Tuscany Trip late Sept 2022 Ideas?

Mike55

New member
We are planning 2 weeks in Tuscany late Sept, early Oct, 2022. Have been there twice before, want to try a few new areas. Thinking of staying in Florence 4-5 days, then the balance of the time in downtown Lucca, with day trips from both places.

For Florence, we previously stayed at Hotel Grand Cavour...loved the location and the fabulous rooftop bar. Thinking of one day cooking class (market to table), one day San Gimignano (with winery), one day Greve/other towns, one day city tours/shopping.

For Lucca, (have not been there), thinking of day trips as well, perhaps one day getting familiar with the town. Not sure what hotels to choose there....

Thoughts on this itinerary? Interested in ideas on the trip, hotel and restaurant recommendations, and fun places to visit.

Thanks. Mike
 
Ciao Mike, great to have you on here and see you are planning ahead! What have you already seen of Tuscany on your other two visits? It would be useful to better give more suggestions on what you could add.

The day trip ideas you have planned from Florence for now, are they all with groups or were you thinking of doing them on your own?
Just wondering whether you were planning to rent a car or not, as that definitely would affect location as where to stay in Florence. The Grand Hotel Cavour is great and very central, but having a car and staying in the center is not easy and requires planning ahead of time because entering and parking in the ZTL area carries its risks. Have you already read my article on that? Here it is, in case you haven't:
On the other hand, staying in Florence's center is possible but day trips are definitely easier to deal with/plan if you do them with groups that will think of the transportation. You can see many such tours on here, including those to San Gimignano with winery stops and the cooking class:
https://tours-visitflorence.partner.viator.com/ (disclaimer: offered through Viator, affiliate link)

Lucca is a lovely town and you should definitely dedicate time to exploring it, walking or cycling around the entire city on the walls and checking out the cathedral, the towers and museums. When we went last, we stayed just outside the walls in a residence hotel so that we could also have a kitchen, it offered a great mix of hotel and apartment feeling that we appreciated (breakfast was included, and we had the kitchen and dining area to dine in with small kids). This was the place, Le Dimore del Borgo: https://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/le-dimore-del-borgo.html
We had our own car, they have parking included. We took a day trip to the Lago Massaciuccoli where we took a guided boat ride around the lake, went hiking in the Garfagnana and visited Barga, explored the beautiful gardens at the Villa Reale di Marlia. So I think you would need around another 4 or 5 days there, especially if you want to go to Versilia and the coast/beaches.
So you might not need a car in Florence at all, but you might want to rent one to head on to Lucca.

As far as the rest of the two weeks, if you have not yet been to southern Tuscany and you rent a car for Lucca, you might consider then heading south and staying to the south of Siena. This area is traditional postcard Tuscany so if you have not yet stayed in the area, I would highly recommend it!
 
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