First time in Tuscany with very little time!!

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pmartel

New member
Hello everyone,

First off, congratulations for this forum...very useful and with tons of good info!

I'm a business traveller and I will be coming in via Bologna airport next April. I arrive early Sunday morning and my meeting is only on the Tuesday afternoon(in Bologna)....which means I have 2 nights and 2 days and I would love to see/experience as much as I can.

I love wine and had the chance to visit the Piemont region last year (it was awesome!!!) but I hear Tuscany is in a league of it's own. I'm thinking of staying in Florence for one of the two nights and perhaps in or close to a winery for the other night.

I will be renting a car from the airport so moving around should be easy...

Any help with must-see's and places to stay and visit in this short period of time is much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
pmartel

PS I'm not so much a "museum visiting" type of person
 
Tuscany and Florence in 2 days

Dear pmartel,

Thanks for the compliments :D

2 days and 2 nights in Tuscany are of course not much time to visit this beautiful region, that has so many things to offer.

You can visit Florence on Sunday and, as you suggested, spend the first night there. Here is a list of Florence accommodations (B&B, Farmhouses, Historical Residences, Hotels...).
Florence has many beautiful things to see. It's an open-air museum and sometimes it's hard to make a list. For sure you can not miss the following sightseeings:
Piazza Duomo - you can admire the Cathedral (Duomo) with the Cupola by Brunelleschi, Giotto's Bell Tower and the Baptistery. I suggest you climb up either the Cupola or Giotto's Tower. Up there you have a breathtaking view of Florence.
Piazza della Signoria - there stand Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia delle Signoria and several famous statues as well as a copy of Michelangelo's David.
Uffizi Gallery - next to Palazzo Vecchio stands the Uffizi Gallery, that displays Renaissance masterpieces. Even though you are not a "museum visiting" type of person I strongly suggest you take the time to visit it. No words are enough to describe its beauties.
Ponte Vecchio - one of most famous landmarks in Florence
Piazzale Michelangelo - it's the balcony of Florence, where you enjoy a beautiful panorama of the city.
There are more information about Florence here:
http://www.visitflorence.com/

On Monday you can drive to Tuscan countryside and enjoy some good wine and food. Chianti is probably the most famous wine in Tuscany. There are several types of Chianti wine, from Chianti Classico to Chianti Colli Fiorentini. Each one has its own taste, color and smell and its produced in a different area of Tuscany. Of course there are many wineries all around the region. I suggest you stay closer to Florence, since you have just one day-night. I recommend two different wineries:

Villa Dianella Fucini - located near beautiful city of Vinci, that gave birth to Leonardo. It offers B&B accommodation and good Chianti wine. They organize wine tastings and wine cellars tour upon request.
I suggest you read the article about wine tasting in Chianti and look around the forum for more suggestions.

Fattoria San Michele - located near Scandicci. It produces a good Chianti Colli Fiorentini, following the the ancient tradition of organic farming. it also produces nice Vin Santo.

I hope it helps you planning your trip to Tuscany.
Don't hesitate to come back with other questions :D
 
Ciao pmartel,

Seeing as your time is really limited, I'd spend the two nights in one place rather than worry about moving, checking out and in again and unpacking for one night.

Since you aren't really planning on visiting any museums on such a short visit, you don't have to worry about what day you are in Florence (many of the main museums are closed on Monday).

And given you'll have a car which can actually be a bother in Florence (limited parking, high parking costs, historical center available only to those with permits), I recommend staying the two nights outside of Florence. You'll be close enough to go into Florence to visit for a whole day leaving your car outside the historical center and walking into the main center which is the best way to see the sights!

I recommend staying in either the really nice villa hotel Villa il Poggiale near San Casciano or the smaller Chianti bed and breakfast Palazzo Malaspina. They are different types of places to stay in, you decide which one appeals more to you.
The b&b is in the main square of San Donato in Poggio which is a really small charming medieval town. The villa on the other hand has its own gardens, pool and a view of the surrounding olive groves and vineyards.
Both are really close to the Firenze-Siena roadway which makes it easy to get into Florence - and since you're already in Chianti by that point, it makes it easy to set off to go visit wineries and just drive around Chianti enjoying the Tuscan countryside.

Actually, for great wine tastings you wouldn't have to go very far - just outside San Donato in Poggio is the Fattoria Montecchio where you can do tastings of their various wines as well as visit the wine cellars. We were there last October and really liked both the visit and their wines.

Thus you can spend Sunday out in Chianti driving around, doing wine tastings and set aside all of Monday to see Florence. As Valentina listed above, you don't need to go into any museum to enjoy the beauty and history of the Renaissance in Florence. Just walk from Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Signoria and on to Ponte Vecchio. From there you can climb to Piazzale Michelangelo to enjoy the view over Florence. You'll enjoy the beauty of the monuments and churches (and art that is in them) and, if you feel inclined to do so and lines aren't bad, go into the cathedral and Palazzo Vecchio to see the insides which are also stupendous.

On Tuesday morning you could visit San Gimignano and then from there set off to Bologna (a 2 hour drive) to get back in time for your meeting in the afternoon.

You'll get a taste of both Florence and Tuscany this way - which might make you want to come back again in the future for a longer stay! :)
 
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Thanks to both of you...this is exactly the type of information I was looking for.

What a great forum!

Grazie!
 
You're very welcome :)
If you have any other questions, let us know - also a search through past threads will give you lots of other ideas on what to see in Florence and in Chianti.
 
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