The driving isn’t bad, it just depends on your comfort level. I wouldn’t get a car and stay in Florence unless there is a valet. If you don’t mind a bit of walk, you can park above Florence across the River at the Piazza Michaelangelo, and walk down, and then cross the Ponte Vecchio, which puts you at ground zero. The drive into and the parking the Piazza (or Piazzale?) is really easy if you early enough.
Anywhere you eat in the countryside will be great.
The great little towns are everywhere. Montalcino is great for wine, but it’s a bit thin tourist-wise, unless you increase your scope a little and include Sant’Antimo (well worth it). Fattoria Barbi is right there too, and has a great restaurant (reserve in advance, usually). Tuscany is pretty big, and the driving distances are shortish as the crow flies, but take a bit longer to drive than it would in the US due to the curvy nature of the roads. Bagnoregio is amazing (1 day trip, or even a 1/2 day) - just google the pictures. Assisi (into Umbria) is great, you could easily spend a day or more there. Siena is a MUST see in my opinion, esp on a back to back day with Florence; in Siena you can see Italian medieval in all its glory, in Florence you have the Renaissance manifest before you. Of course, the two cities were incredible rivals artistically, militarily, and politically for centuries.
David - we have been to Tuscany many times. I recommend a guide the first time you are in Florence – for at least half day - better one full day. Frank Peters is the best art guide in Florence. I have recommended him to a number of people on this board and I haven’t heard of anyone who was disappointed. Let me know if you want his contact info. He isn’t into wine at all – so don’t expect that. But you will learn more about the art and history of Florence than you expected.
Perhaps an understatement but in my view its really far more about the setting than the public spaces or the room - our room at the St. Regis was much, much nicer as were the public spaces. Before our stay in the summer of 2014, I stayed there last about 16-18 years ago and I don’t think they’ve updated or renewed a thing…given the prices that they charge, they are probably due. That said, I’d probably stay there again any time as it really was the perfect place to spend the night before a late morning flight out of Rome (easy and quick to the airport with our rental car and an excellent restaurant and beautiful spot) - service was first rate and they also did a very nice job in getting the special flower arrangement that I requested as a surprise for my wife in our room.
As a relatively inexpensive place for dinner with great food (best pizza I’ve had in recent memory) and a beautiful terrace overlooking the countryside, check out Palazzo Pretoria in San Donato. Here is a pic from the terrace:
We also had an excellent lunch with a great view in San Gimignano at Bel Sogggiorno sitting at huge picture windows overlooking the valley below (very good and inexpensive wine list for Tuscan wines). Here is a pic out the window:
A modern but excellent small restaurant to check out in Florence for dinner is Ora D’Aria - we had a wonderful meal there and thought they had a very good wine list.
And, as Lori suggests, make sure you stop for some food and wine at Enoteca Pitta Gola, which is in the plaza across from the Pitti Palace. Food was surprisingly good (we figured it was just a wine bar) and they had some fun by the glass wines as well as a lot of old bottles at what seemed like decent pricing.
I realize this thread has been dead for a bit, but as my wife and I spent two weeks in Italy last fall, I wanted to offer at least one excellent recommendation for Florence. In a city full of excellent sights and places to eat and drink (I have been twice), I can sincerely add to the recommendations for Entoeca Pitti Gola. I have travelled a fair bit and had one of the best evenings of my life with my wife there. Good food. Decent pricing. When one of the hosts asked us about some dessert, I asked him for some off menu cheese and vin santo. He chose to open a bottle of vin santo not normally opened and shared some with us. Changed my wife’s mind about sweet wine entirely. Awesome.
We stayed in an apartment one block from the Doumo in Florence. Excellent location. We walked everywhere.
Good advice on the train station in Florence about not letting anyone help you. We took the train to and from Venice. Very easy and comfortable.
On a corner across from the central market is Trattoria de Mario. Casual, busy and excellent food for lunch. We went a number of times.
La Cucina del Garga provides casual elegance. Great meals here.
We stayed in Colle di Val d’Elsa last time and took buses to all the nearby towns. Cheap and fast. No parking hassles. We took the bus to and from Florence, too. Quite easy.
We will fly into Venice to begin the trip. I’ve booked 3 nights at the Gritti Palace.
