Italy Question

asajj

We are planning to visit Italy in October and we were thinking about staying in Florence and visit Siena and Pisa on day trips from there.

A little bit of research shows that they are not that far and it looks doable but I wonder if anyone has done the same and had trouble? We are happy to either use a bus or train. We might rent a car.

Thanks in advance.

timbo58

We did similar a few years back -drove from Pisa to Elba and spent the weekend there (3-4 hours drive) hired the car from the airport -and then drove to Siena (stayed in the best western which was actually really nice and close to the city walls) and then onto Florence (3 days at a converted Palazzo over the Arno river near the Ponte Vecchio) before returning to Pisa.
Great Holiday -thoughts:
Elba was hot and the ferry was packed both ways (popular Italian holiday Island)
Siena was our favourite (without equal in Italy or even Europe IMHO) a great city steeped in History -I believe it's nigh on impossible to drive into it (see Lucca also -same thing) so take some decent walking shoes.
Florence was great although overpriced and lots of tat on sale (like Pisa by the leaning tower/Duomo) food was overpriced and a bit rubbish really but it's worth booking tickets online for the 'Uffici' art galleries -allow 3-4 hours and make sure you book in advance or it's a 2 hour queue to get in!
We made a detour to Lucca en route to Pisa for the final day/night and it's a city worth a visit for sure.

Pisa is all about the tower -which does make you laugh when you see it as the lean is ridiculous and they tried to correct in in building so it's banana shaped really!
Better food than Florence too IMHO.

have fun Tuscanys a gem!

richardw

I like Lucca and feel it is well worth a visit in this part of Italy. Also consider San Gimigiano. October before the school half term is a good time and should be a little quieter than September.

Hotels in Florence are poor value, consider being based elsewhere and do a day trip instead.

asajj

Thanks for the replies. Yes it will before school half term to avoid crowds and price hikes.

We were thinking about AirBnB but unsure as of yet. Perhaps we can be based in Siena and go to places from there. Main worry is whether we would have issues with transport which would make the journey long.

We will also go to Rome and spend 2-3 days there before coming back!

timbo58

I do recommend the Best Western in Siena -The hotel we stayed at in Florence was this one (not cheap!) http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187895-d671552-Reviews-Silla_Hotel-Florence_Tuscany.html#REVIEWS

benjus

Very easy to get around that area in a car - not sure about public transport.

If you drive into these cities, watch out for restricted traffic zones (zona traffico limitato or ZTL) - areas where only people with permits (e.g. residents) can enter. They are monitored by cameras and you'll get a fine if you enter (it may take a year or two for them to track you down, but they will get there eventually). These seem very common in Tuscany especially.

Example: http://www.athomeintuscany.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/041.jpg (the key part is the empty red circle)

pollypenny

If you stay in Pisa it's easy to get the train to both Florence and Lucca.

Pisa is a lovely city, with lots more to it than the Tower. However,Campo Di Miracoli itself is stunningly beautiful.

Lucca is also delightful. Both are less crowded than Florence.

bellrooster

I have been to Italy twice and both time stayed in Pisa and travelled from there for days out.


Lucca is beautiful and well worth a visit. My all time favourite place is cinque terre, its about 1hr 10min away by train but it is a wonderful place to visit.

814man

Big vote from me for San Gimigiano, http://www.sangimignano.com/en/
stunning place to visit. Few years back we stayed in a small converted vineyard just outside village of Vinci (home of Leonardo), here just in case you are interested:
http://www.borgoclara.it/
Did all our exploring in a hire car including Pisa and Florence, a great holiday.

AlexMac

Train travel is really good, and, compared with the UK, cheap! The ticket machines are multilingual and easier to use than ours (certainly compared with those in London) but you'll probably find English speaking staff at main stations. Florence Pisa or Siena is (from memory) not much over an hour and costing about 8-10 Euros, and you can check times and prices on the trenitalia website, most easily from the links on the excellent UK train geek site - http://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm
to
http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

The main staion in Florence is ' Firenze S. M. Novella ' and there are lots of value accomodation near it- we used a little local agency which rents rooms with basic catering facilities, then run by a helpful English speaking French guy http://www.florenceapartmentscentral.com/

Its near the Mercato Centrale so lots of places to buy food!

Rail Timetables are I think only posted a few months ahead, but its not worth buying tickets in advance- unlike the UK, they are eqaully cheap on the day.

If you do hire a car remember that many Italian cities ban vistors' cars from their centres, enforced by APNR videocams, like London's congestion charge zone but with worse warnings; only an Italian sign so you may inadvertantly cop a fixed penalty via your rental firm.