Holidaying in Tuscany

[nogginthenog]

there are few places on here :

http://www.casadelsole.co.uk/other_accommodation.p...

but as the whole of Italy is on holiday in August, a lot of places will be booked up / charging a premium. Spring & autumn are the best times to visit Tuscany IMHO.

Agriturismo's ( agriturismi ?) are fantastic places to stay :

http://en.agriturismo.it/

Usually small scale farms that rent out a few outbuildings to tourists. I have stayed on dozens all over Italy, and always had a good 'vacanza' . This was one of the best :

http://www.camaddalena.com/homeEn.htm

but it's in Le Marche - the other side of the Apennini from Tuscany. I have in the past flown into Pisa, stayed in Tuscany then driven over to Le Marche ( wonderful drive ) stayed at Maddelena, then flown ( Ryanair ) out of Ancona to London.

Enjoy your holiday

[d8ean]

im going in sept, just need to finalise the places to stay and book it

[Johnny]

Went to Tuscany a couple of years back, second week in August. Was bloody fantastic.

Stayed in San Gimignano, in a lovely Villa. Flew into Bologna, hired a car, drove to Pagani for a tour...

Went to Seinna, Pisa, Florence and just drove round loads stopping anywhere we fancied.

Highly recommended

[prand]

We flew into Pisa, but stayed near Lucca. It's all good.....

[Calculator]

Thanks again.

Anyone any knowledge of the town of Moniga del Garda, on Lake Garda?

Will this be a bit touristy or will we be able to find authentic restaurants and possibly a nice vineyard or two to visit?

Cheers

[minimoog]

Calculator said:

Anyone any knowledge of the town of Moniga del Garda, on Lake Garda?

Just my personal view, and Sirmione old town excepted, but I find the southern end of Garda to be lacking in visual drama and not especially pretty. Drab even. I don't know this place specifically though.

[big_rob_sydney]

As it turns out, I hope to be staying in the hotel estee in september for a week, right between the pier, and the sermione peninsula.

I'll have a car, so will try and explore the north side as well, but honestly, when you're at the castle at sermione and you have all that ice cream and pizza to eat, its not easy to leave

I'm looking forward to a few lake cruises as well. Should be a great week.

[Bebs]

Drove the Fez down there last year in May - fabulous trip

[Rhodie]

Just got back, we managed to get some tickets for Andrea Bocelli concert at the Teatro del Silenzio in Lajatico and stayed for the rest of the week. The whole region is just stunning. We were there last year but it’s got very expensive so buy lots of Euros. Hire a car and stay in the countryside or stay in a hotel in Florence and travel by rail or car. We stayed for a while at the Park hotel in Volterra very nice and easy to get to most places. Relaxing and easy going, forget the seaside though it was a nightmare and not very good. Have a ball.

[Calculator]

So, a year on and I'm ready to book. Flying into Pisa on 25 Aug and have 15 nights.

Planning on doing a couple of days in Pisa then hiring a car and heading off.

Would like to stop in a couple of places, somewhere rural and authentic.

Where would you recommend?

I'd like to visit a couple of vineyards, have a couple of BBQs and visit some authentic Tuscan restaurants, ideally places we can walk to and enjoy the wine rather than always having to take the car.

[Calculator]

Further details...

2 nights in Pisa
3 Nights in Florence
3/4 nights somewhere coastal (ideas?)
6/7 nights somewhere rural, visit a vineyard, have a BBQ, local restaurants etc (ideas?)

[nogginthenog]

Pisa is fun once you get away from the leaning tower. I often go to a town about 40 minutes away called Pescia :

http://www.welcometuscany.it/tuscany/pistoia/pisto...

it's a really lovely, ordinary Italian town. No big tourist attractions, no tourists, I'm not sure why I like it so much, but if you get sick of the big attractions ( I couldn't spend more than 3 minutes in Florance, it drives me mad ) try Pescia. There is a really good restaurant called Pucci's in the town, nothing too fancy but definitely worth a visit.

