Tuscany

[BigN8]

Headed to Rome then Tuscany Region in April for 30th anniversary. Was wondering if anyone had any "off the beaten path" recommendations for Tuscany. I've researched a little on the Google for which towns are neat to visit and things to do in each. Our plan is to do 3 days in Rome then just hang out in the countryside for another 7 days bouncing around. I found a nice B&B in Siena that I think we will make our home base. But was just wondering if anyone had been there and found a hidden gem they would recommend?

 

[svana]

It may be basic knowledge but if you want the best food - stay as far away from the monuments as possible and the less english on the menu the better as well.

 

[Scottintexas]

I may be making this up but it seems I remember we had a member living over there for a while, maybe a year or two on a deployment???

 

[Oafy44]

Headed to Rome then Tuscany Region in April for 30th anniversary. Was wondering if anyone had any "off the beaten path" recommendations for Tuscany. I've researched a little on the Google for which towns are neat to visit and things to do in each. Our plan is to do 3 days in Rome then just hang out in the countryside for another 7 days bouncing around. I found a nice B&B in Siena that I think we will make our home base. But was just wondering if anyone had been there and found a hidden gem they would recommend?

Siena might have been my favorite. Again, Rome its its own beast and you will love the history and buildings of Rome but Siena was quaint and food/ bread/pizza /gelato was amazing IMO. Not too over run (10 years ago so things could have change fed since Covid )
Venice was cool at night but during the day didn’t “love” it. Could have been when I went during thanksgiving but the nightlife was really good. grappa was great in Venice as well.
Florence reminded me of a major downtown city, clean and bustling. All in all it was great just to see how old everything was and how they built everything without modern day machines. All the churches were beautiful to tour in each city.

 

[jthackman]

@satovod

 

[Slamons]

My wife and I finished out 2023 with a Europe trip and one of our stops was in a town called Scandicci, which is in the Tuscany region. We were very close to Grieve in Chianti. We stayed four-five nights in an Air BnB guest house on a vineyard/olive mill. It was beautiful, we enjoyed having our own car so we could see a lot of the Tuscany region. Don’t pass up on any of the vineyard and cellar tours/tastings. The big vineyards have a lot of history and the tours are great and the smaller ones also have their redeeming qualities, with less tourists etc. We also visited Croatia and Montenegro as well and did our own driving to both of those countries as well. We shipped a lot of wine home, so be ready for that. Everyone wants to set you up on a mail order program. I guess there are probably worse things to spend money on. Lol

 

[BigN8]

My wife and I finished out 2023 with a Europe trip and one of our stops was in a town called Scandicci, which is in the Tuscany region. We were very close to Grieve in Chianti. We stayed four-five nights in an Air BnB guest house on a vineyard/olive mill. It was beautiful, we enjoyed having our own car so we could see a lot of the Tuscany region. Don’t pass up on any of the vineyard and cellar tours/tastings. The big vineyards have a lot of history and the tours are great and the smaller ones also have their redeeming qualities, with less tourists etc. We also visited Croatia and Montenegro as well and did our own driving to both of those countries as well. We shipped a lot of wine home, so be ready for that. Everyone wants to set you up on a mail order program. I guess there are probably worse things to spend money on. Lol

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Sweet! I found a converted farm house that was turned into a B&B right outside Siena called Ca' Bianca and booked 5 nights there to use as our home base. I plan to do some vineyard tours the same day the wife is going to do a photography class/tour.