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[Pelado]

It might even be worth an overnight!

Thinking to make that happen.

[Bo Diddley]

Fify

It might even be worth an overnight!

[Pelado]

Mount Ste-Michel is near in Normandy and is worth a day trip, IMO.

Fify

[Green Monstah]

I’m biased towards France, obviously, but I’d highly recommend it. I’d also highly recommend spending two days in Normandy if you have any interest at all in WW2 history, and I mean any interest at all.

You could spend a month in Paris and not see everything. But you can also see the highlights in two full days, three days if you add in a day in Versailles.

Mount Ste-Michel is near Normandy and is worth a day trip, IMO.

[Jeff Lebowski]

You only need to spend 1/2 day in Pisa. You can take a train from Florence.

You should both the Academia an Uffizi museums. You can do the Academia in hour or so, but the Uffizi takes longer. If you go to Florence you have to see the David.

[Northwestcoug]

That place looks great.

I had been thinking of either staying a couple nights in Florence and then switching to an agriturismo location in the countryside, or going directly to an agriturismo and doing day trips to everything - including Florence. Staying for at least a couple days in Florence makes it easier to see everything in Florence. Staying in the countryside reduces the time and effort dedicated to switching locations. So many decisions!

How many days did you go into Florence on each trip?

I believe the first time we drove in 2 days. It’s 20 miles south of Florence. There was a parking area just across a river that we parked at. A little annoying, but I don’t recall it being too long of a walk. The second time we stayed in both the villa and Florence. That time Florence was 3 days since I was attending a conference.

oh yeah one more thing to see in Florence: Ponte Vecchio. Cool medieval bridge that survived WWII bombing.

[Pelado]

Skip Tuscany. There are NO places to rent there.

That may have been the case for New Yorkers in the 90s. I'm hoping it's not true anymore.

[Pelado]

If you want to start your Tuscany vacation right, stay at this place and make day trips from it:

https://www.villasandrea.com/villasandreaeng

Absolutely beautiful location, and does a great job of representing what everything thinks of Tuscany. I've stayed there twice. The first time was a pre-apostate NWC brothers' trip so we were tetotalling. The staff could never understand why we wouldn't sample the wines. But they also have an olive tree orchard and press, so you can still partake of the fruits of their labors. The staff were very helpful both times and gave us good advice on what to do there. Second time Mrs. NWC and I did a cooking class in nearby Tavarnalle val di Pesa which was really fun; sorry, can't remember exactly where. And the nearby towns are super interesting to just explore.

If you stayed there and are planning on renting a car, I would do one day trip to Lucca and Pisa. Lucca is the quintessential Renaissance-era walled town. You can rent bikes and ride the wall. Then spend a couple of hours just walking the streets. It's a lovely town. Pisa is a tourist trap but you gotta do it. I'd also consider another day trip traveling south, and maybe hitting San Gimignano (town that has dozens of medieval towers) and Siena (larger city but more medieval than Florence; different architecture).

Florence really can't be done in a day. But the must sees are the Duomo, at least one of the art galleries (I prefer the Uffizi but the Academia has Michelangelo's David), and the market. If you're spending more time there there's plenty of foodie or architecture tours; Mrs. NWC did one while I had a conference and she loved it.

That place looks great.

I had been thinking of either staying a couple nights in Florence and then switching to an agriturismo location in the countryside, or going directly to an agriturismo and doing day trips to everything - including Florence. Staying for at least a couple days in Florence makes it easier to see everything in Florence. Staying in the countryside reduces the time and effort dedicated to switching locations. So many decisions!

How many days did you go into Florence on each trip?

[Northwestcoug]

We're going to concentrate our Italy time in Florence and Tuscany. Any advise?

