Gargonza

We didn't rent a chopper for this shot - it's from the hotel's literature.

Castello di Gargonza
52048 Arezzo
Tel: 0575 847021
Fax: 0575 847054
http://www.gargonza.it

The directions on their website or in your guidebook may sound difficult, but you'll find it easily.

A medieval castle and environs on a hilltop, where we stayed in a granary/dungeon (it was great and not depressing and right next to the breakfast room) and a very pleasant restaurant where we ate wild boar pasta (see Food). This is not a hilltop village for sightseeing; the castle is confined to a small open area and some gardens, but it's in the midst of hill towns and not far from Siena. Do Siena, but stay at Gargonza, if you can.

Warning: Check the website prices. We stayed in a guest room, about $160 dollars per night (in 2002), but there are only two such rooms (the others are suites for larger numbers of people), and that $160 is now 700 euros, a jump we can explain only by assuming we got a deal because we called for a room the same day we were to arrive. The two-room flats hovered at $500, but are now almost double that. I guess - unless you'd really like the experience and can afford it - we reluctantly remove our recommendation and suggest you stay in Siena instead.

Try http://www.hotelsabroad.com/b2075.shtml for a very reasonable accommodation outside Siena at just under $200 per night.

For other Tuscany lodgings - and there are literally hundreds, use one of the recommended guidebooks.

Our window is circled. Gargonza is a different and interesting place to stay. Be prepared to do some hiking down to the restaurant and back UP to the castle. (We're from L.A. To anyone else it might not seem like hiking.)

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