An unforgettable trip to Tuscany. One day in Tuscany - the most beautiful and delicious route
You know, I visit Tuscany every year, for eight years in a row. And I never, never cease to be amazed. Why? If you say that it is good there, then you are lying. It's simply incomprehensible there.
Everything seems to be specially created for joy. Every cell of the exhausted body rests. And slowly a peaceful state of bliss sets in. I've been to many wonderful places, but I choose Tuscany.
Around Tuscany by car
Florence and nine other provinces around – this is Tuscany. This area has everything, but we rarely go there. Or maybe someone wasn’t there at all? It's never too late to travel to Tuscany. Good at any time of the year. You will spend your money with pleasure. It is difficult to remain dissatisfied in Tuscany.
I’ll say right away that I travel around Tuscany on my own and only by car. I can’t give you any advice on other ways to explore this amazing place. And I can’t imagine how you can see Tuscany by train or bus? If by plane, then to Florence or Pisa. Next, rent a car. Just book as early as possible. Italian cars are mostly manual. They sell out quickly during the season.
Where to stay
Try not to reduce your choice to finding a hotel in Tuscany. Tuscany is a rural region. So, taking into account the agricultural specifics of the region, locals are actively promoting agritourism. Go to Google Maps and explore the spaces of Tuscany. Here I only recommend the “poke method”. You'll be surprised how much there is.
Hundreds of small points on the map will be transformed into sites of wonderful Tuscan farms. There they welcome guests with a unique flavor. There are hundreds of options. I can't insist on my own.
Agritourism is essentially the same hotel, only better. Firstly, more space. There is a kitchen, living room, bedroom, patio, even a pool. They often offer half board and tasting of their products and wine. Italians love to flaunt their beauty. They decorate their rural estates with love and excellent taste.
But the most important thing is that this is the only way you will be imbued with the true spirit of Tuscany, you will get to know the residents and their customs. Besides, you will choose what you like. The geography is vast. The choice depends on the route. By the way, there are also plenty of hotels in Tuscany. But the hotel penalty loses to the farmer's expanse.
Tuscan Housing Options
So, you can spend a couple of unforgettable weeks in Tuscany:
in agritourism
in the villa
in the apartments
in a caza vacanza (vacation house)
In a hotel
For a two-week stay you can ask for a discount. They often agree. You need to arrive on Saturday after 16.00. Such a tradition. The week is counted from Saturday to Saturday!
About beauty
Almost any Tuscan town will outshine its fame in its own way. There is no doubt that the cities, promoted to the fullest extent of tourism, are beautiful. If you haven't been, watch it. But include in your itinerary:
With an amazing concave area;
Lucca, where an interesting historical Center;
Prato, which will surprise you with its version of the Middle Ages;
Arezzo is one of the oldest settlements in Tuscany.
This is just a quartet of more or less large ones. Small architectural masterpieces in Tuscany on almost every hill. Stop by any one, you won't go wrong. The places are remote and touchingly beautiful. I'm delighted with Voltaire. I love walking around tiny Suveretto. Everywhere I enjoy the atmosphere and cuisine.
What to see in Tuscany, besides architecture
Tuscany is not only a rural idyll and captivating architecture. More than 320 kilometers of sea coast is also Tuscany. In the Viareggio area you will see the Turkish coast. Sea, umbrellas, sun loungers, promenade with palm trees. Look for the highlight, starting from Livorno and down towards Rome.
I like the area of San Vincenzo, Cecina and Castellone della Pescaya. The coast here is densely covered with Mediterranean pine, the beaches are sandy. I also swam under the pine trees. The air, you understand, is sea, and even with pine aroma. The territory of Tuscany also includes 120 nature reserves!
The area is famous for its thermal baths, which have long been successfully used for medicinal purposes. Medvedev's wife, for example, often visits Montecatini. There are nine more worthy places. Between Pisa and Lucca - San Giuliano. In the Grosseto area there are the Baths of Saturnia. Why are you interested? There is a free relaxation area in the natural baths of the mill waterfalls.
