MORE GUIDES: Abruzzo Amalfi Coast Calabria Campania Emilia Romagna Florence 
Franciacorta Friuli Lazio Liguria Lombardia Marche Molise Paris Piemonte Puglia Rome Sardegna Sicilia Toscana Trentino Umbria Valle d'Aosta Veneto Venice

LOCATION AND TERRITORY

Tuscany is a region in central-west Italy.
It is one of the most famous tourist locations in Europe, thanks to it renowned history, its endless artistic beauties, its wonderful landscape and the quality of the produce grown and made there, especially its wine.
It is a mostly hilly region, except for the mountain stretch of the Apuan Alps. It also has a long stretch of coastline looking out onto the Tyrrhenian Sea.

ACTIVITIES

Bicycle Tours: biking in Tuscan hills from the steep hills of the Chianti Valley to the soft hills of the Orcia, Lucca, Pisa and Lunigiana and Maremma valleys to taste and admire sunlit Tuscan landscapes, frescoes, savor fine rustic cuisine and drink the Vernaccia and Chianti wines.



Walking tours: spend time walking through centuries-old villages, visit Etruscan tombs, learn the history and art, tour the churches, the museums, and discover fascinating medioeval architecture, fountains, parks, bridges. On foot you can discover unique places from art cities, going to towns and undiscovered charming villages.

Trekking paths: find trekking paths routes along medieval coastal lanes, which used to link villages, fortresses and mills.
There are numerous possibilities for hiking and walks in Tuscany. 
From simple city tourism, in search of metropolitan beauty or in the areas surrounding Florence (the nearby hills, Fiesole and Settignano are excellent. You can also discover the mountains north of Lucca called the Garfagnana.
Also you can do trekking in the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, the regional Park of Alpi Apuane and, naturally, the natural Park dell'Uccellina (called Maremma).

Golf: there are golf courses in Tuscany, tree-lined courses, set in the rolling hillside overlooking Tuscan-charming hills.

Horseback ride tours: enjoy the Tuscan countryside on a leisurely horseback ride through an uncontaminated countryside. You can find guided horse ride through the beautiful countryside of Chianti, Siena, Florence, Lucca and the Tuscan coast.
You can explore hidden castles and ancient ruins on a full day tour that requires no riding experience.

Wine routes: also called 'Wine Trails of Tuscany' run through magnificent wine-growing areas which, apart from the obvious vineyards and wineries, offer an integrated tourist package of cultural, historical and natural attractions.

WHAT TO VISIT

Florence
Florence is an open-air exhibition of art and culture. It is famous worldwide, the heart of the Renaissance period and the home of the fine arts and literature.
Florence has powerful symbols of Italian and European culture in every nook and corner, to the extent that it is hard to identify this city with just one symbol.
It may be the sculpture of David by Michelangelo, or perhaps the romantic Ponte Vecchio, or Giotto’s bell tower, but Florence could also be represented by famous people such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo or Dante Alighieri, to name but a few.

For more information see Florence Guide.

Siena
Siena is a classic medieval hill town in Tuscany famous for its huge piazza known as Piazza del Campo.
Piazza del Campo is the heart of Siena and is the stage of Siena's famous summer horse race, known as Il Palio (see more about it in Special Events below).
The Campo is dominated by the red Palazzo Pubblico and its tower, Torre del Mangia. The top of the tower can be reached by climbing 400 steps. At the top you have a view over the entire city.
The Duomo in Siena lies in a square above Piazza del Campo, a great Gothic building filled with treasures by Pisano, Donatello and Michelangelo as well as frescoes by Pinturicchio.

Pisa
The 14th-century Romanesque Leaning Tower is of course Pisa’s main attraction (it has 294 stairs) and really seems to overturn any moment.
A fortification project has made some progress in stopping the increase in inclination and even managed to pull the tower back a bit (40 centimetres). The Leaning Tower belongs to an ensemble of four impressive buildings all located on 'Campo dei Miracoli' (square of miracles): the cathedral Santa Maria Assunta, the Campanile (leaning tower that was actually a bell tower), the Baptistery (looks like a huge 'baci' chocolate, that is a delicious Italian candy) and the Camposanto cemetery.

Lucca
Lucca is surrounded entirely by 16th century walls. In the 19th century, trees were planted and now the ramparts can be walked or cycled.
In the medieval town, artistic and historic monuments stand out, as the Basilica of San Frediano,
The Square and the Church of St. Michele, The Cathedral of St. Martino with the 'Holy face' and the Tomb of 'Ilaria del Carretto' engraved by 'Jacopo della Quercia', the Guinigi’s Tower, Fillungo Road, the Ducale Palace in Napoleon square, last evidences of the Principato of Lucca. Very nice is to visit Piazza Amphitheatre, which looks like oval-shaped.

Versilia, Viareggio e Forte dei Marmi
The Versilia is located in northern Tuscany and it is well known for its fine sandy beaches covering over 20 Km with many bathing establishments and open beach.
The Riviera is divided up into four adjacent areas: Viareggio and Torre del Lago Puccini, Lido di Camaiore, Marina di Pietrasanta and Forte dei Marmi.

Viareggio is a town whose history as a tourist resort dates back to the end of the 19th century, as it is proved by the many examples of Liberty architecture mainly found aling the promenade. The promenade is also an elegant shopping centre which is busy both in winter and summer.
Viareggio boasts the most incredible Carnival floats parade in Italy.

Lido di Camaiore and Marina di Pietrasanta are more typical seaside resorts.
Forte dei Marmi is a seaside resorts appreciated by artists, writers and prominent people from the industrial and financial world for its luxurious secluded villas set amid delighfull gardens and parks.
Among the inland towns we should mention: Camaiore with its many relics of historical and artistic interests; Pietrasanta, the old capital of Versilia and an important centre for artistic marble work;

Seravezza and Stazzema at the foot of the Apuan Alps;

Massarosa which dates back to the third century AC and whose territory includes

Massaciuccoli, with its ruins of the 2nd century Roman Baths, and a large part of the lake of the same name, which belongs to the Migliarino - San Rossore- Massaciuccoli National Park.

