Tuscany for a few days

Stellasmurf

Hello,

Myself and the OH are thinking of heading to Tuscany for 4-5 days in September. I've had a quick search through Boards but threads seem rather old. Has anyone been more recently that could recommend places to stay/things to do? We are thinking of hiring a car and seeing some of the vineyards this way but have no set agenda. Accommodation wise, I'm thinking AirBNB? 
Thanks in advance for any comments.

mfceiling

Stellasmurf wrote: »

Hello,

Myself and the OH are thinking of heading to Tuscany for 4-5 days in September. I've had a quick search through Boards but threads seem rather old. Has anyone been more recently that could recommend places to stay/things to do? We are thinking of hiring a car and seeing some of the vineyards this way but have no set agenda. Accommodation wise, I'm thinking AirBNB? 
Thanks in advance for any comments.

Accommodation for italy has to be "agriturismo"...working farms etc with very reasonable prices and some brilliant locations.

Visiting tuscany I would recommend Pisa, Florence and definitely Lucca. If you get a chance I would head for Bologna and Ferrara.

Stellasmurf

Thanks so much; I will look into those areas now. Are there any farms in particular you would recommend from staying yourself?

mfceiling

Stellasmurf wrote: »

Thanks so much; I will look into those areas now. Are there any farms in particular you would recommend from staying yourself?

Can't remember the exact ones we stayed in but there are loads with pools, on site restaurants and some with working vineyards (make their own wine and encourage you to tuck in!!).

It's a beautiful area but make sure you have insect repellent in the summer...I got eaten alive a few years ago.

whomitconcerns

We stayed in Siena and hired a car from Florence airport. Drive all around chanti and up to Lucca,etc. Pisa and Florence are dumps with a couple of redeeming characteristics. See the smaller towns with your car.

whomitconcerns

We stayed in Siena and hired a car from Florence airport. Drive all around chanti and up to Lucca,etc. Pisa and Florence are dumps with a couple of redeeming characteristics. See the smaller towns with your car.

cml387

whomitconcerns wrote: »

We stayed in Siena and hired a car from Florence airport. Drive all around chanti and up to Lucca,etc. Pisa and Florence are dumps with a couple of redeeming characteristics. See the smaller towns with your car.

Apart from the leaning tower, Pisa does not have much to recommend it.

But Florence a dump?

You must have very high standards.

It's some years ago now but we stayed in San Gimignano, handy for Florence, Siena, Volterra etc. An agriturismo called Monte Oliveto.

Limerick91

Certainly Sienna is worth a night or 2, we stayed at the Borgo Grondaie a few years ago.
We also stayed in the Chianti Region at Rocca di Castagnoli. A working vineyard

Rumpy Pumpy

Volterra is a stunning little town. Great restaurants, that classic Tuscan view, steeped in history.

mfceiling

whomitconcerns wrote: »

We stayed in Siena and hired a car from Florence airport. Drive all around chanti and up to Lucca,etc. Pisa and Florence are dumps with a couple of redeeming characteristics. See the smaller towns with your car.

Jesus Florence a dump? Pisa is fairly non descript apart from the tower but florence is beautiful to be honest.

whomitconcerns

Maybe I hit Florence at a bad time but apart from the Duomo which is magnificent I found it over crowded and smelly..... But I will second every other town that was mentioned. San giamigiano is amazing and some of the small towns throughout Chianti.. Just breathtaking. Sienna itself definitely worth a few days

xalot

Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano (beautiful at night when the day tourists leave) and Arezzo are my favourites. Florence is worth seeing and September is a great time to go - the crowds wont be so bad but I think a day trip is enough. I prefer the smaller towns.
http://www.agriturismo.it/ is full of unique places to stay. We stayed in hotel leon blanco in the middle of San Gimignano and it was beautiful.
We also stayed in this place http://www.tenutasantilario.it/en/ a bit off the beaten track but gorgeous and private and across the road from one of the best meals I've ever eaten in Italy.
Skip Pisa, plenty better places to spend your time.

otnomart

Flying to Pisa for 2 nights in October. Curious to know what you didn't like about it?

xalot

otnomart wrote: »

Flying to Pisa for 2 nights in October. Curious to know what you didn't like about it?

It's tiny but has absolutely no character, you'll see all there is to see in about twenty minutes. Loads of stalls and tourist buses. For the sake of an hours drive I would base myself in San Gimignano or Volterra or any other gorgeous tuscan town that isn't Pisa!

wintear

Lucca is only a short bus or train ride from Pisa and has much more character.
Though I will say Pisa is a nice enough place and has a bit more than the field of miracles. It suffers because of the much more picturesque towns surrounding it.