a rental car and drive through Tuscany for ten days, before driving to Venice and flying to Istanbul.
We visited Rome and Florence last year, and we want to spend a few more days in Florence. On our way there we plan on stopping at Cervita de Bagnoregio, then at Orvietto. We want to also spend time in Sienna.

What other towns would you suggest we visit? Where do you think we could base ourselves to see more of the beautiful walled cities of Tuscany? We are interested in architecture, art, history and dramatic landscapes.

The other challenge is that I am disabled. I walk with crutches (a kilometre or so but very slowly) and I use a wheelchair (when I'm confronted with cobblestones or hills, my husband helps out). Last time we were in Florence we used the small electric buses and I walked around the centre.

Where would be a good place to stay in Sienna? It is very hilly and I understand that, like Florence there is no car access to the central city. (Hills are difficult, steps are ok.)

Can you help by suggesting some towns to visit and to stay in, and how many nights we should spend in each place?
 
Hi,
I think Siena would be perfect as base to explore Tuscany and in particular to visit the most beautiful walled cities following an itinerary dedicate to art, history and architecture, as you desire.

It has to be considered that most of the cities you'd like to visit are medieval and ancient, so expect to find uneven and sloping streets made by cobblestones. Anyway, I think you will be able to visit them, especially these I'm going to suggest you:

Monteriggioni: a perfect preserved castle which is 23 km from Siena. Its a really special village, within its wall you can breathe a very medieval atmosphere.You can reach the upper town with your car, than park and enter the wall.

San Gimignano: famous for its medieval architecture and towers, 50 km from Siena. Around the walled town there are many parking lots, of course the one closest to the entrance is also the most expensive. You can get off the car here while your husband go parking in a farther and cheaper parking lot. :)

Otherwise you can also explore the Chianti Wine Region, which also offers very charming ancient towns. This is a really lovely area you can enjoy both from your car admiring the beutiful landscapes you pass through as well as visiting its village. Among those I would suggest you not to miss: Castellina in Chianti and Greve in Chianti.

If you need to find the perfect stay for you, have look at this website, here are listed the best Tuscany accommodations.

Hoping it could be helpful, I wish you a splendid journey in Tuscany!


Sara
 
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Sorry --- new to this "posting" thing :confused: but I have a few questions about my upcoming mid-September trip to Rome & Florence. My husband and I will be touring the "must see" sights for first time travelers to these incredible cities, BUT I also have shopping in mind.
While in Rome (staying at Hotel San Carlo), I'm certain I can purchase a lovely Gucci purse locally, BUT, I read in another post that there are designer outlets in/around Florence/Tuscany. We arrive in Florence (Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco) for four days and have planned a bike tour of Tuscany as well as tours of Accademia and Uffizi... hopefully some shopping. "The Mall" stated Gucci was a retailer at this outlet; are these truly "outlets" with first quality but discounted prices or is it lesser quality items? I'd rather pay up for the real thing and not miss my opportunity to do so in Rome (we're starting our trip there), but certainly wouldn't mind saving some $$$ if the outlet provides a value.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you!
 
Thank you so much! I'll look into Monteriggiano, it sounds wonderful. We've heard a lot about San Gimignano too. I we hadn't thought of Chianti, we thought that exploring Southern Tuscany would use up all our time, but I'll certainly look into that too. I expect the streets to be uneven as you write, but I push myself hard during the day (I'm very determined).if possible I try to find accommodation that is reasonably accessible so I can save my energy for when I'm out and about. I'll look through the links for accommodation, but if you know of anywhere in Siena that has good access and few, if any stairs, I'd love to hear from you ... I take that last question back ... You have already answered it by referring me to the accommodation web site. It has an excellent search engine. Thank you so much!
 
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You are welcome! :)

I'm sorry but don't have any accommodations to suggest you in center of Siena in particular, I'll see what I can find.
Chianti is the area between Siena and Florence so it lies north of Siena - Monteriggioni and San Gimignano are to the northwest of Siena so both are in the area! ;) Southern Tuscany is to the south of Siena, it can be done but on a separate day.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask anytime!

Sara
 
recommendations for Siena hotels/residences

Ciao DJmum,

I can recommend two places in Siena to look at for your stay that we have stayed at.

We were just in Siena this past weekend and we stayed at the Chiostro del Carmine which is pretty central and not too far from either the Piazza del Campo or Piazza del Duomo. We were on the first floor and noticed there was no elevator (8 months pregnant so had to do the stairs slwoly ;) ). Breakfast was good and the courtyard where we had it was very nice, also a great place to relax during the day. It was a bit too warm this past week so relaxed better inside the room with the A/C but I'm sure I'd have loved being outdoors in one of the cushioned lounge chairs otherwise.

The last time we visited Siena we stayed at Locanda San Martino - between the two, I'd recommend San Martino over the Chiostro in terms of closeness to the center as well as for inclines along the streets. The street the residence is on leads directly to Piazza del Campo and is mostly flat. The residence itself has a small elevator to take you to your floor - we stayed at the top from which we had a great view of Siena (our room faced west, in the right direction).

So take a look at these two and if they don't work out for you for any reason (like availability for your dates), feel free to ask about the location of others. Since we were just there and walked a lot, there are various streets I recall are to be avoided as far as climbs go (for example, via dupre as it nears Piazza del Campo has a climb while Via Santa Caterina goes steeply down from the center toward Fontebranda).
 
Gucci and other designer outlets near Florence

Ciao Kimberly,

As regards Gucci, you'll also find a boutique in Florence's chic Via Tornabuoni street.......... so if you can, wait to get to Florence, go to the outlets and see if you find one there (yes, all designer outlets with quality products) and if not, go to the boutique in Florence.

You can read all details about getting to the outlets here:
http://www.discovertuscany.com/what-to-do-in-tuscany/shopping/outlet-in-tuscany.html
 
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