1 Strategies for Seeing Tuscany

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Strategies for Seeing Tuscany

PietrasantaPietrasanta

AbetoneAbetone

Bagni di LuccaBagni di Lucca

PesciaPescia

CapannoriCapannoriMonsummano Monsummano TermeTerme

ScarperiaScarperia

RufinaRufina

VicchioVicchio

BorgoBorgoS. LorenzoS. Lorenzo

VinciVinci

MontelupoMontelupoCalciCalci

Torre del LagoTorre del Lago

EmpoliEmpoli

S. MiniatoS. MiniatoPontederaPontedera

PonsaccoPonsacco

CecinaCecina

PoggibonsiPoggibonsi

VolterraVolterra

CascianaCascianaTermeTerme

MontevarchiMontevarchi

Gaiole in ChiantiGaiole in Chianti

ImprunetaImpruneta

CastelnuovoCastelnuovoBerardengaBerardengaMonteriggioniMonteriggioni

RoccastradaRoccastrada

AscianoAsciano

MontalcinoMontalcino

S. Quirico d'OrciaS. Quirico d'Orcia

CastelCasteld. Pianod. Piano

ArcidossoArcidossoS. FioraS. Fiora

Marina diMarina diBibbonaBibbona

BólgherilgheriLarderelloLarderello

PornaranzePornaranze

Colle diColle diV. dV. d’ElsaElsa

PopuloniaPopulonia

CastagnetoCastagnetoCarducciCarducci

PiombinoPiombino

Punta AlaPunta Ala

AbbadiaAbbadiaS. SalvatoreS. Salvatore

RadicRadicófanifaniCetonaCetona

SarteanoSarteano

ChiancianoChiancianoTermeTerme

MontepulcianoMontepulcianoPienzaPienza

SinalungaSinalunga

LucignanoLucignano

MonteMonteSan SavinoSan Savino

Ma

ChiusiChiusi

CastiglioneCastiglionedel Lagodel Lago

CastiglionCastiglionFiorentinoFiorentino

CortonaCortona

CapreseCapreseMichelangeloMichelangelo

CamCamáldolildoli

ViareggioViareggio

sara

CastelnuovoCastelnuovodi Garfagnanadi Garfagnana

Borgo a. Mozz.Borgo a. Mozz.

PoppiPoppiBibbienaBibbiena

CastellinaCastellinain Chiantiin Chianti

StiaStia

RaddaRaddain Chiantiin Chianti

RadicondoliRadicondoli

Saline diSaline diVolterraVolterra

Roccalbegna

CastiglioncelloCastiglioncello

PanzanoPanzanoin Chiantiin Chianti

MonterchiMonterchi

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FollonicaFollonica

VetuloniaVetulonia

MassaMassaMarittimaMarittima

BuonconventoBuonconvento

La VernaLa Verna

SansepolcroSansepolcro

FiesoleFiesole

(Firenze)(Firenze)

CollodiCollodi

Garfagnana

GrassinaGrassina

Ponte a EmaPonte a Ema

CertaldoCertaldo

CastelfiorentinoCastelfiorentino

FiglineFiglineValdarnoValdarno

Strada inStrada inChiantiChiantiGreveGrevein Chiantiin Chianti

PortoferraioPortoferraio

Grosseto

San GimignanoSan Gimignano

LuccaLucca

Montecatini Montecatini TermeTerme

PistoiaPistoia

PratoPrato

PisaPisa

LivornoLivorno

ArezzoArezzo

SienaSiena

Parco Parco Naturale Naturale delle Alpi delle Alpi Apuane Apuane

Monte Falterona, Monte Falterona, Campigna, e Foreste Campigna, e Foreste Casentinesi Casentinesi

PN Tenuta diPN Tenuta diS. RossoreS. Rossore

PN TenutaPN Tenutadi Tombolodi Tombolo

S. GalganoS. Galgano

I. dI. d’ElbaElba

LigurianLigurianSeaSea L. TrasimenoL. Trasimeno

ArnoArno

ArnoArno

ElsaElsa

OrciaOrciaGolfo diGolfo di

FollonicaFollonica

CastelloCastelloVicchiomaggioVicchiomaggio

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EMILIA-ROMAGNAEMILIA-ROMAGNA

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FlorenceFlorence

Abb. di MonteAbb. di MonteOliveto MaggioreOliveto Maggiore

EMILIA-ROMAGNA

TUSCANY

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Pietrasanta

Abetone

Bagni di Lucca

Pescia

CapannoriMonsummano Terme

Scarperia

Rufina

Vicchio

BorgoS. Lorenzo

Vinci

MontelupoCalci

Torre del Lago

Empoli

S. MiniatoPontedera

Ponsacco

Cecina

Poggibonsi

Volterra

CascianaTerme

Montevarchi

Gaiole in Chianti

Impruneta

CastelnuovoBerardengaMonteriggioni

Roccastrada

Asciano

Montalcino

S. Quirico d'Orcia

Casteld. Piano

ArcidossoS. Fiora

Marina diBibbona

BólgheriLarderello

Pornaranze

Colle diV. d’Elsa

Populonia

CastagnetoCarducci

Piombino

Punta Ala

AbbadiaS. Salvatore

RadicófaniCetona

Sarteano

ChiancianoTerme

MontepulcianoPienza

Sinalunga

Lucignano

MonteSan Savino

Chiusi

Castiglionedel Lago

CastiglionFiorentino

Cortona

CapreseMichelangelo

Camáldoli

Viareggio

Castelnuovodi Garfagnana

Borgo a. Mozz.

