I just wondered if I could get some suggestions(and I'm sure I will !! )on adding another small town or two to my trip in November. We have only been to Italy once--6 weeks ago--and we only went to Rome and Florence. We are wanting to go back to both of these beautiful cities but wish to expand a little. We will be there for the first two weeks of November--no car. What would you suggest to add to this short trip ? Thank You !!
Donna

It is difficult, because there are so many !
You mention small town, and I am not sure how small, ot if you are set particularly on small towns. Also do you have a particular region in mind?

My immediate thought when you mentioned Rome and Florence was to suggest you complete the "Big three" and do Venice (obviously not a small town).

I was particularly fond of Lucca - not tiny, but cosy and friendly. Having recently spent two weeks in Sena, I am a great fan of that city as well.

I am sure the slow travellers will produce a list of many places, each fascinating (and I hope so, because I will be taking notes)

How about Sienna? It's kind of in between, and has lots to see and plenty to do. It's also readibily accessible by bus and train.

siena....siena....siena.... it's a magic place and so filled with history.

Thank you all for such speedy replies! We were thinking of a small town, maybe to spend two days in; or even, two small towns with two days each. I know everyone loves Siena and that is always on my mind. I would like to keep it close to Florence or Rome. I think I would rather go to Venice when it is a little warmer there. I know there are so many small places to see, but we only have two weeks for now and we do not know for sure when we will be able to go again. I would love to live there part of the year, but unfortunately that is not an option at this point!! I really would like to be in a really small city, as it is the atmosphere that I crave even more than the sites. That is NOT to say that I don't want to visit any sites--just that the people and the "experience" of being there was what I loved the most.We are very open to suggestions if we can reach these places by bus or train. Thank you again!!
Donna

okay then, dear wittyone donna -

i shall try again...i'm familiar with lots of small towns between florence and siena, namely my small village of radda in chianti, which i dearly love - close to radda you will find the wonderful villages of lamole and volpaia.

also, starting up by florence there's fiesole, impruneta, montefioralle, greve in chianti, panzano, castellina in chianti, fonterutoli - plus san casciano in val di pesa and....

there's so many quaint small villages that you can go just about anywhere a bus or train will take you. how about getting yourself a map and a bus schedule and just going?

its so hard to tell someone to go to a specific town because there are lots of great places. i can assure you that almost any of the villages that i have named will give you a wonderful experience and you will enjoy the authentic tuscany.

Siena, Lucca or Pisa, or all of them. All easily reachable from Florence by bus and train.

Take the train north from Rome and get off a few times until you discover "your" special city. My students did the same thing and you can read their "reports" of Day trips from Viterbo.

Thank you all again!! Actually I think I like the idea of getting off the train at different places enroute to Florence. But really I loved what Elizabetta wrote too!! Radda, Lamole, and Volpaia sound like places I would love to see!! I like the idea that I have never seen these names before!!! How long should I devote to villages or towns this small??(remember, i don't have a long vacation!!) Are there places to stay overnight anywhere there?? Thanks to all again!! Small places are good places!!

there are plenty of places to stay overnight in most of the villages i mentioned. however, tuscany has changed drastically over the last ten years. whereas we used to be able to arrive in a small village and just ask around as to available lodgings, now its best to have reservations ahead of time. not that "asking around" isn't an option.... it probably still works sometimes.

in radda, go to "la bottega di giovannino", via roma 6-8, on the main street straight up from bar dante, where you will find the owner, giovannino, and his delightful rooms to rent. these rooms have a beautiful view of the valley and, across the valley, you can see volpaia.

he also owns the food shop/bar underneath the rooms and will provide you with a breakfast if so requested.

i think you could do a couple of these small villages a day,
staying over one night in between adventures.

What about San Gimignano or Volterra? Both smaller cities that are surrounded by countryside and are just 20 minutes from Siena.

We stayed last year in SG for 10 days and loved it. It has become our adopted home in Italy.

Another good one would be Cortona.

