Question regarding Sightseeing in Tuscany

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

We will be staying in Siena for three days in June; on one of those days we have hired a car and driver to do some sightseeing. We really want to see Lucca, so will go there first, does anyone have any suggestions for where else to visit? Is it possible to do San Gimignano in the same day? Our other alternative is to let the driver take us where he thinks we should go, but I was just wondering if Lucca and San G. were doable in one day.

 

Secondly, when we leave Siena we have hired a car and driver to take us to Florence with sightseeing on the way. We were thinking of Montepulciano and Arezzo, but wondered if anyone else had any suggestions or insights - would Assisi be a better choice than Arezzo? Is that enough/too much for one day?

 

Any help much appreciated!

 

YaYa

[CruiseLiz]

We will be staying in Siena for three days in June; on one of those days we have hired a car and driver to do some sightseeing. We really want to see Lucca, so will go there first, does anyone have any suggestions for where else to visit? Is it possible to do San Gimignano in the same day? Our other alternative is to let the driver take us where he thinks we should go, but I was just wondering if Lucca and San G. were doable in one day.

 

Secondly, when we leave Siena we have hired a car and driver to take us to Florence with sightseeing on the way. We were thinking of Montepulciano and Arezzo, but wondered if anyone else had any suggestions or insights - would Assisi be a better choice than Arezzo? Is that enough/too much for one day?

 

Any help much appreciated!

 

YaYa

 

I can't help w/ everything, but we stayed in Siena a few years ago and drove to other towns in tuscany. AAA makes a great book that can help you get oriented to the area - AAA spiral guides Tuscany http://www.amazon.com/Tuscany-Spiral-Guide-Aaa-Guides/dp/1595080236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1298081023&sr=8-1

 

Lucca is in the northwestern part of tuscany. We did Lucca and Pisa from the train before, they are not far from each other, so if you're interested in Pisa, you could definitely do both in the same day.

 

You could do San Gimignano the same day as Lucca, and depending on how much time you spend, you could also possibly do Volterra.

 

That said, southern tuscany is quite beautiful & the flavor is different than in northern tuscany, so I would definitely plan on visiting some of the towns south of Siena like Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza, etc. on your other day w/ the driver.

 

And something I HIGHLY recommend is to do the 5 course wine tasting lunch or dinner at Castello Banfi (near Montalcino.) We did this and still talk about it years later, it was that terrific! Plus w/ a driver, you don't have to worry about the drinking.

http://www.castellobanfi.com/tour/taverna_banfi.php - reserve in advance

 

You could also do more wine tasting and vineyard tours on your way to Florence b/c you'll be driving through Chianti region and there are lovely towns there as well, you can do some searches or your driver may have some recommendations.

 

Happy Travels!

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Thank you both - that's very helpful!

 

Cheers,

YaYa

[kadey]

We did Orvieto,Pienza and Montepulciano in one day. Each place was unique and fantastic!Google each and take a look.Let me know if I can offer any information-Kade

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Thank you all for your help. I am really trying to make the most of our time. We are taking a car service from Rome to Siena (there are 4 of us) and the suggestion was to stop in Orvieto on the way - so I take it from your comments Kadey that Pienza and Montepulciano would be possible? How much time did you get in each?

 

Then on a tour day originating in Siena, we wanted to do Lucca for sure; our driver suggested San Gimignano as well, but when I looked at the map I was unsure of driving time; Pisa doesn't really interest us that much. We are more of the wandering types. Both my husband and one of the friends we are travelling with are artists and they will likely want to sketch; and we do want to take a bike ride around the wall at Lucca.

 

Then on our day travelling from Siena to Florence, if we see Montepulciano and Pienza on our way to Siena, we could go to Cortona on our way to Florence - any other suggestions for that route? I should probably just let our driver work it out - but I'm in planning mode, so it's hard not to try to put together an itinerary; the only "must do's" for us are Lucca and Montepulciano; other than that we're pretty open......

 

Anyhow, thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions, they are appreciated!

 

Cheers,

yaya

[euro cruiser]

We are taking a car service from Rome to Siena (there are 4 of us) and the suggestion was to stop in Orvieto on the way - so I take it from your comments Kadey that Pienza and Montepulciano would be possible? How much time did you get in each?

While it is physically possible to get to and stop at all three in one day, while still arriving in Siena at a reasonable hour, you wouldn't have much time in any place. If ticking off a high number towns for a "been there" list, by all means go for it. If you want to actually spend some time seeing the towns, I'd pick one and do it right. You've got a fair amount of driving time to factor in as well.

 

For perspective, Rome to Orvieto is just under two hours, considering traffic, getting out of one city and into another.

 

From Orvieto to Montepulciano, the next logical stop in this list, is between an hour and ninety minutes.

 

Montepulciano and Pienza are quite close to one another (a little less than a half hour), and Pienza to Siena is about an hour and a half.

 

So, best case you are looking at about five hours in the car ... that doesn't leave much time for visiting.

 

If you were to drive directly from Rome to Siena the route would be all autostrade and take around three hours, maybe a little more. It's the little roads that take you to the hill towns that slow you down, but that's also where you really encounter Tuscany.

