Now I appreciate this might have been done to death in all the other threads 
... And I'll work my way through some more of them at some point but I am looking for some potential input on anything I could especially do/see based on the itinerary outline below.
Basically, I am going to be in Montecatini Terme in mid-June on "business" - it's not strictly work, but I will be there for a week, with no real option for going anywhere!
I thought it was churlish not to arrange some visits of areas around while I'm there!
I will not have a car. I am reasonably fit. I will be on my own pre-Montecatini but will likely have one or two friends with me afterwards. I'd quite like to do some cycling, though would need to rent a bike. I'm not particularly keen to splash out much so any nice cheaper suggestions also very welcome.
I'm in Montecatini from the evening of Fri June 16 until the afternoon of Saturday June 24.
I'm flying to/from Pisa. And here's what I've got so far. I've actually booked cancellable accommodation for the pre-Montecatini time
Arrive Sunday June 11. Train to Lucca. Three nights accommodation in Lucca.
Probably spend one of those days in Pisa.
One of those days in Lucca.
And leave fairly early on the Wednesday and take a train to Cinque Terre, where I have booked a (fairly expensive) hotel in Monterosso. I must admit I have never spent that much per night on a hotel before but appreciate one has to do that potentially to stay in Cinque Terre. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether staying just outside CT is actually OK? Most places seem to suggest you have to stay in CT to see it when everyone else has gone home. From a quick look around, it looks like the trains within CT actually run fairly late, which is nice. Are the footpaths which were closed likely to be open by the time I go?
Leave CT on Friday afternoon and make my way to Montecatini.
Fast forward to Saturday June 24. And this part I've barely planned. But I'm planning on flying back from Pisa pretty late on the Tuesday (27 June) (like 10pm). I am definitely going to Florence. Very keen to go to Siena. And was also thinking it would be nice to do some cycling around Chianti. Anyone have any particular recommendations for that?
Or perhaps where it would be nice to stay in Florence? Perhaps a niceish place just outside the city (bear in mind no car)?
So bearing in mind where I'm going to be approximately, is there anything glaring I am missing out? There might be an option for a half day trip somewhere from Montecatini at some point - maybe Vinci? If that's doable with public transport? Or I could see Pisa on my way back from Florence and visit somewhere else from Lucca if there is somewhere obvious?
Oh one more question actually. It looks like train travel is fairly reasonable. Should I just turn up and buy my train tickets generally? Or should I be thinking clever and looking to buy some returns? E.g. I will essentially be doing Lucca->Florence->Pisa Airport (with some stuff in between), maybe I should buy Lucca<->Florence with a Lucca->Pisa Airport ticket. That might just be unecessary / absurd if it means I would need to take a certain train...
Apologies for the number of questions. Replies to any of them would be most welcome....
... And I'll work my way through some more of them at some point but I am looking for some potential input on anything I could especially do/see based on the itinerary outline below.Basically, I am going to be in Montecatini Terme in mid-June on "business" - it's not strictly work, but I will be there for a week, with no real option for going anywhere
!I thought it was churlish not to arrange some visits of areas around while I'm there!
I will not have a car. I am reasonably fit. I will be on my own pre-Montecatini but will likely have one or two friends with me afterwards. I'd quite like to do some cycling, though would need to rent a bike. I'm not particularly keen to splash out much so any nice cheaper suggestions also very welcome
.I'm in Montecatini from the evening of Fri June 16 until the afternoon of Saturday June 24.
I'm flying to/from Pisa. And here's what I've got so far. I've actually booked cancellable accommodation for the pre-Montecatini time
Arrive Sunday June 11. Train to Lucca. Three nights accommodation in Lucca.
Probably spend one of those days in Pisa.
One of those days in Lucca.
And leave fairly early on the Wednesday and take a train to Cinque Terre, where I have booked a (fairly expensive) hotel in Monterosso. I must admit I have never spent that much per night on a hotel before but appreciate one has to do that potentially to stay in Cinque Terre. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether staying just outside CT is actually OK? Most places seem to suggest you have to stay in CT to see it when everyone else has gone home
. From a quick look around, it looks like the trains within CT actually run fairly late, which is nice. Are the footpaths which were closed likely to be open by the time I go?Leave CT on Friday afternoon and make my way to Montecatini.
Fast forward to Saturday June 24. And this part I've barely planned. But I'm planning on flying back from Pisa pretty late on the Tuesday (27 June) (like 10pm). I am definitely going to Florence. Very keen to go to Siena. And was also thinking it would be nice to do some cycling around Chianti. Anyone have any particular recommendations for that?
Or perhaps where it would be nice to stay in Florence? Perhaps a niceish place just outside the city (bear in mind no car)?
So bearing in mind where I'm going to be approximately, is there anything glaring I am missing out? There might be an option for a half day trip somewhere from Montecatini at some point - maybe Vinci? If that's doable with public transport? Or I could see Pisa on my way back from Florence and visit somewhere else from Lucca if there is somewhere obvious?
Oh one more question actually. It looks like train travel is fairly reasonable. Should I just turn up and buy my train tickets generally? Or should I be thinking clever and looking to buy some returns? E.g. I will essentially be doing Lucca->Florence->Pisa Airport (with some stuff in between), maybe I should buy Lucca<->Florence with a Lucca->Pisa Airport ticket. That might just be unecessary / absurd if it means I would need to take a certain train...
Apologies for the number of questions. Replies to any of them would be most welcome
....