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How to See Tuscany from One Central Location (Where to Stay)

How to See Tuscany from One Central Location (Where to Stay)

The Tuscany region is one of the most beautiful places in Italy. With rolling hill landscapes, medieval towns, wonderful architecture and art, hospitable people who are fond of children, good weather, and last but not least tasty Italian food and wine.

Tuscany is also a big region that takes time to explore. But how to see the best of Tuscany if you do not feel like changing hotels every day?

In this article, we share our experience – where to stay in Tuscany so that you can see everything you want to without having to drive too much and without having to stay in different places every day.

ponte vecchio florence
Ponte Vecchio in Florence
 

Why we chose just one hotel for 12 days in Tuscany

Our first trip to Tuscany was also the very first time we were traveling with all three of our children together. You can probably imagine that any destination would be challenging with the 8-month-old twins and a 2-year-old.

When we travel, we travel in order to see places, and I can’t imagine it any other way. So when I was looking for a hotel, I made sure that it was centrally located in Tuscany so that we could do some sightseeing as well. Sightseeing with 3 toddlers who could only travel in a buggy? Yes!

The key to this kind of vacation is variation. So we would do sightseeing one day and spend the next day by the pool and go out for dinner, followed by maybe a half a day sightseeing the next day. We would also take our time to stop at the playgrounds, let the children run around a city square chasing pigeons, stop for a gelato… and then for a second one.

So in order to make this vacation pleasant for everybody, we chose one single hotel for 12 days. We stayed in the area of Borgoiano – Montaione.

Tower of Pisa
Tower of Pisa
 

Where we stayed

We stayed at the family-friendly apartments Borgoiano in Toscana in a tiny village called Iano, in Montaione.

It’s really in the middle of nowhere as you can see on the map (the red dot – thank you Google). But – it is in the middle of all the places we wanted to visit (Siena, Lucca, Pisa, San Gimignano, Volterra, and of course, Florence)!

Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed at has recently closed, but there are plenty of other choices in the same area. For example, Borgo La Casaccia or Boccioleto Resort (both great for bigger families too), or Hotel Le Macine (for couples and smaller families), to name just a few…

Tuscany trip itinerary map
 

From Montaione, we were less than a 30 min drive from two beautiful medieval towns – San Gimignano and Volterra, a 1-hour drive from Pisa or Siena, just a bit over an hour from Florence, and 1.5 hours from Lucca.

I am not talking about just any places; these are one by one top destinations, all within such easy reach. Here you can find the complete guide to the most beautiful towns of Tuscany.

This location could also work for a day trip to the popular Val d’Orcia region and towns like Pienza or Montepulciano. However, if you want to spend more time at those places, I would recommend choosing another location, ideally southeast of Siena.

We had a longer list of places to see and things to do, and we would have explored the region much more if we were not traveling with little children… Of course, we could have also chosen to stay home, or we could have stayed by the pool days in a row…

Taking this kind of vacation and staying in the middle of Tuscany, gave us the possibility to discover so many beautiful places while leaving plenty of time to rest, swim, and play with the kids.

Tuscan landscape - view from our terrace at Borgo Montaione
View from our terrace at Borgo Montaione
 

In fact, we loved Italy and this way of traveling so much that a year later we were back exploring the region around Verona and Garda Lake.

As I’m updating this article years after it was written, I have to add that we kept on going back to Italy with kids every year ever since. We visited Cinque Terre and the Italian Riviera, the beautiful Trentino region, we spent two summer vacations hiking in the Dolomites, visited cities like Rome and Venice, and so much more.

I can’t even start to update this list anymore – we’ve been to Italy dozens of times by now.

There are so many beautiful places to see in Italy and it’s often possible to just stay in one area and see so much without having to change hotels all the time. To us, Italy is the perfect destination for family vacations where you can easily combine sightseeing with some quiet off-time by the pool or at the beach. And Tuscany is one of the best places for that!

TIP: If you are looking for more inspiration for where to go in Italy, please check our Italy travel guide for more destination guides from all over Italy.

 

Alternative – stay in Florence

Alternatively, if you don’t have a car or don’t feel like staying in the rural areas of Tuscany where there’s not much going on, consider staying in Florence. From there, you can easily take day trips or organized tours to many other places in Tuscany.

That way you can just stay in one hotel without having to pack and unpack every day, and still see a lot.

Here you can find some suggestions for where to stay in Florence for all budgets:

You can find all kinds of Tuscany tours from Florence, and so it’s an excellent base from which to explore Tuscany without renting a car.