[dln929]

While it is physically possible to get to and stop at all three in one day, while still arriving in Siena at a reasonable hour, you wouldn't have much time in any place. If ticking off a high number towns for a "been there" list, by all means go for it. If you want to actually spend some time seeing the towns, I'd pick one and do it right. You've got a fair amount of driving time to factor in as well.

 

For perspective, Rome to Orvieto is just under two hours, considering traffic, getting out of one city and into another.

 

From Orvieto to Montepulciano, the next logical stop in this list, is between an hour and ninety minutes.

 

Montepulciano and Pienza are quite close to one another (a little less than a half hour), and Pienza to Siena is about an hour and a half.

 

So, best case you are looking at about five hours in the car ... that doesn't leave much time for visiting.

 

If you were to drive directly from Rome to Siena the route would be all autostrade and take around three hours, maybe a little more. It's the little roads that take you to the hill towns that slow you down, but that's also where you really encounter Tuscany.

 

EuroCruiser is correct in saying not to rush willy-nilly. When you get out of the car, you'll want to explore. Part of the charm of Italian towns is wandering the streets and alley-ways and just looking. And then there's the wonder of finding a perfect little cafe and sitting down with a cafe or a glass of wine...an hour could easily disappear right there. Also, the churches all have fantastic architecture and artwork and you'll want to pop in and do those and every town seems to have several!

 

You will enjoy Lucca. Wear comfortable shoes because you'll want to walk the ramparts. We spent the better part of the day in Lucca and could have spent longer. The tourist bureau is very good--they'll give you maps and tons of advice on how to maximize your visit. Stop there first.

[Hlitner]

Doing driving trips in Italy is fun, but requires a bit of a strategy to deal with some Italian customs. One must always keep in mind that Sunday and Mondays are a bit different throughout most of Italy with many shops (and even restaurants) closed. One also needs to consider the so-called Italian Siesta (which is actually just a long lunch) which closes many shops in the afternoon. The closing times vary depending on the individual town, but generally you will find shops closed from about 1pm until 4 pm. They reopen in the late afternoon and generally stay open until around 7pm. There are some exceptions to the afternoon closings such as the villages in Cinque Terre where most places stay open all day. But folks can be very disappointed if they decide to go shopping in a city such as Siena only to find that a majority of the shops care closed until 4pm. The best shopping times in Italy are from about 10am until 1pm and also in the late afternoon. After years of driving around Italy we have learned to be "Italian" by simply having nice long lunches aorund 1pm and also doing most of our driving (between cities) during the mid-afternoon "Siestas."

 

Hank

[lisiamc]

EuroCruiser is correct in saying not to rush willy-nilly. When you get out of the car, you'll want to explore. Part of the charm of Italian towns is wandering the streets and alley-ways and just looking. And then there's the wonder of finding a perfect little cafe and sitting down with a cafe or a glass of wine...an hour could easily disappear right there. Also, the churches all have fantastic architecture and artwork and you'll want to pop in and do those and every town seems to have several!

 

You will enjoy Lucca. Wear comfortable shoes because you'll want to walk the ramparts. We spent the better part of the day in Lucca and could have spent longer. The tourist bureau is very good--they'll give you maps and tons of advice on how to maximize your visit. Stop there first.

 

I so agree with this! Italy gives many rewards for taking a slow look rather than a rushed tour. Definitely wander around, have a coffee, a gelato, do a bit of people-watching. You will fall in love with Italy in the most unexpected places!

[CruiseLiz]

Orvieto is a nice stop to do - the church there is stunning and you can also take tours of the Orvieto underground which is pretty neat.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Greetings Everyone,

 

Thank you so much for this excellent information. I agree "less is more" so to speak - I would rather see fewer towns and really see a town than just to say I've been there - excellent advice! I think we will stick with just Orvieto on our drive from Rome to Siena.

 

Eurocruiser - do you (or anyone else for that matter) know the travel time from Siena to Lucca by car? We will have a driver.

 

Also, if we went to Montepulciano and Pienza or Cortona on the way to Florence what kind of driving time would we be looking at? If you had to choose between Pienza and Cortona which would you choose - or would you choose something else entirely, and if so why?

 

I hope you don't mind all the questions, but I really do appreciate the help.

 

Thanks,

yaya

[euro cruiser]

Eurocruiser - do you (or anyone else for that matter) know the travel time from Siena to Lucca by car? We will have a driver.

We just did this in October. Believe it or not, it takes about two hours. I would never have imagined that looking at a map, but the problem is that the direct route is on smaller, slower roads and the "fast" route takes you on the autostrada around Florence. Either way it works out to the same (more or less) two hours.

[Ya Ya Cruiser]

Thank you eurocruiser - given that info I think we will stick to Lucca just for that one day, rather than combine it with anything else; with an 8 hour time frame for car and driver that gives us 4 hours travel plus 4 hours in Lucca.

 

Cheers,

yaya

[sunsetbeachgal]

yaya,

 

We would highly recomment Volterra which is a magnificent town in a lovely mountaintop setting-we love Lucca but it is a LONG way from Siena and IMHO you do not want to spend all of your precious time in Tuscany in a car going back and forth. Sam Gimignano is much closer to Siena and a very good choice too. You had also mentioned Cortona-again way too far from Siena in my opinion. The whole route from Siena to Florence (not the highway) is full of nice towns, wineries, etc. My recommendation is to stick closer to Siena-there is so much to see & enjoy :)