Driving from Rome to Florence
 

My wife and I are going to Italy in August and will be driving from Rome to Florence. I think it's about a three hour drive but we'd like to take most of the day and visit some places along the way. Any recommendations for stops would be greatly appreciated.

We've got two further days in Tuscany after Florence staying west near Pisa, so for this particular day places around Siena/Chianti would be best. This will be on the 14h August, I think the day before the 2nd Palio (don't really know how to check) in Siena - will Siena likely be very crowded, and therefore one to avoid. I've been to Siena but my wife hasn't - my thoughts were that there would be equally nice places to see instead, if you know where to look.

Thanks in advance.

Depends upon your interests.

I would stop in Montalcino, and spend 4 hours on lunch and Brunello tasting.

I second Montalcino. We have been there in May.
And you can also visit Montepulciano (wine: Nobile de Montepuciano) on your way to Montalcino, which is nearby.
Also Pienza.
========================================
203 mi in 4h00 (including 132 mi by motorway in 1h51)

Departure : Roma-00100
Destination : Firenze-50100

Departure the: 14/08/2003 at 9h00

Type: Recommended by Michelin

Via :
Montepulciano-53045 (Arrival in 10h50)
Montalcino-53024 (Arrival in 11h26)

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...oller/HomePage

Another place would be Lago di Bolsena, also on your route. After I returned from Italy, I have read an article about this area. Now I have to go back and check it out...

That is the area of the EST! EST! EST! wine.

... Est, Wine Type Information:
What a great name! Est! Est!! Est!!! is a wine created in Montefiascone, north of Roma around the 'Lago di Bolsena' (Lake Bolsena). The white wine is made from trebbiano and malvasia grapes. It's a pretty low-key semi-sweet wine with a small amount of effervescence and mild, fruity flavors.

The fun part about this wine is its name. Apparently it was named this in the 1100s, during the times of Henry V. A German bishop, Johann Fugger, needed to go to Rome for his coronation. He sent his lacky ahead of him to mark the inns serving the best wines with "Est!" on their doors in chalk. This stood for vinum est bonum, the wine is good. When this runner hit Montefiascone, he liked the wine there so much that he wrote "Est! Est!! Est!!!" on the door!

There is actually a tomb in the Montefiascone church with Fugger's name on it, although nobody knows for sure how much of the tale is true....

http://www.bolsena.info/html/en/map/map.gif

Both Montalcino and Montepulciano are great suggestions espeacially if you are into wine.
Would however recommend Orvieto as your first stop. Fabluous hilltown, take the finular up to the citadal and visit one of Italy's most spectacular Duomos.
Have lunch in Trattoria Etruria best minestrone soup I have ever had anywhere.

Also of interest on your way to Firenze, San Gimignano and the small village/town of Monterriggioni.
mike

Brunch at Orvieto,
full lunch at Montalcino
followed by an afternoon snack in Montepulciano
in the process of a 200km drive.

Even I would not try that one.

Me neither, but I sure would like to.
(before they wheel me into the emergency room )
mike

We greatly enjoyed Orvieto last August as we drove up to Florence. Great Duomo, fortified hilltop city. Had a good lunch there near the cathedral, but I'm never going to be able to remember the name of the restaurant for you. But, it's difficult to get a bad meal in Italy.

Djlawman

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

Has anyone stopped in Greve in Chianti or San Gimignano or, as something altogether different, the designer outlet sites south of Florence?

Cheers,
Paul

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

Has anyone stopped in Greve in Chianti or San Gimignano or, as something altogether different, the designer outlet sites south of Florence?

Cheers,
Paul

Yep been to San Gimignamo twice. Really enjoyed this town with its 14 (of the original 70) "skyscraper towers"
This town where most of the movie "Tea for Mussolini" is filmed.
Some nice shops to pick up local pottery are found (away from the main tourist areas)
Word of advice though might be a good idea to visit early in the day or late afternoon before hordes of tours busses decend on the place.
Greve is nice enough with its triangular piazza and surrounding wine tasting/shops and restaurants.

mike

[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 07-30-2003).]

A whole day will not be enough....you need more to get an idea of how beautiful Italy is!

It depends on the amount of time you would spent for the trip. i suggest you to pass one night somewhere between Umbria and Toscana....
A very slow itinerary from Rome (where I live) to Florence could be:
Rome-Civita di Bagnoregio 100km/65miles (not to be missed, an astonishing little village built up on a volcanic rock and destinated to collapse within a century)
Civita di Bagnoregio-Orvieto 40km/25miles (one of the highest expression of middle age and romanic art)
Orvieto-Pienza and its surroundings -Bagno Vignoni and Monticchiello, for instance- 80km/50miles (not too far from already suggested villages of Montalcino and Montepulciano, Pienza is smarter and unique. Check your guide for more infos about Bagno Vignoni...).
Finally you can get your way to Florence, thinking of spending some time in Cortona, San Gimignano or Greve in Chianti where you can taste best t-bone steak "fiorentina"!

Don't forget to buy some wine....the real bargain is to get some bottle of 1997's Brunello di Montalcino to sell once in the USA.
Enjoy the best country in the world: mine.

I have stayed a week in San Gimignano and a week in Radda in Chianti, and visited Greve, and just about every other little town in the Classico area.

San Gimignano is worth a visit as it is unique. The towns of Chianti should be looked at as a base, not a destination. Visit the wineries. Not many restaurants in either area.

That is the opposite of Montalcino. Decent restaurants in town, and tough to find open wineries. Lots of Bars pouring Brunello or Rosa by the glass.

We were there in the spring. You don't really need to plan it all out. Base it on the weather, and what you are feeling that day. If you are into wine, then you have to take advantage of some of the great wines mentioned earlier in the thread. Bring some back, the comparable cost here is three or more times what you will pay there.

Take your time and enjoy the trip. Even food in the highay rest areas is way better then most of what you get in restaurants here in the states. Bring a kinfe with you, get some of the local meats and cheeses, and snack away. I believe it will be a very long time before I'm able to find wild boar in my local deli.

As to San Gimignano, we also spent an afternoon there on our way back from Florence to Rome. Great hilltop village with the first skyscrapers, which became wealthy in the Middle Ages because of its location on the pilgrimage routes. Wonderful small town (although fairly crowded when we were there in August). Well worth a stop.

Djlawman