Prices and How They Got That Way
Perhaps the title of this article should have been, "can you make Tuscany into a budget destination?"
In these days of dollar weakness and a soft economy in Italy, I think you can.
You see, Italy's workers are paid less than workers in countries like Germany. Yet many of them have to eat out at lunch in a country known for its cuisine and demanding diners. A worker's lunch (which anyone can purchase) is often priced between 9 and 12 Euros. This is a full lunch, including a pasta course, a meat course, wine or beer, water, and sometimes dessert and coffee. The price includes tax and service.
That's a bargain.
Hotels, however, are a different thing. The economy of hotels is disconnected from the worker, since blue collar workers seldom need to stay in one. So the prices, unlike that of a meal, can rise as high as the incoming tourist is willing to pay. Italy, being a very desirable location for foreigners to visit, has a very strong market in lodging and the resulting prices have gone sky high, making them quite a bit more expensive than neighboring France even. Thus, what you save on lunch (and dinner), you'll pay back in lodging.
So how do you save on hotels? You don't use them. You see, recent years there's been a boom in foreigners buying and restoring wonderful old houses in the country. In short, there's a glut of vacation homes to rent, and low prices reflect this. Often, the per night costs of a vacation home are significantly less than that of a hotel for two persons. Thus, the bigger the family, the greater the potential savings.
The Bargain - Lodging in a Rural Vacation Rental
If you're inclined to cook, you'll have a kitchen. If not, you'll have a refrigerator for wine, milk and juice--and the equipment to make coffee and tea in the morning. Most vacation rental visitors never use the kitchen to actually cook a meal. But it's there for you if you want to try your hand. You can still save money; our most recent breakfast at a French hotel, bread, pastries, juice and coffee cost a whopping €10 per person. You can do better at any Italian bar, and much better if you pick things up at the market.
After that big meal at lunch, you'll probably want a small(er) dinner. Why not try out Italy's amazing array of salumi (cured meats), cheeses, and olives? You can buy these things at a traditional open air market (almost all towns of any size have a market at least once a week), or just go to a supermarket and load up. It only takes a few words of Italian (see the resources at the end for which ones). I find that these items are less expensive in Italy than they are in the US, especially cheeses like Gorgonzola and various sheeps milk cheeses. An etto (about a quarter pound) of sliced mortadella is about €2 and it's enough for three or four sandwiches. Try it with some good mayonnaise stuffed into foccaccia.
You can find wine for €1 a bottle in rural Tuscany. A DOC bottle (the good stuff) can start at around €4.
What's There to Do in Rural Tuscany?
We have a house in the Lunigiana, in far northern Tuscany. It's sparsely populated. Americans seldom go there.
It's also stunningly beautiful. There are 160 castles and lots of Romanesque churches here, as the Lunigiana is traversed by the Via Francigena, the ancient pilgrimage path from Canterbury to Rome. In summer--the festival season--there are so many weekend festivals that we often can't decide which to go to. Add in some surprise religious processions and the occasional visit by an orchestra or jazz band to the area, and there's really a lot to do.
And don't get me started on the restaurants. I've tried, but I haven't been to them all. Just a short walk from my house on Friday night brings me to a bar/trattoria where I can eat three well-crafted courses of seafood (8 small appetizer plates of traditional seafood to start, then a seafood pasta or risotto, then a seafood main course) plus dessert (if you can), a Limoncello, coffee and all the water and wine I can consume. It will set me back a mere €27, tax and tip included. You don't get these prices in the big cities.
Resources for a Bargain Stay in Tuscany
Things You Need to Know to Make Tuscany a Bargain
- More on Self Catering (renting a vacation house)
- Agencies Renting Vacation Homes and Apartments in Europe
- Italian Vacation Rentals
- Italian Travel Vocabulary
- How to Shop for Food in Italy (illustrated!)
- Map of the Lunigiana
- Map of Tuscany
Tuscany Touristic Titillation
- Flowers of the Lunigiana Photo Gallery
- Lunigiana Pictures - Castles, Festivals, and Food
- Tuscany - Beefsteak, Rolling Hills and Clods of Clay