READ ALSO: Best Cities to Visit in Italy & Italy Itinerary for First Visit

 

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Rachelle

Wednesday 6th of September 2023

Hi, I just wanted to ask a group of my friends and I are looking to plan a trip to Italy. We want to see tuscany are. Just wanted to ask would it be easier to stay in Florence and do daily trips . Or since it's a big group could staying in a villa type place in rural mid point like San g and taking day trips that way better. My main concern is finding rentals to take day trips. I want the stay of countryside but the exploring of different areas myself. Hard to decide.

Jurga

Wednesday 6th of September 2023

Hi Rachelle, I'm not sure I understand what your concern is 'finding rentals to take day trips'. Anyway, if you don't rent a car, then stay in Florence or Siena as it will be much easier to take day trips (by train or organized tours). If you are planning to rent a car, then it's better to stay outside the city (make sure the place is somewhat centrally located for the places you want to visit because Tuscany is really big). Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip!

John Willett

Friday 18th of November 2022

Hi Jurga,

Really love your blog and have used it for our own travels. We now have three couples traveling to Italy Oct. 2023 which makes things more complicated. We have to make some big decisions and we plan to meet and discuss all the options. It would be nice if we had printed copies of all the Italy information like Tuscany, best cities, 2 week itinerary and 7 day itinerary to discuss and make notes. I have been trying to print and cannot. Do you have any suggestions. We plan to stay any where from 4 to 8 weeks.

I appreciate your help and thanks.

Jurga

Sunday 20th of November 2022

Hi John, you can save or print our articles by simply using Ctrl+p (or Cmd+p on Mac). Or you can simply bookmark our articles and check the info you need when you need it. With 4-8 weeks in Italy, you can really see a lot. If you're traveling in the fall, it's probably best to start with lakes/nature destinations first and then leave the cities for later when it gets colder/rainier. Good luck with the planning!

Yonit

Monday 28th of March 2022

Hi, I'm loving your blog, thank you! The hotel you stayed at to visit all of Tuscany from a central location closed down. Do you have other mid-to low-budget suggestions? Thanks!

Jurga

Wednesday 30th of March 2022

Hi Yonit, I see that the hotel has closed indeed and just updated our article to include a few alternative recommendations in the same area. One of the best-value lower-mid-range hotels in Montaione is Hotel Le Macine. There are really countless other options, especially if you are renting a car and a few kilometers in one or the other direction don't make much difference. Good luck with the planning!

Taryn

Tuesday 25th of January 2022

Hi Jurga, We are planning to travel to Italy in August and are thinking about splitting up our 11 days there in Rome, Florence/Tuscany and the Dolomites. We love a combination of history and outdoor adventure. I know August is hot and that some things may be closed... Wondering your take on how that will impact our trip. Also wondering if you had an opinion on staying in Florence versus somewhere quieter in Tuscany. Also- would you say Venice is a must do?

Thank you so much! I love following your adventures! We have used a lot of your ideas to guide our trips in the past! Taryn

Taryn

Wednesday 26th of January 2022

@Jurga, Thank you so much for all your helpful information!! We are going to book Venice! I had a couple other questions if you don't mind... Can you recommend a family friendly tour from Florence to see more of Tuscany and also we were thinking of staying in Cortina d'Ampezzo to visit the Dolomites. Do you think that would be a good base? Thank you!

Jurga

Wednesday 26th of January 2022

Hi Taryn, yes, August is VERY warm and most Italians themselves take a vacation and leave the cities. The main sights are open, but there are often more tourists everywhere than locals at this time of the year. But purely for seeing the main highlights in the cities, you shouldn't feel any impact at all. Except that it can be unbearably hot, so pack a refillable water bottle (at least one per person) - you'll need it. There are little fountains with drinking water all over the big cities in Italy, so that should help a bit. And eat lots of gelatos. :) In summer, I think I'd definitely stay outside the city if you can. Tuscany is amazing and there are so many beautiful places to stay with a pool (something like this place or so). But if you don't have a car, it's easier to stay in Florence, of course. Still, I'd try to book a hotel with a pool (something like this or this) so that you can relax and cool off there in the afternoon. As for Venice, it's a bucket list destination, so yes, if you haven't been before, I'd definitely go there, even if just for a day when you travel between the Dolomites and Florence or so. We have a few articles about visiting the city: how to see the best places in Venice in 1 day or how to visit Venice by car. Check it out for more info. And for Rome, we have lots of guides too: see here. Hope this helps. Italy is always amazing, so don't worry about the weather or so, just make the best of it!

Joan Modinger

Sunday 4th of October 2020

Thinking of visiting Tuscany next year. Found your blog. Informative - thank you!!

Jurga

Monday 5th of October 2020

Glad to hear that, Joan. I assume you have read our other articles about Tuscany too, but just in case, you can find an overview of all the posts in our Italy travel guide.

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