Your first look at any of the Tuscan hill towns will take your breath away. You may have seen pictures of these awesome places in movies and books. But nothing can prepare you for reality.
Once you experience this otherworldly field of abundance for yourself, you will fully understand why even the smallest of these peoples have continually fought each other throughout history. Who wouldn’t want to own the top of one of these hills, gazing out at brilliant landscapes, covered with vineyards that produce bountiful harvests of the best wines? Who would not be inspired to paint or sculpt or roam the hills in search of precious stones to make exquisite jewelry?
If you have decided to travel to Tuscany, you have made an excellent choice. But there are three essential points that you will need to understand before embarking on your journey.
Point # 1: Give each destination at least a full day or three or five
For a wonderful trip to Tuscany, plan to include five destinations, one large, one medium, and three small. Florence of course, it is a must as your great destination. Your trip to Tuscany wouldn’t be complete without including a visit to Florence. Few cities compare to Florence in terms of breathtaking beauty, as well as abundant and breathtaking experiences. With its art and sculpture, gardens and architecture, history and culture, crafts, wine and food, Florence will captivate you. Your time will speed up. And you will likely decide that you just have to go back one more year.
Since Florence is the biggest destination on your itinerary, plan to spend 5 days here. But then take day trips from Florence by train to two of its other destinations: the small but fascinating cities of Cortona Y San Gimignano. Add an additional five days to your trip and divide them between the two remaining destinations, Montepulciano Y Siena. So your ideal trip will be 10 days in total.
And what a journey it will be. You will have the time and freedom to immerse yourself and enjoy this wonderful region. Places to see. Art to read. Food and wine, savored at outdoor tables, overlooking the lively and spacious squares. Artisan shops. Local exuberance. Landscapes to inspire you. And the considerable fun of moving between these towns and cities, with the journey as part of the delight as the arrival.
Speaking of having time and latitude … This immediately brings us to …
Point # 2: Avoid group travel and have a better experience on your own
This trip to Tuscany will be rich in experiences. And it may seem like it will be a complex trip to organize and take on your own. Therefore, you may be tempted to take the easy route of signing up for a bus tour. Yes, the descriptions of these tours always sound engaging. And it seems like it would be a lot easier to just hand over your ride controls and let someone else take over.
If your thinking leans in this direction, think again. Your trip to Tuscany is packed with possibilities, too much to waste stuck on a bus with 30 other people. You will want time to enjoy the experiences of each of these extraordinary towns and cities.
A group tour will move too fast and try to pack too much. It will be too restrained, even when you are sitting in the seats of that bus that was designed for a smaller race of people than your imposing American husband. It will be choreographed to someone else’s taste, with a lot of precious time wasted waiting for your chattering fellow tourists to get back on the bus. And as you race through a city that your tour guide has already seen several hundred times, you’ll be traveling in a bustling treasure trove, speeding past all those intriguing shops and attractive bistros.
This is not what you want for your own long-awaited trip to Tuscany. Instead, you’ll want to move freely, walking and pausing as you like, spending more time here and less time there while things catch you or not. Some of your most memorable moments will be your bistro stops, your visits to the shops that catch your eye, your pause for a view of tranquil hills and valleys, your entrance to a restaurant on the square with a fabulous pianist.
You’ll want to have the freedom to take your time to explore the leather market in Florence and study the original oil paintings and watercolors of the artists displaying their own original work in Piazza Michelangelo.
Sitting at an outdoor table in a restaurant behind the Duomo in Florence, or on the wall in front of the Duomo in Siena, you can find yourself caught up in a photo orgy, taking shot after shot of the intricate marble work, starting with the entire structure. . , then zoom in closer and closer for a photo sequence that captures the green, pink, and white marble inlays or the gold image above the doorway or the statues looming over you from the eaves.
A group tour, of course, takes care of your needs to get from one place to another. But you will be able to handle this just as well, if not better, on your own. When you need a lift, take one with an Uber or a taxi in town (have your contact information handy!), Combined with trains that will take you between towns and cities, and shuttle buses that will take you uphill to the top. Turning around, especially on trains, is part of the fun and adds to your experience as well as your sense of accomplishment.
Speaking of needing an elevator every now and then, let’s move on to …
Point # 3: There will be many hills wherever you go
As you know from the term “Hill Towns”, there are very few places in Tuscany that are flat. He will walk and ride up and down and up and down, wherever he goes, both within cities and while traveling from city to city.
For each Hill Town you visit, you’ll need to take a train to get to the bottom of the hill, then a shuttle bus to get to the top. This means that when you leave the train station, in Cortona or San Gimignano or Montepulciano, you will need to focus your attention on buying a shuttle bus ticket and taking a trip to the top where the city awaits you.
As a general rule of thumb, when heading somewhere in a city or town, plan get on, soon go down, every chance you get. In Florence, take a taxi to Piazza Michelangelo. Ask the driver to drop you even higher, in front of the charming Miniato Abbey, just above the square. From here, all the directions you walk will take you down!
After visiting the Abbey, go down to Piazza Michelangelo. While you’re there, if the time is right, try the phenomenal lasagna at the restaurant just above the square, having lunch at an outdoor table, overlooking Florence.
Then take a few steps down to explore the art and crafts for sale in the square. Pause frequently to look over the wall towards the rooftops of Florence, with the dome of the Duomo towering over its surroundings, and the Ponte Vecchio spanning the glistening stream of the River Arno. From here, go down a little more until you reach the level of the river.
So are you ready for this? Get a guide, make the necessary arrangements, and go on a travel adventure that will become part of your life story.