1

If you don't want to rent a car, Tuscany is actually pretty easy to navigate by bus as well.

I highly recommend Tavernelle. It's a small wine town about 45 minutes outside Florence to the south. There are vineyards and wineries and a really charming old church on the outskirts. It's very small, but quaint and charming. And if you happen upon one of their wine and food festivals, you'll be in heaven! I stayed at the hostel in town (Ostello di Chianti). I believe they have private rooms as well as dorms and when I stayed they were really clean and quiet and lovely.

My other favorite spot was Cinque Terre...a bit farther away, but really lovely - and I think they have mostly cleaned up after the disasters last winter. The cliffs are beautiful. The walk between the towns is leisurely and nice. And the towns themselves have a really charming feel, good food, nice little shops. I really loved it there.

Good luck!

2

Hi - sounds just superb.

My few lines....

Florence and Rome, at least a couple of days in each, possibly 3 in Rome.
Small villages and countryside locations.... Definately hire a car for 2-3 days to see the very best of them.
That way you can choose where 'You' go and indeed 'Stop' ! !
I don't like Venice very much - so I'll leave that one to others.
A day or two on any of the 'Out of city' coastal roads and villages will be just wonderful.
Check out the small family run eateries. The food is nearly always superb.
Have a really great time...."Bella Italia ! !"

3

battybilly and gigigriffis, thanks for the recommendations! We were thinking we'd most likely rent a car for Tuscany/ Umbria so we get flexibility. Any thoughts on how risky it is to travel in that area without hotel reservations? Would you recommend booking ahead, or will we be ok just finding places on the spot?

4

Suggest you do a search in the box at the top of this page - something like "Tuscany car" as your question is frequently asked.

Between Rome and Florence, almost anywhere is worth visiting through northern Lazio, Umbria and southern Tuscany. Have you got a map and studied it - it is one of those areas where looking at a map will give you far more to think about than just using a satnav. A frequently recommended route is simply follow the SS2, which is the old main road from Rome to Florence via Viterbo and Siena.

However if you've not driver in Italy before, don't assume you will find your way round the big cities by car easily. There are one way streets, ZTL = zona traffico limitato = no go area unless you have a pass, normally only issued to residents for a fee, lots of traffic police who will hand out on the spot fines, parking is limited and expensive, and streets narrow - driving in the bigger towns is no fun at all, so avoid Rome Florence and Siena. Elsewhere you should be fine. Be aware that there are tolls on most autostrada (some sections - usually city b y-passes ) are free and petrol is the most expensive in Europe around €1.85 per litre.

Suggested places on your tour from Rome to Florence would include (more or less in south to north order) Lake Bracciano, Tarquinia, Bolsena, Orvieto (definitely a foody place but not cheap) Montepulciano, Montalcino and almost anywhere in the d'Orcia valley, on a nice day down by lake Trasimeno at Castiglione or Passignano, Siena, Arezzo, Colle val d'Elsa, Volterra, and the Chianti area south of Florence. (You'll need a longer honeymoon!!_

Hotels etc won't be too busy but September is pensioner holiday time in Italy so places do get booked, particularly by families and groups. Might be worth booking a few days ahead to make sure you get a choice of what you want.

And congratulations on the honeymoon - hope the weather holds for your trip too.

5

I think traveling without a reservation just depends on the time of year and the popularity of the places you're visiting. I only booked one day ahead and I was there in the middle of tourist season (of course, I also was traveling alone and only needed one bed - and wasn't picky about private vs. dorm rooms, so perhaps that was part of my good luck).

6

Even if you don't enter a single museum, you can see some incredible sights just strolling the streets of Rome--and Florence too, for that matter. So I hope you'll consider an extra day or two in each, especially Rome, where you'll likely arrive jet-lagged.

For example, it's a short, straight, easy walk from Trevi Fountain, past the Pantheon, to Piazza Navona. If you wanted, you could extend this walk to begin at the Spanish Steps, and continue past Navona to Campo di Fiori or even the charming area of Trastevere across the river.

Also walking from the Capitoline museums to the Colosseum takes you past some ancient forums.
The wonderful thing about walking in central Rome is that you never know what's around the next corner. Often, it's something pretty darn interesting.

7

Umbria is wonderful - we loved lake Trasimeno area - partic Panicale, Castiglione del Lago, and Citta della Pieve. Hotel Vanucci was fab. Le Marche also has charms - we loved Urbino and Urbisaglia is great for history fans. But Tuscany and Umbria will be enough for one holiday I think. Do try Citta della Pieve - a perfect little town.

8

Umbria has much of what you are looking for. Charming towns with walks between them, wonderful food and wine (and the weather is turning crisp, perfect for the warming foods Umbria does so well), art everywhere. I went to Panicale last year and it might be a good match for you. Lots of places to stay, beautiful views towards Lago Trasimeno, some great restaurants, you can walk to the nearby smaller town of Paciano. And it's close to Tuscany, as well as Orvieto, which is a wonderful Umbrian city. Another wonderful medieval hill town close by this area is Piegaro, though I don't know abut walks in that area. On my side of Umbria, I love where I'm living in Spello. Also wonderful walks, and Perugia is close by with it's marvelous art museum and ethereal architecture. Fascinating city. I haven't discovered any great outdoor markets here, but the small shops are marvelous.

9

Thanks everyone for the awesome suggestions!

Here's what we have so far:
22nd: Fly in the Rome in the late afternoon.. wander, eat dinner, relax
23rd: See whatever's open (it's a Sunday)
24th: Walking food tour in the morning, head to Florence by train in the afternoon
25th: Florence
26th: Florence
27th: Pick up rental car in Florence
28th-5th Tuscany, Umbria (and maybe a trip to Cinque Terra? Trying to figure out if it makes sense to do on this trip or not...)
5th: Return car & Sleep in Rome
6th: Fly back home early in the morning

We're getting really excited for this trip!