We’d like to do a few nights in the Tuscan countryside next and then finish in Florence.
For those that have done a similar trip, am I better off taking the train from Venice to Florence, renting a car in Florence and driving out to the countryside. Or should I take the train direct to Siena and rent my car there?
I have zero desire to drive in and around Florence, so ideally I’d be able to rent and drop off in the Siena area and then take a bus/shuttle into Florence for the last leg of the trip. Just not sure how many car rental options there are in the Tuscan villages.
I’d fly from Venice to Florence, pick up a car at the airport, drive to Siena and around the countryside, then return the car in Florence city center at the beginning of your stay there.
If you want to stay somewhere in the Tuscan countryside, the Fonteverde Spa resort hotel is very nice. Stunning views as you’re quite high up. About an hour south of Siena.
Worth checking the train times and if it’s much faster to Florence, then that might steer you that way - otherwise I’d always advocate renting from closer to your destination and from a less busy city i.e. Siena.
Trains and buses are an option Siena → Florence with regular services
p.s. I can’t remember if mentioned up top, but do be aware of and avoid the ZTL areas in the cities - and if staying inside one, ensure you have the necessary permit to enter.
If you want to search for hire car places in Italian then ‘autonoleggio’ is the phrase to google. FWIW I often use Google maps to search for businesses these days, only using paginegialle.it as an alternative source.
Thanks for all the recent feedback - very helpful. Wife told me that she really wants to spend some time in Positano so it appears I’ll be rethinking the itinerary once again. Since we really want to see Florence, Venice will have to wait for another trip.
I’m leaning towards 4-5 nights in Florence with day trips to Siena, etc and 3-4 nights in Positano.
Try to go 4+4 if you can, as it would be a long way to go to Positano for just 3 nights
Positano has two great ‘approaches’.
The approach from the coast (seen when returning on any of the ferries) shows off the pastel coloured houses brilliantly, especially when they catch the afternoon sun.
On the walk down from Montepertuso (don’t be fools about it though, get the bus up there from Bar Nazionale in Positano). The walk gives you an almost birds-eye view of Positano, and whilst it looks a long way down, is a relatively short walk and one where it’s difficult to get lost as you can see you destination most of the time.
She actually never specified Positano, but rather “the Amalfi Coast”. I generalized it to Positano because that’s the city I always hear about from that region. That said, I am open to any city with easier access from Florence that offers the look/feel of the Amalfi Coast.
Dumb question from me, but is the Amalfi Coast synonymous with the Italian Riveria?
EDIT - so I just did a quick look around Google and I think Portofino will definitely deliver the experience she is looking for. Thanks dbailey for the suggestion!
Amalfi and Liguria are quite different. But, as noted, Liguria (Portofino/Santa Margherita/Rapallo/Cinque Terre) are much closer to Florence. I’ve actually done a weird Rome/Positano/Florence/Lucca trip once, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as an ideal itinerary. It started as a Rome/Amalfi trip and we added Florence and Lucca because we were invited to visit friends who were staying on the Fontodi estate for the summer (we had been to Liguria the summer before). From Positano to Naples is quite a drive, then a flight to Florence. Liquria is a 2.5-ish hour drive to Florence, depending on where you start. And you can stay in Lucca for a few nights and explore that part of Tuscany from there, if you want to add a stop on the way.
FWIW I much prefer Amalfi Coast (and especially Ravello) to the Ligurian coast (usually Cinque Terre, but plenty more places along the coast such as Camogli, Portofino, San Remo etc.)
BUT… given a limited number of days, cutting down on travel is very much recommended, and Florence (Firenze) is pretty close to La Spezia, which is where you’ll typically connect for the trains up through Cinque Terre all the way to Genova (Genoa).
Italian trains are timely and cheap, and generally in a decent state of repair though the local trains are often a bit old. Eurostar/Freccia/Eurocity trains are much more modern, very fast, but still timely are relatively cheap. If catching the train, either look at the specific section on Slowtrav, or the excellent Man in Seat 61 website for genuine insight / good guidance. Italian trains are a joy, despite them being initially confusing.
p.s… however it’s a fair way along the coast from La Spezia / CT to get to Portofino so the comparison with AC journey times isn’t as obviously pointing towards Liguria if you go that far across
