to experience living one week in Tuscany

N

nora

New member
Hello,
i have never been to Tuscany, would like to experience the current life there ...especially the countryside. I would like to enjoy the landscape and soak in the atmosphere where writers surround themselves for inspiration. I'm planning a one week stay with a friend. Appreciate your advice!
 
i forgot to mention, that most of the time, i would also like to cook my own food while staying in Tuscany. Any accomodation you can recommend? I like the idea of renting a room, and sharing the home of a typical family in the country side. I plan to rent a car, for easy travelling and sightseeing. :)
 
lots of choices since many farmhouses are family-run

Ciao Nora,

The fact that you're planning on the car rental is definitely important in opening up all possibilities in terms of where you can stay in the countryside, otherwise you'd be limited to towns with access to public transport. You can actually experience local atmosphere even in Florence, as soon as you step outside of the historical center. Lots of locals still live there, but their presence is less evident when you have so many visitors around.

What time of the year will you be visiting? Because there are certainly some areas that are best experienced in the warm weather months... especially if you want to enjoy outdoor meals or sunsets with a glass of wine ;-).

As far as choices for accommodation, you mention two opposite requests: the first, is a room with a family generally means that breakfast is included but not access to kitchen; only apartments generally will have a separate kitchen or kitchenette corner that allows you to prepare your own meals. But you can have a good compromise because in Tuscany many farmhouses have been converted to apartments but are run by a family so you have them there as well to offer the experience of contact with the owners!

Some suggestions:
- Podere Casanova: http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/podere-casanova.html
- Villa Le Torri: http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/villa-le-torri.html
- La Topaia: http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/la-topaia.html (this one offers both rooms and apartments with kitchen - if you stay in a room, they have their own restaurant downstairs - small but guests have priority ;))

These are the ones that quickly come to mind, hope one of them seems like what you're looking for! If you want more suggestions, let me know ;)
 
I am also planning a week in Tuscany, March 8-15 (just over two weeks away!) We have a rental car we are picking up at the Florence airport, and then driving to Impruneta for the first night. We are staying in the Hotel Bellavista. Then the next day, we have a week-long reservation at a time-share that I hope I will be able to find. It is fairly near the Casa Morgana B&B. If anyone is familiar with this area, any insight would be greatly appreciated.

We plan to spend 2-3 days in Florence, driving the rental car to a spot with safe (free?) parking near public transportation into Florence. The rest of our week, we just want to enjoy the beautiful countryside, some wine, great food, and friendly people. From looking at maps, it seems like the best scenary is likely to be on the regional roads rather than the autostrade.

I hope to be able to come back to this forum and post all kinds of great tips after our journey!
 
hello gnadeau!

Ciao gnadeau,

From the airport you shouldn't have too many problems to get to Impruneta. I suggest avoid entering Florence, head toward the A1 nord exit (from the airport head to the right at the stoplight) and then take it towards Rome... just 2 exits later, exit at "Firenze Impruneta" and from there follow signs to Impruneta.

As far as Casa Morgnana B&B's location and your timeshare nearby, it looks very easy from Impruneta actually. As long as you have the right address for the timeshare, you shouldn't have problems :) Those are country roads, a bit narrow but without a lot of traffic so you can go slowly.... the hard part is that numbers are not always clearly marked, so make sure to get good directions from the timeshare, particularly in terms of parking.... if you're supposed to drive up to the gate, you need to know which one because those roads don't permit easy turns back the way you came.

If you're fine with driving those country lanes afterward, the best way to get into Florence is to head toward Pozzolatico and from there up toward Poggio Imperiale which is right behind Piazzale Michelangelo. You can park there or on the streets nearby and from there walk down into downtown or catch the bus 12 downhill, get off along the river right after you've crossed it or right before you cross the bridge.

From your timeshare, definitely stick to the local roads - you're in Chianti so will want to see all the scenery and landscape. The autostrade all go around and are ideal for getting to further places faster of course... but as long as you're in the area, stick to the country roads. You'll see wineries, restaurants right along these roads, just pull off to enjoy!

We'll love hearing how everything turns out! in the meantime, if you need help in anything else, feel free to post!
 
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