Tuscany has everything to attract art lovers, history lovers and people who simply enjoy life. Where else could you find such a large amount of everything that makes life worth living? Wonderful wines, fantastic food, art wherever you look, magnificent historical buildings everywhere and all in the most beautiful surroundings imaginable – the Tuscan countryside.
It is often hard to choose from this sumptuous buffet and the risk of rushing blindly from sight to sight is always present: Florence, Chianti, Pisa, David, the Etruscans, Fiesole, Lucca, Arezzo, Cortona, Ponte Vecchio, San Gimignano and Volterra to name but a few. There are so many places to see that it is hard to decide which are the "best" and therefore most worthy of a visit.
Tuscany must be enjoyed slowly, so the best advice we can give is that you concentrate on smaller areas of the region and not try to see "everything" in a week.
As a first time visitor you could choose to see the central, classic Tuscany between Siena and Florence, from where you can easily reach both cities, numerous Chianti vineyards and small towns such as San Gimignano, Volterra, Colle Val d'Elsa and much much more.
Your next visit can be to the northwest where you can experience Lucca, Pisa, Carrara with its marble quarries, San Miniato, the wonderful mountains over Lucca etc. etc.
The third visit could concentrate on central southern Tuscany with Montalcino, Chiusi, Montepulciano, Pienza, Monte Amiata and more than these few lines allow.
Your fourth visit might go to eastern Tuscany where Arezzo and Cortona stand out as the most interesting towns culturally, but where the many small towns and churches in the Casentino area, in Val d'Arno and in Val di Chiana provide enough to see to easily fill a week or two.
Southwest Tuscany should not be forgotten, the so-called Maremma, where the scenery is quite different to that of the central hills of Chianti. Here the landscape is more rugged, but there is lots to see and fewer tourists, plus the wines from Scansano and the surrounding area are starting to seriously compete with the other Tuscan wine stars. And we could continue... |
