Where to Go in Italy: Tuscany Edition

Nov 18

This summer I got to explore Italy for over 3 weeks and drove from the Northern Region of Lake Como all the way to the Southern region on the Amalfi Coast. I packed 4 suitcases, my hubby, and my new puppy Willie and took everyone on an Italian adventure.

I found the top hotels on Lake Como, the best restaurants in Tuscany, and the private yet public beaches along the Amalfi Coastline. We drove everywhere (well Paul did!) and it was petrifying. I honestly do not know how we did not leave one mark on our rental car.

In my 2 part blog series, I’m going through each of the different areas we visited and our favorite parts of each region. What you’ll begin to learn about Paul and me is that we are secretly, overly critical. Maybe it’s not so secret to the people that really know us, but when we go to restaurants, hotels, bars, clubs, spas, ocean experiences, boat trips, wine tours, literally anything… we critique it. We dissect it and discuss what was amazing, tasteful, delicious, inviting, warm, fun and then we also dip into everything that went wrong, could have been better, where we felt rushed, annoyed, frustrated, etc.

Do you do that to? If so, read on and hear about our hot and not-so-hot Italy adventure.

Castello Banfi

Idk why but I always reference this as Northern Italy but I really mean Northern part of Tuscany. This is a very different type of Tuscany that is not filled with vineyards and golden sunsets. It’s a green and mountainous part of the region with views that are absolutely breathtaking but long and windy roads that get you there. As you drive along the river you seem remnants of Italy’s communist days with decrepit factories, decaying walls, and ghost towns along the river. We stopped in one the towns, looking for a place to eat and it was completely empty except for one truck. There was communist party propaganda from an election years ago and there was one bar that was open with some locals. It was so eerie. Just 15 minutes later, we found the Renaissance Tuscany at the top of one of those mountain towns. It is a popular cyclists area with tons of bike trails, hills, and mid mountain restaurants and rest stops. The hotel is owned by Marriott so you can use points (score) and the hotel rooms are clean and neat. There’s a lobby bar and lounge as well as a terrace where you can eat any meal and overlook the view. The Renaissance Tuscany is completely gated with 24/7 security onsite and at the entry to the property. You feel very safe once you are inside their grounds. The staircase in the hotel is gorgeous leading up to their suites and if you get a room with a balcony, you’ll get to wake up to the incredible views of the mountain.

COMO Castello de Nero

This was the first hotel we stayed in and it was our first stop after we landed in Rome. It was a 3-1/2 hour drive from the airport and Paul and I always look back and say “it was a great first hotel, a transition to Italy hotel.” For those of you who know, there is always a transition to new time zones, new food and way of life. It was a great hotel to set the pace for Italy and to begin to slow things down for us. We took the car out and found this really cool bridge and then found a local restaurant and ate calzones. We really enjoyed our time here but after 4 days we were excited to go to the next place, Como Castello di Nero in Southern Tuscany. Coming up in Part 2.