Tuscany late july. Florence then villa? Greve or nearby?? suggestions

[newjob2016]

Hello.
We are thinking of going to Tuscany and would like to visit Florence (maybe stay there for a few days). We would then like to travel further into Tuscany and stay in villa or in small hotel/apartment - with a pool - but where we would be near a small village.

Does anybody have suggestions or advice?

Is Italy very expensive? I have seen some apartments on Air BnB in Florence and they are reasonably priced.

Thanks

What do you mean by expensive?

You can easily spend gazillions of money on an Italian holiday. You can also pay well over the odds for lots of things - any restaurant on a famous piazza will probably be a) expensive and b) crap.

However you can also spend a lot less on a holiday you organize yourself. AirBnB is lovely if you just want to explore. You can have a coffee and croissant for breakfast for a couple of euros at a cafe. You can have lovely food for far less than it would cost in the UK - worth doing some research to get out of the number 1 tourist haunt. Churches are pack full of art and usually free to visit. So there is a lot to do at minimal cost as well as the museums.

For staying in the countryside have you looked at agriturismo? Some of these will do amazing food from their own farms in the evening.

There are also savings that aren't worth making - if driving the free state motorways are shit and it is worth using the toll ones. Pay extra for hire car insurance as they will try to rip you off on return - £800 for 2 'medium bumps' barely visible with a microscope in our case. The insurance was well worth paying for.

Finally - make sure wherever you stay has aircon.

The cities are pretty hot in the summer. Either do a couple of nights or just stay in a villa near. We rented a villa through Air BnB last summer, it was beautiful but very windy roads so you don't want to drive too much. We had our own pool & lots of outside space, but weren't near enough for a day trip to Florence, we were nearer Siena. Meals out tend to be £10-20 / head depending on what you're eating. The Palio in Siena in mid-August is madness, either to be seen or avoided depending on u your point of view.

Good point about the weather - have done Bologna in early August and it was vile. Would imagine Florence would be v similar.

We did Lake Garda / Bologna / Venetian Riviera last August and it was fab. Hot (as you'd expect) but not unbearably so. Have a look at Agritourismo - we booked a couple of places through booking.com and they were stunning. We visited friends near Greve, and as it happens, we have a family wedding in Tuscany so going back again this year - actually going close to Greve again, its just stunning.

We did find it expensive last year, exchange rate was poor. Its the general rule though, supermarkets / restaurants in the middle of the touristy plaza or next to the hotel will have inflated prices compared to places off the beaten track.

San Gimignano? Try Airbnb for some nice places it's really lovely ther.

Namechanged would you mind telling us what Agriturismo you booked. We are doing that this summer for a few nights. I have a place booked but not 100% it will be right for us.
Thanks

Yes do this. We did it. Late July. Gorgeous villa with pool. There's lots of places to check out. Anywhere near
Montepulciano or Cortona (see the film Under the Tuscan Sun).

Arezzo is nice and is only 45 mins on train to Florence to avoid parking there. I live near Tuscany and that's what us locals do! Eating in Italy outside of tourist holes is cheap. Here in my village in Emilia Romagna a pizza Margherita in a restaurant is 4€, max price 7.50€ for any topping you like. Depends if you want primo, secondo, contorno, dolce, frutta caffè at every meal though!

I'm going against the grain here - if you haven't been to Florence before, stay for your precious few days right in the heart of it - get an air bnb in a palazzo apartment as close to the heart of things as you can. There's a magical square close to the duomo called piazza ss anninziata - I know there's a hotel there but I bet there are apartments nearby. It's completely tolerable with air con and you get to pretend to be a Medici for a few days before heading out to a swimming pool. There are loads of developments with shared pools and you may find it slightly cheaper in arezzo direction than montalcino /,monteoulciano. Enjoy!

first one just south of Bologna. Stunning (but very quiet - which we loved). Just 2 other families there.

and this one - beautiful, closer to Greve

Hi namechange thanks for that! I had actually emailed Salvadonica ages back and never heard from them. Just messaged them there again. Were you there with kids...it sounds like a better location than what we had picked. We are starting in Rome, moving up through Tuscany and finishing in lake Garda. This is exactly where I envisaged us being for the 3rd leg of the trip. Any tips about this place?

Loads of good agriturismo in Tuscany. I second San Gimignano as a lovely place to stay and close enough to visit Chianti and Siena.

We only stayed 1 night as we were meeting friends but yes with children. As with all agrituriamo places they're off the beaten track a little but we like that. wasn't nearly enough time which is why we're thrilled to be going back for more exploring. Staying at a place called villa La Palagina this time.

It's going to be hot hot hot but not impossible. I'd go for a villa with a pool. We've stayed in a few around arezzo, cortona, sienna, san g, and travelled around a lot. You really can't go (very) wrong. love it!

Try wwww.cottagestocastles.co.uk for a look-see.

We can't book a villa as we won't be in Tuscany for 7 nights

Thanks for all the messages. I havent booked anything yet but have now got some helpful suggestions and ideas.