Not far from San Vincenzo, in the town of Venturina, find the Baths of Calidario. A day of pleasure costs 16 euros. But he's worth it.
Don't leave Tuscany until you've seen this
And now about how Tuscany captivates you immediately and on the spot. Val d'Orcia - remember the name. This is the same classic Tuscan landscape with hills, castles, vineyards and cypress trees.
It is in this paradisiacal landscape that Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano and small towns whose names I don’t remember crawl down from the Tuscan hills. You need to write it down.
So, going along the S222 road, you get to a place where you will only have time to say “Wow!” This is the Chianti road. You need to watch it. Leave for the whole day and immediately decide: who is driving? The Chianti road, you understand.
The main thing for traveling to Tuscany: a car and your desire to do everything yourself. Tuscany is for romantics and adventure seekers. There are discoveries at every step.
So, as they say, “at the request of TV viewers”... I will not go into details that can be gleaned from any guidebook. Firstly, everyone may have their own list of what they need to see. Secondly, then the volume of the recall will increase to too grandiose proportions. Therefore, I will limit myself to my impressions and comments that may be useful.
Our route Moscow - Vienna (train), we walk around Vienna during the day, and by night train to Venice. We covered the main attractions of Venice last time. But this time, several points were identified that we either did not know about before, or for some reason could not cover. And they were absolutely right. Most The best way to see the real Venice is to simply get lost in it. True, it is advisable to do this with a detailed map in hand :)
We took a ticket for the local "water bus" (vaporetto) for the whole day. This turned out to be more economical. So we combined hiking with periodic "drives" along the canals. It’s just that sometimes you have to make a very long detour to get from one side of the canal to the other. When you add to this the heat, from which you can’t always escape...
We spent most of our time walking around Dorsoduro (a less touristy, but much more pleasant area), sat in the quiet Piazza San Margherita, and tasted the local signature cocktail, Bellini. Surprisingly, it really is an amazing thing in the heat! We went to the Casa mask workshop del Sol. It's near San Marco. If you stay in Venice longer, you can take a master class from them, but we limited ourselves to visiting the store, where (unlike most other similar establishments) we could try on everything, take pictures, and just wander around the workshop observing different stages of work. Moreover, this is why I love Italians. When I asked the owner where their workshop was and whether it was possible to have a look there, she very kindly pointed to a neighboring building with the words: “Unfortunately, there is no lesson at the moment, but if you are interested, you can go and have a look.” We came. There is no one in the workshop, the door is not locked. Because I studied this topic theoretically, then I simply told the children how it all happens, especially since it was really possible to track all stages of the work.
In the morning we took the car and hit the road to the opposite, Tuscan coast. On the way we stopped at small town Maranella. Let me make a reservation right away that initially I planned to combine a trip here with Bologna. But when we looked at my grandiose plans, we realized that the list needed to be reduced. Then we left Bologna until our next visit, and decided to visit Maranello, making a slight deviation from the direct route to the coast.
The town itself is unremarkable, except that there is a factory, a test and training track and a Ferrari museum here. My boys were in absolutely delighted, I barely got them out of there. But I myself could quite easily skip this place (which is what the Italian woman I met on a bourgeois website warned me about). In the evening we arrived at the location. I won’t name the place, because... this is an unremarkable one of resort towns on the coast. Absolutely anyone will do. It’s just that the closer to the north, the more expensive it becomes, and the further south, the longer it takes to get to all the places we planned to see (except Rome).
Again, you could take a week somewhere near Florence (then there would be less travel), and a week on the coast (more shopping). We had a very pleasant combination of a cultural program and swimming. The routine was like this: getting up around 7 am (me and the eldest child woke up without an alarm clock (we are not morning people, we just had time to sleep), the rest were woken up. We either had breakfast in our cafe (we rented an apartment, but I was too lazy to even prepare breakfast), or already at the place of the first stop. They returned at 5-6 pm (a couple of times it was later), went for a swim, then got themselves in order - and went to some restaurant for dinner. In general, almost like the Italians, they were the only ones allowed through. siesta. Although the children made up for it quite well in the car. I don’t remember the exact order of the trips. Therefore, I will simply describe it by day.