If you want to start your Tuscany vacation right, stay at this place and make day trips from it:

https://www.villasandrea.com/villasandreaeng

Absolutely beautiful location, and does a great job of representing what everything thinks of Tuscany. I've stayed there twice. The first time was a pre-apostate NWC brothers' trip so we were tetotalling. The staff could never understand why we wouldn't sample the wines. But they also have an olive tree orchard and press, so you can still partake of the fruits of their labors. The staff were very helpful both times and gave us good advice on what to do there. Second time Mrs. NWC and I did a cooking class in nearby Tavarnalle val di Pesa which was really fun; sorry, can't remember exactly where. And the nearby towns are super interesting to just explore.

If you stayed there and are planning on renting a car, I would do one day trip to Lucca and Pisa. Lucca is the quintessential Renaissance-era walled town. You can rent bikes and ride the wall. Then spend a couple of hours just walking the streets. It's a lovely town. Pisa is a tourist trap but you gotta do it. I'd also consider another day trip traveling south, and maybe hitting San Gimignano (town that has dozens of medieval towers) and Siena (larger city but more medieval than Florence; different architecture).

Florence really can't be done in a day. But the must sees are the Duomo, at least one of the art galleries (I prefer the Uffizi but the Academia has Michelangelo's David), and the market. If you're spending more time there there's plenty of foodie or architecture tours; Mrs. NWC did one while I had a conference and she loved it.

[Moliere]

We're going to concentrate our Italy time in Florence and Tuscany. Any advise?

Yeah, my advice is that sounds like a good plan. I’ll be in florence and Tuscany in three weeks. I’ll return and report.

[Bo Diddley]

We're going to concentrate our Italy time in Florence and Tuscany. Any advise?

Skip Tuscany. There are NO places to rent there.

[Pelado]

We're going to concentrate our Italy time in Florence and Tuscany. Any advise?

[Pelado]

Yes, you park in a very large parking lot and take the shuttle. If you get there in the afternoon you are going the opposite way of the people traffic so it should be a breeze. We've typically just walked from teh parking lot to the mont since there's always a line for the shuttle. It's about a mile walk if you go that route.

There are tons of hotels by the parking lot in case you get there too late . It is a tourist trap, after all. Renting a car is the best way to go in Normandy. You might even rent a car in Bayeux or Caen, both of which are easily accessible by train from Paris (Gare St. Lazare). We typically rent a car when we land and drive straight out to Normandy, leave the car in Rennes and take the bullet train back to Paris.

Where do you typically stay in Normandy? Paris? Anywhere to avoid?

Considering checking out the Loire valley, but I'm thinking combining that with Paris and Normandy might be too ambitious. Current plan is to be in France for almost exact 1 week.

[Moliere]

I watched a couple YouTube travelogue videos last night about it. I was thinking to get a rental car to explore the Normandy beaches and then head over to MSM for the night. Looks like we'll have to park on the continent and then take the shuttle bus (or walk) to the island. Is that right?

I need to check for how late they keep things open. Don't want to be stuck on the wrong side of the gates with a hotel reservation on the other side.

Yes, you park in a very large parking lot and take the shuttle. If you get there in the afternoon you are going the opposite way of the people traffic so it should be a breeze. We've typically just walked from teh parking lot to the mont since there's always a line for the shuttle. It's about a mile walk if you go that route.

There are tons of hotels by the parking lot in case you get there too late . It is a tourist trap, after all. Renting a car is the best way to go in Normandy. You might even rent a car in Bayeux or Caen, both of which are easily accessible by train from Paris (Gare St. Lazare). We typically rent a car when we land and drive straight out to Normandy, leave the car in Rennes and take the bullet train back to Paris.

[Pelado]

the hotels hardly require any stairs. they are close to the gates. It is an amazing experience.

Correct. It’s uphill definitely but not too many stairs. You’ll hit a ton of stairs getting to the abbey entrance. If you spend the night there, be sure to watch the tide come in to surround the island.

I watched a couple YouTube travelogue videos last night about it. I was thinking to get a rental car to explore the Normandy beaches and then head over to MSM for the night. Looks like we'll have to park on the continent and then take the shuttle bus (or walk) to the island. Is that right?

I need to check for how late they keep things open. Don't want to be stuck on the wrong side of the gates with a hotel reservation on the other side.