However, if you want really small, try Colle Val d`Elsa or Casole Val d`Elsa. Very small towns but are very quaint.

Doug

Thank you all again ! Is S.G. too touristy now? We will be there in November, so maybe not so many other tourists then ??? I had already given much thought to Cortona, Siena, and SG but kinda thought maybe something even smaller as Elizabetta had advised. I will check into all of your suggestions and try to pick one or two. I really do like the SLOW part of being there. It is possible still for us to omit Rome and Florence, but unlikely. I just don't feel like I had my fill of them yet. EGADS---- I am sooooooo addicted !! Does it ever wear off ????

Wittyone..

SG may be busy during the day but if you are staying in it, the evenings are wonderful! We had the town pretty much to ourselves once the tour buses left. In November, it should be empty out earlier. Another thing about SG... it has great shopping with excellent prices too. We found more items there than in Florence. Go figure??!!

Doug

Doug,
Even though I am very interested in SG, I did notice in the Rick Steves' book that his opinion was SG is a tourist trap and that most of the rusticity is faux. Did you feel at all like that??? I thought we might shave off some of the days in Rome and in Florence to accomodate some days on towns in between. We are really interested in non-touristy feeling towns, though. However, as we won't have a car, we also would probably rather spend at least two or three days in the places we choose. I am not really fond of the idea of going in and out of a town in one day.If SG is not a "tourist trap", then I would definitely add it to my list of possibilities!! I am afraid that I do not always agree with Mr. Steves, but he is also right many times. Let me know what you think, please. I am thinking that we could allow six nights between Florence and Rome for other places. Oh, the planning is so much fun, but also can be quite hard!!! Thank goodness for a site like this !!

If Rome and Florence are the poles of your travels then Orvieto makes an easy and attractive point in between. Of course, Orvieto is not in Tuscany but it's still a nice place nevertheless. In fact, Umbria is generally not inconvenient for train travel between Rome and Florence. Five years ago actually we spent a couple lovely days in Trevi between Rome and Florence on a carless trip. Likewise, towns like Spoleto, Spello, and the highly touristed but highly atmospheric and quite moving Assisi are possibilities.

Perhaps one good piece of advice for the train traveller is to go over to trenitalia.com site and play around for a while. See what places work for train travel. What kind of connections there are. Do a bunch of research and then do a bit more. And then go to whatever place fires your imagination.

Buona fortuna and happly planning,

Anthony and Jennifer

Grazie, Hannibal !! The early stages of planning are the hardest ones !! So many wonderful places to visit and so little time !! I have no regrets from the first trip so I feel confident that whereever we go it will be fantastic--It is afterall, Italy !!! I have been researching Elizabetta's little villages and they sound absolutely wonderful. On the other hand, Siena and San Gimignano sound great. AAAAHHH, I will keep my mind open to all suggestions, for sure. Thank you and I will research Trevi now.

Wittyone,

Italy is NOT filled with "tourist traps" but does get a lot of tourists. San Gimi does get a lot of tourists because of the towers and the town. It was busy during the day and the shopkeepers offer a lot of different products. Some of it is junk but those shops are easy to spot. We bought linens, a leather handbag and some wine and whatever.

In Tuscany, during the day, especially in May or in September/October, the towns will be filled with tourists during the day and, at times, crowded but mingled in those crowds are the local people. For Judith and I we spent 2-3 days just roaming around SG and it's outskirts but we did have a car to make it easier.

I will admit, if you are looking to get away from the tourists, Diana's suggestion for the Piemonte are excellent. (she also had nice accommodations and does everything in her power to make her guests happy).

If you do fly to Florence, rent a car as driving in Italy is not a problem. In fact, I think they are better drivers than here in the US. This way, you can also drive in the countryside around whatever town you end up in which really is Italy. To see the olive orchards and the vinyards along with the poppies in May, in Toscana's hills... well, you'll see...

No matter what, you will be in Bella Italia so enjoy it no matter where you land.

Doug