Guide in Tuscany (Italy) – excursions in Pisa, Lucca, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano. Wine tours in Bolgheri, Montalcino, Chianti, etc. Cities and castles, sea and thermal resorts, selection of hotels and villas
Tuscany interactive map
Bolgheri – Super Tuscan wines
Suvereto – Super Tuscan wines
Val d’Orcia
Montepulciano & Vino Nobile
Montalcino & Brunello wine
Pienza
Visiting Tuscany at least once in their lifetime is probably a dream of every person on our planet. Tuscany is called the “ideal” land of Italy, none of the nineteen other Italian regions can compare with this blessed land. It really has everything that Italy is famous for – great history and culture, generous and fertile nature, warm sea, excellent wine and cuisine. The entire world is familiar with Tuscany thanks to the great art created by local natives, but we don’t even suspect how well we know this land. “Paradise” landscapes familiar to us from the paintings of Verrocchio, Ghirlandaio, Leonardo and dozens of other masters of the Renaissance are in fact just an almost documentary depiction of Tuscan sceneries. Yes, it’s really so beautiful here.
The cities of art in Tuscany
In Tuscany, cultural and historical traditions have been going on almost continuously for three thousand years. They began during Etruscan antiquity and were inherited by Roman antiquity and the great eras of the Tuscan Middle Ages and Renaissance. According to UNESCO, Italy is a home to almost a third of the world’s cultural heritage while Tuscany boasts the largest concentration of cultural and historical monuments among all Italian regions. Traditionally and fairly, the main interest for the guests is presented by the capital of the region – Florence – a cradle of the Renaissance, the city where the Modern Age – the great historical era in Europe – began and replaced the Middle Ages. However, we must not forget that the Renaissance did not appear in Florence from scratch and did not abolish the “dark Middle Ages” but organically arose from them.
After getting acquainted with the great monuments of the Florentine Renaissance it is definitely worth taking an hour to visit Pisa or Siena and move to a different historical era – to the very Middle Ages. Exploring these cities you make sure they do not look “gloomy” at all but, on the contrary, they amaze you with the scope and magnificence of their art. After spending at least a week in Tuscany you find that most of its cities such as Lucca, San Gimignano, Montalcino, Volterra, Arezzo, etc. still “live” in the Middle Ages because their image practically did not change over the last 500 years and the population is often inferior to the medieval one. This is not surprising because from the 11th to the 16th centuries, Italy and especially Tuscany were the economic and cultural center of Europe and only from the 17th century found themselves on the periphery of historical progress.
The nature of Tuscany is the sea, wine hills and mountains.
The nature of Tuscany is also known for its richness and diversity. The territory of the region is mostly covered with picturesque chains of hills with vineyards and olive groves – the very Tuscany “from the postcard” which we know from Bertolucci’s film “Stealing Beauty “. Another part is occupied by the abundant plain near Pisa and the high mountains that protect Tuscany from the north and east winds. The sea coast of Tuscany is no less beautiful with the wide sandy beaches of the fashionable resorts of Versilia – Forte dei Marmi and Viareggio, the family democratic resorts of Pisa and the Etruscan coast, the dunes and pine groves of the Maremma from San Vincenzo to Punta Ala and Alberese, the cliffs of Elba and Argentario.
Tuscany also owes its generous nature with the great traditions of winemaking and cuisine brought here by the Etruscans. The climate of Tuscany is so stable and favorable for agriculture that the locals have never starved to death. There were no droughts and frosts that regularly devastated Trans-Alpine Europe. Unlike, for example, the French, the locals did not have to eat frogs and snails that is why the Tuscan cuisine does not know such delicacies. Tuscan cuisine may seem simple: there are no complicated sauces or exotic dishes, it is based on vegetables, mushrooms (including the famous white truffles), beans, Tuscan unsalted bread, olive oil, cheeses, especially Pecorino di Pienza, excellent meat of “Ancient Etruscan” beef grade Chianina, excellent smoked products made of “black” pork Chinta Senese and the famous lard from Colonnata. The main difference of Tuscan agriculture is the small size of producers. In Tuscany, there is actually no “industrial” agriculture with huge farms like those where Grana Padano cheese is produced in Emilia Romagna.
