Now that it has been established that it is in fact affordable to travel through Europe on a student budget it’s time to kick the penny pinching creativity to a whole new level by leaving the comforts of Rome for a more scenic tour of Italy. While Rome may be a great place to fly into to start your trip the fact remains after a few days the stench of urine and high pitched wailing of Carabinieri sirens the idea of spending a few days in the serene region of Tuscany will sound pretty appealing. While the region is known for its beauty and expensive wine it is not known for being budget friendly but there are a few tricks of the trade for those who want to experience a more authentic Italy.
The best way to start your Tuscany adventure is whet your appetite for it by visiting the rugged exotic beauty of Castel del Monte which is a village nested high in the Apennine Mountains of Italy. While it may sound like a difficult and expensive place to get to I assure you it as simple as taking a few bus rides. From Rome you can take a bus from the Roma Tiburtina station to the city of L’Aquila for about 11 euro and then from there you switch to a regional bus that will take you to Castel del Monte for another 3 euro. The whole process takes about three and a half hours which will fly by as you take in the beautiful green landscape of central Italy and then the stunning ride through the swerving mountain roads that lead to Castel del Monte which rises like a creation out of the Game of Thrones landscape.
Castel del Monte is a medieval hill town located in the heart of the Gran Sasso mountain range and dates back as early as the 11th century. The town seems like it is frozen in time with only the cars and the occasional Coca Cola sign giving away its modern setting. The building have remained largely unchanged and seem impossibly built upwards around the steep mountain landscape like a swirl cone. Narrow cobblestone streets snake around the crevices in between the building and somehow manage bring the entire village together. The views of the towering mountains and flat valley floors are as breathtaking as they come and the air is so fresh and invigorating you will want to trap in it a bottle and bring it home with you.
Lodging is scarce but surprisingly affordable as I booked a three night stay at the Il Rifugio del Pastore which offered a quaint single room with a private bathroom for only 35 euro a night. The price includes a delicious breakfast and the restaurant is run by a local couple that will take you order in the morning for dinner and have it ready for you in the evening with some of the best Italian dishes I have ever eaten for about 10 euro. And of course every meal comes with homemade lemon cookies for dessert compliments of the chef. Although it would be worth the visit just for the food the good news is there is plenty of opportunities to burn it off exploring the cobblestone streets of the village and climbing in the foothills above and around the town with incredible sweeping view as a reward.
After getting a taste of a more authentic Italy you will undoubtedly be lusting for more which makes Siena, the gate way to Tuscany, the next best place to go. Getting to Siena from Castel del Monte simply requires taking the bus back to Rome and then catching one of many connecting buses to Siena which will cost about 11 euro. The entire trip from Castel del Monte to Siena with minimal wait time in between connections will take about six hours and you will be treated to sweeping views of the Tuscan countryside with beautiful vineyards and hilltop towns that appear magically on rocky vistas like a mirage.
Siena is a perfect place to begin you tour of Tuscany and well worth spending a couple of days exploring its nooks and crannies along with some pretty incredible piazza’s and churches. One of the many highlights include the spacious confines of Piazza del Campo whose piazza is about the size of two football fields with a tower that rises into the sky nearly touching the clouds. Piazza del Campo was featured in one of the opening scenes of the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” and for good reason it is one of the most unique and visually pleasing places to see in Siena. That’s saying a lot since the Siena Cathedral ranks as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Italy and will leave you slack jawed for hours on end as you admire its incredibly detailed marble carved façade. Lodging is also affordable as I found a wonderfully furnished private room at the hotel Casacenti which was just a stone’s throw from the Siena Cathedral and only 40 euro a night including breakfast.
While full of the type of vibrance and passion that make Italy famous the city of Siena is quite crowded so spending a couple of days there its time to experience San Gimignano which is quite literally the soul of Tuscany. Located just an hour away from Siena by bus San Gimignano is a famous walled medieval hill town in literally the heart of Tuscany and surrounded by lush green hillsides full of perfectly maintained vineyards. The town sits prominently on hill overlooking the surrounding countryside and is easily identifiable by its unique towers that rise into the sky like chess pieces on the proverbial checkboard landscape of Tuscany.
San Gimignano is great way to experience the lush green countryside of Tuscany that we have all seen on magazine covers and in movies by traversing the dirt roads that connect the village with the vineyards and villas of the region. At night after the hordes of tourists have thankfully left with their tour buses you can have a delicious dinner in the quaint Piazza della Cisterna followed by the best gelato you will ever taste as you watch children play soccer in the evening shadows of the cobblestone courtyards. Lodging is a bit more expensive but still affordable as I booked a room at the Locanda Il Pino for 60 euro a night. From San Gimignano it’s only an hour’s bus ride into the popular tourist destination of Florence where there are hostels for as little as $25 a night and more tourist than you can possibly imagine.
That said don’t let the idea of a rubbing shoulders with crowds of tourist that practically outnumber the amount of cobblestone on the streets of Florence. The city is home to some of the most beautiful cathedral in the world and of course the resting place of the most famous naked dude of all time Michelangelo’s perfectly sculpted David. The only thing more amazing then viewing the mighty David is to take a peek at the viewfinders of the cameras of the tourists and seeing just how many of them are zoomed in on one particular appendage.
The best way to navigate the crowds of Florence is to purchase a Firenze Pass either online or at the tourist information center by the Santa Maria train station. The pass costs 72 euro but is good for three days and grants admission to just about every museum and cathedral in Florence and includes priority entrance to crowded tourist hotspots like the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia where David is displayed which normally can be a two hour wait in the high season but for card holders usually no more than 15 to 20 minutes.
So don’t think for even a second that you can’t afford to see the real Italy or are priced out of seeing the glory of Tuscany in the summertime as I have shown it is more than affordable and all on a student budget because if there is one thing in life you can’t go to your grave without seeing its David’s famous and mighty appendage, it truly is the talk of Tuscany!
Florence, Italy 