Tuscany Traveller Brief Guide

General
On your way from Rome to tuscany, visit a very special city in Umbria, Orvieto, so you will make the best of your firsy day in Italy. A trip of relaxation does'nt include, of caurse, changing the lodging location every night. It is adviseble to find one strategic place and to travel from it every day to another destination. The best place would be the city of Arezzo as it's location is in between Florence, Siena and the Chianti in Tuscany, and Perugia and Assisi in Umbria. In order to really enjoy the atmosphere of Tuscany, it is recommanded to stay at a typical ancient house (usually an ex farmhouse) rather then in hotel or a simple "zimmer".

Trips' destinations
The cities of Florence and Siena and the road in between, road no'222. This road is crosing the Chiant, the rural part of Tuscany and the origin of the best wines of Italy. Along this road, which passes throu marvelous landscapes, there are some pictorial towns which definitly worth a visit, like Castellina in Chianti, Greve in Chianti. Turnning east from Castellina in Chianti will lead you to Radda in Chianti and Gaiole in Chianti. Anoter pictorial town is San Gemignano with it's mediavel towers, only that this town is a little bit far from the main attractions in Tuscany, and considering the fact that the roads in the Cianti are not so convinient to drive, it isn't a must to visit this town. Casentino vally north to Arezzo and the mountains on its both sides are providing gorgous views and plenty oportunties for tracking. In Chiana vally, south to Arezzo, there are pictorial and ancient towns: Cortona, Monte Pulciano, Lucignano, Monte san Savino and Pienza. South-east to Arezzo there are Perugia, the capitol of Umbria, and near by the very special town Assisi. On the way to these towns don't forget to visit lake Trasimeno.

Arezzo
Arezzo is a beautiful city with an ancient quarter sorounded by a mediavel wall, in whoose heart is located one of the most beautiful squares in Italy. Arezzo has 100000 habitants, restorants, fancy shops and coffy shops which one can't find in the small towns of Tuscany and Umbria. Arezzo is a famouse international music center and quite often there are public shows in its squares (for free) or operas (at low cost). The biggest antiquery market in Tucany is taking place in Arezzo at the first Sunday of each month.

Where to stay
Don't compromise on cheap deals of "villa in tuscany" kind, since they are usually offering a veriaty of buildigs who were restored for habitatoin with minimum investment. Whenever you are searching for a discent accommodation, either by a travel agent or by the internet, consider only those who have pictures which show the whole building, its surounding and the view from it. Many of the "villa in tuscany" present partial pictures which hide the true situation. The location of the house should be easily accessible for vehicles (a good dirt road, not more then 1 km. long) and close to a major city, so it will be interesting also at night. The Chianti , for instance, is beutiful for traveling but it is not recommanded to stay there as its roads are curved and inconvinient to drive. Pianelli is an ideal accommodation as it has all the advantages for a nice trip to Tuscany: an ancient farmhouse, very well restored, a good access road of 600 m, close to Arezzo and in a prime location among the highlights of Tuscany and Umbria.

Rent a car
It is always preffered to order the car at your homeland rather then in Italy. In Italy it is dificult to have an automatic vehicle, so if this is your prefference and if you are travelling at the high season, make your reservation at least two weeks in advance.