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Peter's message: hey there everyone. i'm nearing the end of our honeymoon plans and i've hit on a final snag. the second half of our honeymoon is to be spent in tuscany. we're big on food and wine, but my fiancee has particular requirements when it comes to long stays in one place. we both love our relaxation time, etc., but we're looking for a town to stay in that also has plenty to do. while we'll have a car and plan on making serious use of it (surrounding towns, assisi, etc.,) we want to have the option of spending time in our 'host' town as well.

we're not looking for anything like our home town of new york, but we want to make sure we have plenty of options for dinner, shopping, etc. within walking distance to the place we're staying.

the only way i can relate this to somewhere else was in peru. we loved cuzco because while it had all of the historic peruvian flavor, there were also plenty of restaurants, etc. a real town to explore. lima was over the top for us. too big city for a vacation (not that we don't want to see venice and florence, but you get what i'm saying.)

anyway, do the littler towns such as montalcino and montepulciano offer such things or are we better off staying in siena? again, we're not looking for a 'city' just a place where we can explore, find great food, etc. thanks again for all of your help...
peter

If you want great food and wine think about Piemonte. You can make great use of a car there for finding great restaurants, wine and shopping. A day trip from Alba or Asti--which are good base cities--to Torino for a big city experience is only an hour or so from either one.

Which are your favorite restaurants in NYC? Do you prefer the wines of Tuscany, Piemonte, Umbria, Veneto etc.? Having that information would make it easier to guide you in a good direction.

Peter

From your descrtiptions of what you are looking for, and taking Tuscany as given, here is my take on Montalcino. I have not stayed in Siena or Montapulciano and have only day tripped in Siena.

Montalcino has several very good restuarants in town. There is Grappolo Blu and Osteria Porta al Cassero. Osticcio is a superb wine bar. There is a restaurant that came highly recommended for its Bistecca all Fiorentina (I cannot remember its name). There are several other places I am interestied in exploring.

Within a short drive is Boccon di Vino, a heavy hitter to be sure. In addition, with a half hour's drive, you can be in San Angelo in Colle or Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico, Rocca or Castiglione d'Orcia all of which have nice restuarants.

There is a small amount of shopping right in Montalcino but not as much as in Siena, Firenze or other larger places. But it is a wonderful walking town with good bars and wine shops.

You are only an hour's drive or less from Montepulciano, Siena, Pienza and other places so you will be able to get your shopping desires met easily. Food shopping, on the other hand, is easy in town.

Montepulciano is larger than Montalcino, so more options there. I don't remember how long your stay is to be, but if more than 5 nights or so, you might (horrors) end up going more than once to the same wonderful place to dine if you want absolutely walking distance in Montalcino. If you're willing to get in the car and drive a bit, though, more options open up. I am extremely fond of both Montalcino and Montepulciano. Put Osteria Il Leone in Bagno Vignoli on your list for lunch or dinner while in the area, and of course La Posta in Monticchiello (closer to Montepulciano than to Montalcino).

Best wishes,

I personally would prefer the stay in Montepulciano. It is larger then Montalcino and can offer more in regards to shopping and things to do. You will be a short drive from Montalcino. However, I do prefer the choices for food in Montalcino over Montepulciano.

Siena would not be my choice, unless you really need something to do every second of the day, as this is a much larger town then the above two. You will have no problem whatsoever finding things to do and places to shop.

Siena is a rather low key medium sized town if not there during the palio.Mantalcino is a rather small town but very quaint,surrounded by countryside and other small towns which Dean mentioned.I am guessing, but I have a feeling that siena is the place for you.Siena is perhaps the size of Santa Barbara,Ca.Certainly not a big city like Lima. RR

I noticed in your post that you would like to visit Assisi from your Tuscany base. Sorry, if I read that wrong. But in the event I did understand you correctly, I would choose a base central to all the other places I wished to visit.

I have visited Siena three times, but only for day trips. In my opinion, it is the most cosmopolitan of the three, yet still small enough to be easily traversed. I don't know your age, but Siena has a very large student population, giving the city a wonderful vibe.


Although Siena is a place I wish to return to for an extended visit, I think you should choose something closer to the Tuscany/Umbria border if you must visit Assisi on this trip.

I vote for Siena. Montalcino and Montepulciano are both lovely towns, but much more to do and explore in Siena. Montepulciano appears closer to Assisi on the map but I recall the road from Montepulciano to the autostrada as being quite curvy and slow. Driving from Siena to Assisi is a fairly straight shot.