renting a house in Tuscany

We were thinking of renting a house in Tuscany, in July, for at least two, hopefully three weeks.

I was thinking about staying near Lucca? Are there towns that would have a better location for day trips?

Has anyone rented a place they would recommend? We will have our three daughters, so we need a place which will accommodate five. Access to a pool would be preferable for the girls.

Any suggestions for a reasonably priced place to stay for a couple of nights in Venice?

I'll ask about food later, if I can get the lodging taken care of.

Thanks,
Al

Hi Al-

About five years ago, My wife's family rented a villa near near Lucca. I don't recall how they found it, but I know that a prof at U of C had stayed there and recommended. My father in law is a prof at U of C. The place we stayed had plenty of rooms and a pool. I was amazed by the hedges, they were rosemary.

The area was easily accessible to other parts of the region by highway. Lucca itself is a charming city. We found an excellent bakery as well as several nice restaurants.

If you e-mail me, I'll see if I can come up with the specific property.

Best,

Tom in NC

Hi,

I have e-mailed you my travel agents phone number.

Lucca is a charming town, but a couple days will about cover it. There are several very nice residences just outside the walls I can recommend. Pisa (ignore the tower and focus on the church and baptistry), Livorno (think fish stew), and La Spezia are all quick drives. The Maremma (south to Grosseto) is kind of cool and offers lots of eco-tourist stuff, but it's a much a longer haul. S12 from Lucca to Modena is a pretty drive and Modena is a gourmand's paradise. The ferry from Piombino to Elba is OK.... So, tell me more about what you want to do and I'll make some suggestions. Personally, I prefer Umbria, but anything on the line between Siena and Urbino would be fine (think Piero della Francesca), though my tastes run to art, food, wine, and indolence.

Also, July in Tuscany is usually afoso, so prepare for the heat and humidity. If that doesn't kill you, the $/ just might.

We stayed at an agritourismo place outside Siena and loved it. It was a great location, with access to Siena, Montalcino, San Gimignano, etc. I can't remember the exact town, but there are tons of those sorts of places around there.

We spent about ten days this summer at an agroturisimo villa outside of Lucca. We spent time at the place living the Slow life, in Lucca, and by train to Pisa, Cinqueterra, Florence, and even Venice. First and last nights in Roma.

The place we stayed is called Fattoria Maionchi. Family owned early 16th century estate about 10 miles out of Lucca in the hills. We did not have a car and plans for bus and bike transport did not pan out so we did Taxis, which worked. The people were very nice but little to no English. We were in a very nicely converted farm building which had three bedrooms, living room, bathroom, and kitchen. http://www.fattoriamaionchi.it/tuscan-holiday-farm.html

We were able to cook when we wanted and eat outside overlooking olive groves and vineyards.

They served long and delicious Tuscan meals on the weekend with reservations.

We had three kids, 7, 11, and 14 all traveled well and had a terrific time.

Al,

we travelled to Tuscany last spring and found the following website to be an invaluable resource: http://www.tuscany.net/

maybe you're already familiar with this one, though.

while we did not rent a house, we found lodging in a villa about 30km south of Florence through this resource. even if you don't end up booking anything using this, it is a helpful guide for those uneducated about the area. (actually, I'm not sure about your level of knowledge about Tuscany, I just know we were very uneducated to begin).

Hope this helps,

Simon