An integral part and pride of Tuscan cuisine is wine. It is impossible to imagine any local meal unaccompanied by wine and the “nectar of the Gods” is perceived here as a part of the meal, and not the way to get drunk. In Tuscany, the culture of wine production and drinking can be called exemplary because the traditions of winemaking were founded here by the Etruscans and have existed for more than three millennia. The Tuscan winemaking is diverse and rich. The list of wines of the highest category established in Italy and called “Controlled and guaranteed origin” DOCG alone has eleven names (Brunello di Montalcino, Morellino di Scansano, Chianti, Chianti Classico, Vino Noblile di Montepulciano, Carmignano, Montecucco Sangiovese, Rosso della Val di Cornia, Suvereto – red wines; Vernacccia di San Gimignano – white; Passito Aleatico dell’Elba – dessert), not counting forty DOC wine regions one of which produces the “best wine in the world” (according to Robert Parker – Sassicaia, 1985).
First of all, red Tuscan wines – the main pride and “blood” of this region – are famous all over the world. They include those produced on the basis of the main local autochthonous variety – Sangiovese: “continental” Brunello, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Chianti Classico. In addition to them, seven types of the “common” Tuscany Chianti is also made of Sangiovese as well as excellent wines such as Carmignano, Terre di Pisa, Colline Luchesi, not counting the coastal Morellino di Scansano and the magnificent Montecucco. The wines created on the basis of international varieties conventionally called “Super Tuscan” have won no less fame. First of all, these are wines from Bolgheri and other coastal wine regions: Suvereto, Val di Cornia, Montescudaio, etc. Among the white wines of Tuscany, Vernaccia from San Gimignano remains the most famous, but the seaside Vermentino from Bolgheri or the Luni Hills and the continental Trebbiano are also often distinguished by their outstanding qualities. Dessert wines of Tuscany – the ubiquitous but magnificent Vin Santo or the rare Aleatico – also deserve the utmost attention.
Where to stay in Tuscany – coast, cities & towns, thermal resorts, villas & farmhouses
Tuscany offers an endless choice of holiday options for every season, taste and budget. In summer and early autumn, most of the region’s guests go to the seaside resorts of the nearly three-hundred-kilometer Tuscan coast, or relax in rural villas, hotels or wineries in mainland Tuscany. In winter (that is very mild in Tuscany) and in the spring-autumn off-season, the better solution is to visit historical cities – Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Siena, etc. or relax at thermal resorts: Montecatini Terme, San Giuliano Terme, etc.; in the rural villas, golf and spa hotels, agritourism; as well as in the ski resort of Abetone. On every page of this site dedicated to a particular destination you may find the relevant information about accommodation in the specific town or area with direct links to booking.com.
Ho to get to Tuscany
Tuscany’s main traffic flows converge on Florence and Pisa, where the region’s main airports are also located. Livorno, near Pisa, is also Tuscany’s main commercial and cruise port. The capital of Tuscany, Florence is situated in the northeastern part of the region at the foot of the Apennines, which divide Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, at the junction of the railways and roads leading from Rome northwards through mainland Italy and Bologna, with motorways and railways extending to the west coast of Tuscany via Pisa and Lucca.
Airports
Florence Peretola Amerigo Vespucci International Airport (FLR) is located just outside the city. It is considered to be the second airport in Tuscany after Pisa. Florence airport is operated by Alitalia, AirFrance, KLM, Dolomiti, Swissair, Vueling and others.
Galileo Galilei International Airport of Pisa (PSA), the largest international airport in the Tuscany region is an hour’s drive from Florence. Pisa airport is operated by the largest low-cost airline Ryanair as well as Easyjet, Alitalia, British Airways, KLM, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta, Pobeda, S7 and others.
Bologna Guglielmo Marconi International Airport (BLQ), the main terminal in the large Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, is located a little over an hour from Florence. Flights to Bologna are operated by Alitalia, Lufthansa Dolomiti, Ryanair, United, Air Canada and others.
The airports of Genoa, Milan and Rome are located at a distance of 2-3.5 hours’ drive from Florence.