Day 1.
Montelupo, Vinci, Luca
Montelupo is a small town famous for its ceramic workshops. For lovers of paleontology, the museum contains all kinds of fossils, which are abundant in numerous souvenir shops. It took us about 1 – 1.5 hours to get around leisurely Old city(modern is absolutely uninteresting) and move on.
Vinci.
Firstly, the villa of Leonardo’s parents is nearby, but our goal is the museum. For this purpose, an entire castle has been allocated, converted into a museum, where all stages of the work of this great man are presented, although more emphasis is placed on his inventions. Everything is very well explained both at the stands and in the booklet given at the entrance. In addition, after the hall with models of various mechanisms, there is a large computer room where you can watch a video of how each mechanism worked. A separate room is dedicated to his research in the field of optics. As in many European museums, you can touch and examine everything. Separate room for puzzles. The castle is multi-level, with several entrances. Having walked through all its halls, you understand that it is not only the talent of the genius, but nevertheless the monotonous and painstaking work of the researcher allowed Leonardo to achieve such results. The castle is located inside the fortress walls and the combination of narrow medieval streets with an absolutely modern, original square next to the castle is amazing. And all around are Tuscan landscapes: endless fields, hills, olive gardens.
Luke.
A wonderful, well-preserved medieval city. I was especially impressed by the church of San Michele in Foro. According to the guidebook, Luka used to look like a forest of towers, now only 2 have survived, but what a tower! We climbed both. One is a fairly tall clock tower, and the second has a garden on top. Those. you rise and find yourself in the shade of spreading trees. And of course, Luke’s pride is the fortress wall. It is quite late (16th-17th century) and was not subject to military threat. It protected only from floods. In the 19th century, the townspeople decided not to demolish it, but turned it into a luxurious boulevard. And now numerous tourists can walk along it (around the entire old city) or ride a bicycle. Near the wall there are several rental points where you can rent a bicycle (children's, adult, catamaran, etc.). Because I’m not friends with vehicles that have less than 4 wheels, so I just sat on a bench in the shade, and my boys happily made a few circles.
Day 2.
A day to enjoy nature! We are going to Cinquiterra. Translated – 5 Lands. These are five small fishing towns located near Livorno. Driving in cars is prohibited. Between them it is possible, but problematic. Therefore, the most convenient way is to get to La Spezia and take the train there. We buy a complex ticket, for one day about 5 euros. It includes travel by train up to 5 lands and between them plus passage along the path. In fact, there are several routes of varying complexity, content and length. We chose the most picturesque one - the road connecting all these towns, which runs mainly along the sea. Those. you walk along a path in the rocks, below is the sea. Indescribable beauty! Sometimes the path comes quite close to the sea, there are descents to wild and not so wild beaches. During our trip the sea was a little stormy, so only I swam a little. The children limited themselves to sitting on a stone among the waves. Photos taken great amount. One of the sections is called "Path of Love". In general, pure romance!
Day three.
Cooking lesson booked in advance (from Moscow). Because It’s quite a long way for us to go to Florence (collection point), so we decided to take it only for half a day. If it were possible to rewind and repeat again, of course we would take it for the whole day. We arrived in Florence in the morning, walked around a bit for our own pleasure (the main inspection was also on the previous visit), at 12.00, as agreed, we met with the organizers and another couple from America. Already in a minibus we were taken to some 14th century villa. It's good that we listened to the recommendations and left the car in Florence. As the mistress of the house later explained to us, all of Tuscany during the times of fragmentation was constantly subject to constant raids. Therefore, people lived in such villa-castles scattered from each other. But in case of danger, they gave each other signs. We drove along a very narrow path, with cliffs all around. In general, horror! But we arrived in heaven. There is silence all around, a standard Tuscan landscape, a lovely Italian family. In a specially equipped semi-basement room, we were taught the secrets of real pasta. We prepared ravioli and noodles. I was very afraid that my men would start acting out, that this was not a man’s business. But they were so fascinated by it! Then they took our works to cook, and we were able to take a walk, explore the garden and the rooms of the house open to guests (the owners live there permanently, and visits like ours are just additional income). Next was a real Italian lunch. The hostess treated us to all kinds of snacks from our own products, our masterpieces and homemade ice cream from our own peaches. Of course, homemade wine. As the organizer explained to us, if we took it for the whole day, we would first go around several more similar villas, try wine, cheese, and other snacks there. On the way back, the children, drunk from the air, of course slept the whole way.