San Gimignano
San Gimignano, known as the City of Beautiful Towers, is a classic medieval walled hill town in Tuscany, famous for its 14 surviving medieval towers creating a beautiful skyline visible from the surrounding countryside.

Montepulciano, Montalcino, Pienza
Montepulciano is a walled city in Tuscany, built on a sloping and narrow limestone ridge. Montepulciano, known for the wine called Vino Nobile, has one of the most impressive main squares in Tuscany and has many beautiful Renaissance buildings.
Nearby is Montalcino, known for its great wine, with a castle at the edge of the town that has wine tasting. Continuing on along the scenic route, Pienza is a small, beautiful Renaissance town.

Cortona
Cortona is the Tuscan hill town made famous by Francis Mayes in her book Under the Tuscan Sun.
Cortona is surrounded by Etruscan walls, around 3000 years old, and retains much of its history through its architecture, layers of history built upon the Etruscan core. Cortona has stately buildings, interesting medieval architecture, beautiful views, and a large ex-pat community so you'll find lots of English spoken.

DON'T MISS

Chianti Region
The Chianti region is an area located in the centre of Tuscany, between the major cities of Florence and Siena, where traditional Chianti wine is produced.
The landscape of the Chianti is characterized by a continuous alternation between gentle rolling hills covered in vines and olive trees, and verdant valleys.
Within the Chianti region there are numerous ancient hamlets, churches and abbeys, castles and fortresses, farmhouses and villas.
The Chianti wine region consists of eight municipalities and the principal towns are Greve in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti.
The territory of these eight municipalities more or less covers the production area for the Chianti Classico that was created by ministerial decree back in 1932.
The bottles of this prestigious wine region are distinguished by the ever-present trademark of the black rooster, which in ancient times was the military symbol of the Chianti League.

Volterra
Its walled medieval core is atmospheric and not excessively tourist. Everything is made from the yellow-grey stone panchino, and you can often find seashells embedded in the paving of streets and squares.
Etruscan Volterra flourished through a combination of its alabaster mines and an impregnable position, attributes that ensured its survival through the Roman era and beyond. Its isolation was, however, its downfall.

Elba Island
Elba is one of seven Tuscan Archipelago islands in the Mediterranean. Elba has more than 50 beaches thousands of pine trees beautiful reefs mountains and archaeological ruins.
Elba was Napoleon’s home during his first exile; be sure to see the library at his residence Palazzina dei Mulini that overlooks the ocean.

Montecatini Terme
The curative virtues of its waters were recognized and appreciated already in the XIV century and in 1417 Doctor Ugolino Simoni, founder of the Italian hydrology, illustrated in a treatise the therapeutic properties. The thermal establishments are a must while visiting Montecatini.
In addition to experiencing the beneficial properties of the water and mud baths, the architecture of the buildings offers an important and suggestive example of the Liberty style that characterizes the city. Not to miss, for example, is the Terme Leopoldine, built during the second half of the 18th century, transformed and enlarged in 1926.

FOOD SPECIALTIES

Panzanella. It is a salad with dry bread, fresh tomatoes, onions and basil.


Panforte. It is a typical Sienese cake, featured by the round shape and rough surface. It has a strong flavor of candied fruit and spices and it is rather thick.

Cantuccino (or Cantuccio). It is one of the biscuits which most of all fully portraits the Tuscan tradition. Often Cantucci are served with Vinsanto.

Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montepulciano. These are some of the highly appreciated wines known worldwide.

CLIMATE AND TRAVEL SEASON

Tuscany is a year round destination and you can really come at any time without disappointment because every season has its own charm.
Of course during winter it does get cold, but certainly not as compared to central and northern Europe.
Not quite so busy and certainly recommended are the months of April, May and October. November is the month of the harvest either olive and wine so those coming in this month will be able to live this important moment of the Tuscan lifestyle.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Palio di Siena
It is a horse race run in Siena's Piazza del Campo. Siena is divided into 17 neighborhoods, or contrade, each with a rider. 10 contrade take part in the first race, July 2.
The other 7 plus 3 from the July race competes August 16. Winning the palio is a huge honor and the race is highly competitive.
There are other festivities around the days of the palio, too.

Carnevale di Viareggio.
It’s the best known Carnival floats parade in Italy. Its origins dates back to the 19th Century: the first edition took place in 1873.
The colored triumphal floats are enormous machineries where monsters, politicians, animals and fantastic creatures moves their tentacles, heads, arms...etc.
The construction of the floats are a serious thing here: there are different groups of carpenters, blacksmiths, sculptors, painters, and other artists who work separately for building the best float of the Carnival.

Luminara, Regatta and Battle of the Bridge. June - Pisa
On the night of June 16, the Luminara begins the festivities to honor Saint Ranieri, the patron saint of Pisa. Over 70,000 candles light up the palaces along the Arno River, with a fireworks display afterwards.
To celebrate the patron saint, four boats representing the most ancient districts of the city compete in the Regatta of Saint Ranieri along the Arno River, heritage of the past glory of Pisa as an ancient maritime republic.
Generally a week later, Pisa reenacts the Battle of the Bridge, a medieval 'push of war' contest that takes place on the central bridge in Pisa. T
he contest is preceded by a huge procession in costume through the city.

The Festival of Strada in Chianti. September – Greve in Chianti
Music, theatre, games and entertainment accompany a market and food and wine stands in this end of summer festival.

hotels in Rome - florence - venice