Help -How to allocate my time in Tuscany

Alex S

New member
Hi,
I've been reading many threads and found this forum extremely helpful! Glad i came across it.
I'm looking forward to my trip to Italy next month, but stressed that we left planning the Tuscan portion to the last min.
My questoin is, how much time should we allocate to certain areas. What's worth an over night visit and what could be done in a day trip? Also, i'm not sure of distances in between and dont want to cram too much into the 5 days we have in Tuscany.
Places we're considering but obvioulsy too ambitious -We want to relax and enjoy what we do see!
Florence
Siena
Chianti
Lucca
Montepulciano

We were thinking of Florence as a home base. I know there's lots to see everywhere and wish we had more than 5 days. Any feedback woudl be really appreciated!!!

~Alex
 
Dear Alex,
Tuscany is a place you never get enough!
Anyway, I'll try to give you some advice for enjoying the most of your five days there!
Florence as base is perfect considering the other destinations you've listed. Your plan isn't too ambitious to me: from there you could take a train (English flag on the right hand on top of page) to Lucca for a day trip (about an hour and a half train trip).
Siena is another city you could visit with a daily itinerary and easily reach by train from Florence (about half an hour trip).
For visiting the Chianti area and Montepulciano, instead, I'd rather rent a car for the whole day (Chianti area is a country region between the provinces of Florence and Siena, so no better location than Florence for heading to the Chianti discovery) to enjoy all the best locations of the zone and stopping wheneve you want at wineries for tasting local food and wines.
I would spent, then, the last two days exploring Florence and all its treasures.
 
Ciao Alex,

I agree with Chiara about Florence being a good base.... and you can get around mostly by train or bus, except that Chianti is harder to visit without your own car. You could rent a car for a day or two just for those days (including Montepulciano, so that you can drive through the Val d'Orcia and also see Pienza and Montalcino) - take a look at the tips here:
http://www.visitflorence.com/florence-car-rental/

Don't worry, don't stress - but do look into setting up your accommodation soon (take a look at http://www.florenceaccommodation.com/ to start browsing) since it is best if you don't wait last minute to find something you love!
 
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