day-trips from Caprese Michalengelo

dtrain

New member
hi... i'm new to this site and i have never been to Tuscany... my wife, and 14 month old son will be staying in a house in Caprese Michalengelo next June for 2 weeks... i have a couple of questions for anyone familiar with this town...

***is Arezzo the nearest train station?
***is there anything to do in the town itself?
***would train-travel be the most effective way to get to cities like Rome, Florence, Siena?


thanks, any advice would be appreciated...
 
Dear dtrain,

Caprese Michelangelo is the small village where famous Tuscan artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, who created the David, was born. It is located in the Valtiberina valley in the province of Arezzo. In the surroundings there are beautiful cities such as Anghiari and Sansepolcro. The main attraction in the town is without a doubt the home-museum of Michelangelo. There are a few restaurants and shops.

Arezzo is definitely the nearest train station to Caprese Michelangelo.
From Arezzo you can get trains to Florence and Rome - you can check the schedules on the Trenitalia official website. To get to Siena, you have the TRAIN bus 138 from Arezzo. Here you have the schedule from Arezzo to Siena and from Siena to Arezzo.

From Arezzo to Caprese Michelangelo you have to get the bus SI381 to Anghiari and then take bus SI392 to Caprese Michelangelo.

I have to say that taking day trips from Caprese Michelangelo by public transportation is not going to be the easiest way to move around Tuscany. As you can see, you have to change buses and trains and schedules don't match between the two. This is going to be very time consuming and tiring. I think that the best way of taking day trips will be to drive. Of course, this solution will be more expensive than public transport, but it will definitely be the best one.

I hope this helped. Don't hesitate to ask any other question :)
 
I agree that the best way to move around during your two weeks in Caprese Michelangelo will be with a car. But depending on your destination - for example, to Florence or to Rome, where you really don't want to have the hassle of driving into the city, finding parking and trying to avoid entering the limited traffic areas - you should really just drive to Arezzo, park and from there take the train into Florence and Rome.

Using trains in Europe is wonderful because the stations are always in the heart of the city making it really easy to get around by foot - definitely the case for cities in Tuscany although Rome is pretty big and either bus or metro would be useful.
 
thanks both for the responses- and we are definately getting a car...

so, with a car, is it still smartest to drive to the Arezzo station, park there for the day, and then take a train to somewhere like Florence or Rome?


are there some 'must-see' places you could recommend?

thanks a lot, it is a wonderful site you have!
 
Yes, I'd still recommend that with a car, when you're off to either Florence or Rome, to go to Arezzo and take the train from there. For all other locations, the car will come in handy. Siena and Lucca for example do have their centers limited to those with permits, as long as you follow signs and park in the lots you'll be outside these areas and won't have problems. You'll be able to enjoy all other villages, castles and countryside with the car better.

As for must-see places, definitely go to Florence, Siena and Arezzo. Drive through Chianti on the regional road instead of taking the A1 highway and head to Pienza and Montepulciano. Here you can see several recommended itineraries to see Tuscany, since you'll have more time you can see everything at your own pace and enjoy your time out on the countryside in Caprese. Go to Pisa and see the Leaning Tower for sure :) Make a list but once you're here, stay flexible and decide as you go where to head off to the following day, Italy and Tuscany is best enjoyed slowly. If you have any other questions, do let us know!
 
Dear dtrain,

I agree with Lourdes and I suggest you drive to Arezzo and then take the train to Florence and to Rome. The traveling time will be almost the same and in addition you won't have to worry about parking. In fact parking in Florence, as well as Rome, can be a real challenge and expensive. In addition both train stations are in the city center within walking distance from main sightseeing. In Rome I suggest you take one of those "sightseeing buses" where you can get on and off all day.

Regarding Siena you can easily drive and this is a useful map of parking lots in Siena. In Siena don't forget to climb the Tower del Mangia in Piazza del Campo: from there you have a stunning view of the city and its surroundings.

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions :)
 
what y'all have written has been super-helpful, can i ask one more question: doe anyone have any idea were the best place would be to set-up a tour of Vineyards or wineres in that area?

Any suggestion would be great... thanks
 
tours for wine tasting in Tuscany

Ciao again!

The area around Arezzo does cultivate and produce good red wines but I am not sure how popular tours are in the area. Not knowing any to recommend directly, I suggest you search on Google for "wine tours in arezzo" and similar terms and see what comes up.

On the other hand, both the Valdorcia and the Chianti wine areas are very close, and as you likely already know, both are very famous for their Chianti, Brunello and Montepulciano wines. You could look into the Tuscan wine tasting tours Vinarium offers and see if there is any you'd like to try. In 2 weeks doing several tours might be a great way to see different areas of Tuscany overall.
 
couple of questions about the Cinques Terres:

1.) is a day-trip from Caprese Michaelangelo or would it be better to stay a night?

2.) is it fairly easy from the train?

3.) is Arezzo still the best/closet train from Caprese Michangelo to Cinques Terres?

thanks
 
from Caprese to Cinque Terre

Hello dtrain,
if you’re planning to stay in Caprese for two weeks, then Arezzo is your main reference point as regards transportation.

So yes, Arezzo is still the best/closest station to get to Cinque Terre.

But since it takes at least 4 - 4,30 hours to get there, stopping and changing trains twice (in Florence and in La Spezia) before arriving, I wouldn’t say it is a day trip.
I’d stay one night in one of the small towns of Cinque Terre: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola or Riomaggiore.

Once there you can visit the small towns taking a local train (what we call “Regionale”, marked with an “R” on timetables) that stops in every station. Tickets are very cheap.

Hope this helps, :)

Kind regards

Fabrizio
 
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