Day 4.
In Italy, August 15 is a very big holiday dedicated to the Virgin Mary. And this is one of two days when traditional horse racing (dating back to the Middle Ages) is held in Siena. It's crowded, so we didn't go there on August 15th, but postponed our visit until the 16th. Which turned out to be a very good decision. Parking was still a bit tight (even all the paid parking lots were full), but we were rewarded for circling the city with a spot right at the gate to the old town. There are still quite a lot of people. But such a beauty! All the decorations are still there (although they may have them hanging all year round). The city has long been divided into contrades (in our opinion, districts or artels). As a rule, according to professional affiliation. Each Conrad has its own name, flag, coat of arms (some animal or plant). All taxes collected by the contrada go to its needs. Each Conrad has a fountain with the symbol of the contrada, at which they give communion to the horses before the races. In general, we plunged into the Middle Ages: there were flags all around, people dressed in appropriate attire. Yes, and, of course, one cannot fail to note the main cathedral, which should have surpassed the Florentine one if not for the plague. Although, in my opinion, it is more interesting anyway. Because Even if it is smaller, it does not stand on a flat area, but is multi-level.
I forgot to mention that before Siena we stopped at the Chianti Sculpture Park. For now these are private properties. A husband and wife (architects) bought the park and invited sculptors and architects from all over the world. Each of them chose a piece of the park for themselves and created a sculpture specifically for the piece so that it would fit into the setting. We arrived just before the opening and were a little upset because the gates were closed. A “farmer” came up to us and asked: “Do you want to go to the park? Then now, just a minute.” He rushed over, brought the keys, opened it for us, and gave us tickets. As it turned out later, this was the owner. Then he invited us to his home. In addition to living quarters, they also have a gallery with very original works. True, they asked not to take photographs.
Day 5
Baths of Saturnia and "Holy Paths".
There are many thermal baths scattered throughout Italy, but these were the ones that were recommended to me, so we went. You only need to go on weekdays! (It’s hard to even imagine the number of people on weekends) You can, of course, stay at a nearby hotel and get the same thermal water for money while lying in a specially built spa center. But how can it compare in terms of sensations? And here a river flows, the temperature of which is much higher than the air. You can also dig some healing clay for yourself and smear yourself with it. It flows both across the plain and through the cascades. So you can also get a massage. This water is very relaxing. I quickly felt this and after 30 minutes I kicked the children out to rest. After swimming and finally relaxing, we set off to look for the “Holy Paths”. This is the name given to the tunnels dug by the Etruscans. These are natural refrigerators that the Etruscans used to hide from enemies. To be honest, it’s hard to believe that these buildings are so old. But it's really very cool there. At the same time, while we were looking for them, we discovered a very nice town, which for some reason was not mentioned in any guidebook, but very nice - Pitigliano.
Day 6.
This day is more for parents, but the children got theirs too. We organized a wine drive medieval cities. There are a huge number of them, we chose San Gimignano, Monteriggione and Monteciano for ourselves. Each of them is good in its own way and is described in sufficient detail in guidebooks. We drive into the town and admire the ancient buildings and streets. Those who can taste the wine, the wine they like is purchased for further tasting at home. Basically, I didn’t prepare a special route for each city, I just noted that you shouldn’t miss it (in my opinion), and then we just walked and enjoyed the situation. On the way, they wanted to stop at a monastery where a sword was stuck on a stone (like King Arthur’s, but this is an Italian legend), but for a long time they couldn’t find it, when they realized it, they were too lazy to go back.