There are some nice places to stay here :

http://casadelsoleholidayaccommodation.com/other-a...

Buon vacanza

[Asterix]

Our honeymoon in June was touring northern Italy - started in Rome, 5 days in Tuscany and then ooop t'north for the rest.

Still getting round to sorting out the piccys and a write up for the forum but with over 600 images to go through I've been procrastinating somewhat.

Stunning place - though after 3 weeks I couldn't look at another bowl of pasta. I put on 3kgs.

I haven't gained an ounce of weight since I was 18

I rate Siena over Florence and Pisa tbh, they have to be done though.

Edited by Asterix on Tuesday 11th August 09:53

[Calculator]

Thanks for the advice, its helping clarify a plan!

I am looking on holiday-rentals.co.uk but there is any number of farmhouse type options.

Where would people reccommend for a rural retreat, within a reasonable distance of a nice town for dinner etc and within 100kms of Florence.

Also, where would be nice on the coast, ideally within an hour or so of Pisa airport?

Thanks again.

[Stablelad]

Great Country!!!

(shame our place is completely booked out as it's fantastic further North also)

Have a brill time.

[nogginthenog]

Calculator said:

Thanks for the advice, its helping clarify a plan!

I am looking on holiday-rentals.co.uk but there is any number of farmhouse type options.

Where would people reccommend for a rural retreat, within a reasonable distance of a nice town for dinner etc and within 100kms of Florence.

Also, where would be nice on the coast, ideally within an hour or so of Pisa airport?

Thanks again.

Like I said before - I have always had great experiences of agriturismo's :

http://en.agriturismo.it/

Here is a nice place, run by an English / Aussie couple, but more like 1.5 hours from Pisa :

http://casasangabriel.com/

I don't know the coast in Tuscany, but can guess you won't find any remote / unspoilt coves like you can in the south. Viareggio is supposed to be quite nice, but will be busy in-season.

BTW - Lucca is a nice day out from Pisa, you can rent cycles, and go all the way round the city walls. Oh - I just remembered this article form the Guardian about Ferrara, which you can get to easily from Florence :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/jun/28/flore...

Cheers, Nogging.

[jshell]

Calculator said:

Further details...

2 nights in Pisa
3 Nights in Florence
3/4 nights somewhere coastal (ideas?)
6/7 nights somewhere rural, visit a vineyard, have a BBQ, local restaurants etc (ideas?)

For Florence, look at this: http://www.hoteldegliorafi.it/ ...added bonus that it is where one of the scenes from the movie 'A Room With a View' was shot. It's about 100m from Ponte Vecchio and is just beautiful.

[Calculator]

^ That hotel in Florence looks perfect and the reviews are incredible. Sadly its not available when I am hoping to visit.

Is anyone familiar with the village of Pierantonio? Is it well located?

[Lastinclass]

Try www.guesthouseboccaccio.com

Lovely place in old Certaldo, 1 hours drive from Pisa, 45 minutes to Florence or Siena and very close to the chianti region and San Gimignano. I've stayed a few times at www.villagiulia.net It's really central for all of Tuscany and 5 minutes drive from the train if you can't be bothered driving. Great area and one of the very best retuarants I've ever eaten in L'osteria di Casa Chianti. It's pretty much just someones house by the road from Certaldo to Fiano but the food was out of this world, home made wine and ice cream were fabulous!!
I love Tuscany and would move there in a heartbeat, the coast isn't much though as it's (IMHO) a bit touristy. A wee bit of the lingo goes a long way too.

ETA
When I first went there I booked accomodation through www.italianview.com
They had a good selection of villa's etc to choose from in all areas. UK based so no money transfer charges etc.

Edited by Lastinclass on Wednesday 12th August 13:08

[Calculator]

Certainly lots of options.

I'd like to spend some time on the coast. Where would be a good coastal area within an hour or so of Pisa?