I have been reading through this forum and other sources for information. I have made some progress in narrowing down things, but I am still unsure of what to do because of the number of options. I would appreciate some advice.
I would like to rent a 3 or 4 bedroom farmhouse, villa, or townhouse for 2 weeks in the fall. There will be 6 adults.
We think we would prefer to be in the Southern or Eastern areas of Tuscany and wish to do some day trips to hill towns etc. We would like to be in or very close to(less than 3 kilometers)a nice village with at least a couple of good restaurants, a good market(for local food shopping for in-home cooking) and nice scenery. Our goal is to be able to walk to a village for shopping and for some dinners etc, but we will plan to also have a rental car to do some exploring of other towns for a few days as well.
However, we are finding that it is hard to get an independent villa while being within walking distance of a decent size village that offers some options on things to see and do (restaurants, shops...)
Towns that appeal to us are Cortona, Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gimignano, etc.
Here are some of the villas we have found that have come closest to meeting our "criteria":
Monterchi: The villa is called "La Rocca" by some people and "Cortile" by others. We read the reviews on here about it. The villa seems great. However, we are concerned that Monterechi may be further away from things, and some people have had some negative comments about Monterchi. Any thoughts on this?
Cortona: We found a villa called "Casale Priscilla" near Cortona. It seems nice and being near Cortona would be good. Anyone know this villa or have any comments about it?
Monticchiello: Casa Anna seems nice. We read the nice reviews on this site about the villa. However, we are concerned the village is too small and quiet for us. Is it fairly easy to do day trips from this village to places like Cortona, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, etc. Does this village have a couple of good restaurants, a public market etc?
Palazzone: Tre Case houses. Again, we are concerned the village is too small and quiet for us. The plus side is that the village is near the autostrada which might make it more convenient to get places. Any feedback on this the house, village and its location?
Bucine: There is a villa called Leccio (listed with Tuscany-Villas.com). We have not found much about Bucine. While it is further north than the other areas we have considered, the villa is close to the town and Bucine seems larger and close to some nice places to visit. Anyone stayed in this villa or have any comments about Bucine?
Welcome! I, too, have been searching all over for a rental in a village. Like you, I am mostly finding farm houses or rentals in the middle of Florence. Unfortunately I don't know anything about the places you posted, but I did get a lot of great recommendations in a recent thread I posted in. I'll see if I can bump it for you. Good luck with your search!
When we made our first trip to Tuscany in 2004, I was looking for the same things that you mention. I didn't want to be miles outside a town, I wanted to be able to walk to restaurants,shops and espresso. Also, since we had one car, I wanted anybody in the party who didn't want to go on a particular daytrip, to be able to walk to town and do other things if they felt like it. I researched for hours and hours and still kept coming back to the Villa Serena outside of Cortona. We were thrilled with our choice! Its location is beautiful looking out over the Val D'Chiana, and the grounds were very peaceful and serene like the name. You can walk to Cortona in about 15-20 minutes and it is a beautiful walk along a winding road. See picture. It has three bedrooms and there are two annexes on the property which each have one bedroom.
From Villa Serena we headed out on daytrips to Siena, Arezzo, and the three Tuscan towns-Montepulciano, Pienza & Montalcino(which is too much for one day by the way). We really enjoyed just spending time in Cortona, shopping, eating & walking the streets- especially in upper Cortona where you see few other tourists.
I'm including three links so that you can see different pictures of the property. THe third one has a picture of the interior of one of the annexes. I recommend using the Knowitall site if you decide to book it because it links you directly to the owner Vittorio and his daughter, and you will get the best price from them. Our experience with them left us confident that we didn't need an agency to run interference for us.
We return this May to stay in one of the annexes, a little small for three of us, but we know we love the place so we decided to take it over other possibilities. I hope I haven't tired you with all this info! LK Maloney
My advice is to always opt for location first. Frankly, Cortona would not be my first choice because of location. I would try to find a place within :30 of Siena--preferably south. The Casa Anna location is good--that village has 2 good places to eat and Pienza is very close. Good luck !
We rented a small apartment in Monticchiello last fall and really loved it. The village itself is very small, but quite charming. There are two excellent restaurants there, another little place that serves wine, caffe, bruschetta and pannini, a small alimentari (grocery), and a bakery. Also in the town is a linen shop with gorgeous linens, and a shop selling very unusual but beautiful one-of-a-kind women's clothing. As Bob said, Pienza, which is a larger village, is very close, about 10-15 minutes by car, and Montepulciano is about 20 min. away. Both of these towns have many more shops, markets, and restaurants. We usually bought dinner supplies while we were out daytripping to these towns, but we did find the basics at the alimentari in Monticchiello.
Posts: 162 | Location: Campbell, California | Registered: 18 January 2005
What about a couple of separate apartments at Sant'Antonio. It gets rave reviews from those who've stayed there, and is very close to Montepulciano, Pienza and Monticchiello,in the location Bob recommends.
Aloha, Ann
Posts: 1503 | Location: Sunset Beach (Haleiwa), Hawaii, USA | Registered: 16 September 2001
In the summer of 2004, my family of 5 spent one week at Villa Priscilla in Cortona. I'm not sure if it is the same as your "Casale Priscilla"
We booked through Terre Etrusche, a Cortona based rental agency. Here is the Link: Villa Priscilla
The villa was as beautiful as the photos from the website. The house was clean, well furnished and very comfortable. There is a very nice swimming pool too. The house is a very short drive further up the mountain behind Cortona. It would be a long walk to town, but we never had any trouble parking in the lot on the North side of the Etruscan Wall just outside the city.
The views from the villa look into the valley and are vast. There is complete privacy with only a few distant rooftops of other houses in site.
I would stay here again, and recommend it fully. Cortona is really a great town. I know it well. They have concerts in the main square, yes there are plenty of great restaurants, Trattoria La Grotta is one. Another recommended by a friend who lives in Cortona: upon returning to the villa, continue past the drive to the Villa, and ion about 3-4 miles you'll come to Castel Girardi, Ristorante & Pizzeria. Our dinner was so good here, we went back another night, only to find it booked full (with ONLY locals.)
Thank you all for your advice. I appreciate it a great deal. I have narrowed it down to two villas (one within walking distance of Cortona and one in Monticchiello). Both seem great and I doubt we can go wrong with either. I have shared the information with the others in my travel group and we will see if they have a strong desire for on over the other.
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