It took us 2 days to travel to Rome. My husband and I are in love with this the eternal City and we take advantage of every opportunity to visit there at least a little. This time, on the way to Rome, we stopped at Bomarzo (Park of Miracles or Monsters). A wonderful shady park, the owner of which, in grief over the death of his beloved wife, collected fancy sculptures and structures from all over the world. It is useful to buy a book in the store before visiting the park; it tells in detail where each statue comes from, its history, and what it symbolizes.
In Rome we walked in the evening (it was not too hot), spent the night, and in the morning we visited the Vatican Museums and a little more around Rome. On the way back we stopped at Tivoli. It was very useful to take a walk in the shady garden with fountains in the heat. Moreover, the children immediately noticed the repetition of some elements from the Vatican Museums. Some days we just relaxed by the sea. What remained unexamined were caves (there are several of them). In previous trips we also visited 2 parks, which I would highly recommend, and Pisa.
The first is Collodi-Pinocchio Park. Of course, more likely for small children, but still a very nice park. Where scenes from the book are recreated. For adults, you can visit Villa Collodi with its garden. And the second is a unique park, a Tarot card park. The park is for any age, because the sculptures are simply unique and also fit into the surrounding nature. You don’t need much time to visit Pisa, but you definitely need to climb the tower! It is better to take care in advance and order tickets online. We didn’t know about this, but while we were waiting for our session, we looked around all the surrounding areas. Yes, there are age restrictions, but I don’t remember what they are (a 10-year-old child is allowed, but children 4 and 5 years old are not allowed). Yes, another important note. I thought through all my routes so that there would be no driving for more than 2 (maximum 3) hours in a row. It seems that we succeeded.
We rented a house in Sabaudia for several years. Wonderful town. The beach is luxurious. about 10 km of sand and various shells. There is only one hotel on the shore. The rest is a wild and semi-wild beach with both pleasant and not so pleasant moments arising from this. One of the pleasant things is the opportunity to indulge in relaxation for free and in the open air. If it's before mid-July. Then comes the time when for another half a month the entire beach is filled with Italians on weekends. In August there is a guard! There are tons of people, there are almost no amenities, or you have to run to them and wait in line. There are no cafes on the beach. There is at the southern end of the hotel grounds, something in the middle and under Mount Cercello. In July and August the sea is often very dirty. and this is not algae (they are useful), but real garbage, which tenants of beach areas in the evenings take in bags to the sea and throw away. Because To get to the beach you have to go down long and tediously from a high bank, then the services of garbage collection equipment are expensive. So they save. We even went to the municipality. It helped for a whole week. I don’t know where you are planning to rent a house, but if not in the town itself, but in a nature reserve by the sea, be careful and close the doors and windows at night. The Albanians there have become insolent and are breaking into the windows even when the residents have not yet gone to bed. The police only respond to statements from locals. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. We went through this school of courage one night with two children and two of us, grandmother and great-grandmother. It was unpleasant to sit in the yard for a long time afterwards, even during the day, and at night they walled themselves up, regardless of the heat. Another unpleasant thing is mosquitoes (given the presence of the sea and big lake and swamp prehistory, you can imagine what kind of monsters fly). Every year I brought mosquito nets and dampness from Moscow. Everything that was hung out to dry at lunchtime, if you don’t put it in the house overnight, it will be even wetter in the morning. Pleasant things: wonderful sea and beach until mid-July, on Thursdays a wonderful market for food, things and other things. Tasty and inexpensive food, a clean spring (the manager of the house we rented showed it to us) and for three years we have never bought drinking water. Brought from a spring. By the way, there is a very nice restaurant nearby. If you are traveling with children, then in Sabaudia there are many children’s playgrounds and bounce houses, inflatable slides, swings, carousels, etc. Nearby is the popular San Felice. And there is the most delicious pizza. It's on the right at the entrance to the city. Everyone knows her and you need to come early or order. Locals living in neighboring towns are not lazy to go there several times a week. And also, when the sea in Sabaudia was stormy, we left for San Felice and I don’t remember any extreme waves there.