PoppiBibbiena

Castellinain Chianti

Stia

Raddain Chianti

Radicondoli

Saline diVolterra

Castiglioncello

Panzanoin Chianti

Monterchi

Follonica

Vetulonia

MassaMarittima

Abb. di MonteOliveto Maggiore

Buonconvento

La Verna

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(Firenze)

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Garfagnana

Grassina

Ponte a Ema

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Strada inChiantiGrevein Chianti

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Monte Falterona, Campigna, e Foreste Casentinesi

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PN Tenutadi Tombolo

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8

fighting traffic, the heat, and crazytruck drivers. The other coupledecided to take on less turf and,naturally, didn’t see as much; theyeven missed Cortona and some ofour other favorite towns. Instead,they spent an entire afternoon in aMontepulciano cafe, splitting achilled bottle of Orvieto Classico,staring over a wrought-iron balconyat a church in the distance. In hind-sight, they considered that stop the

Rule #1: Keep your expecta-tions reasonable.Consider the experience of two cou-ples we know who recently visitedthe region. One couple fashioned anaggressive itinerary that encom-passed most of the major townscovered in chapter 6. And whilethey were able to say they saw townafter town, church after church, andartwork after artwork, they spent 3to 4 hours a day stuck in the car,

Tuscany isn’t Tokyo or New York; racing around the region try-ing to “see” everything runs against the grain and the pace of the

place, and may prevent you from experiencing it. It’s tempting towant to make tracks, given that there is so much to see within a rela-tively small region easily traversed by car. But structuring a relaxeditinerary makes for a memorable trip. In this chapter we providesome suggestions for maximizing your time in Tuscany.

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Tuscany is an ideal place to while awaythe hours in an outdoor cafe.

pinnacle of their trip, writing, “Wewouldn’t have traded that lazy Tuscan afternoon for the world.”

Rule #2: Remember, distancesbetween towns are short.Visiting Tuscany is as easy as travel-ing around a small state in the U.S.You can drive from Florence to SanGimignano or Siena in less than anhour. The entire Chianti wine coun-try is only 48km (30 miles) fromnorth to south, and 32km (20 miles)at its widest point. What’s more, itbegins only 4km (1⁄2 mile) south ofFlorence. You can even drive fromFlorence west to Pisa in an hour.Once you veer off the autostrada,the roads become secondary, butunless you’re going to the mostremote hamlet in Tuscany, they’regenerally well maintained and sign-posted. The only problem in summerwill be the heavy traffic caused bythousands of other visitors who alsowant to navigate the region by car.

Rule #3: Decide whether tohotel hop or stay in one place.Checking in and out of hotels is oftena boring hassle—involving luggage

transfers, packing and unpacking,registering and checking out, andother technicalities that can drainpleasure from a vacation. Becausemost Tuscan towns are within easyreach of one another, you can setup camp in the same hotel for 3nights—in Siena, for example—andventure to smaller towns nearby onday trips. From Siena, you can easilyvisit San Gimignano, Volterra, oreven the Chianti wine country

Strategies for Seeing Tuscan

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The countryside near Panzano, in Chianti Country.

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No direct flights run to Tuscany’s two airports, in Florence orPisa, from the United States or Canada. But Tuscany is easy toaccess from either Rome or Milan by plane, car, or train. Rome is themost hassle-free gateway and the best point of entry if you’re start-ing your trip in Florence—about an hour away by plane and 3 hoursby train. You can also rent a car in Rome and drive north to Florence277km (172 miles) on the fast-moving A1 autostrada. (Milan isslightly farther—298km/183 miles northwest of Florence—butworth the extra distance if you find a cheaper flight there.) If you’rebeginning your trip in northwest Tuscany—in Pisa or Lucca—wesuggest you fly into the airport at Pisa, which is larger than the air-port at Florence. If your goal is to visit destinations in southern Tus-cany, such as Montepulciano and Pienza, we’d abandon the planeoption and plan to drive north from Rome. For complete detailsabout reaching Tuscany by plane, or the different options for gettingbetween airports and your final destination, see the “By Plane” sec-tion in “Getting There/Getting Around” in Savvy Traveler (p 184).

Pick Your Point of Entry

without wasting too much time inthe car. You’ll save a lot of wear andtear on your soul with this tack,reserving your energy for hotelchanges required by longer hauls.

Rule #4: Plan your excursionsaround lunch.If you’re driving from town to town,plan to reach your destination bynoon. Restaurants usually serveuntil 2 or 2:30pm, but you’ll needtime to park (which is often tricky inthese overcrowded towns) and tolocate the address of your restau-rant. If you don’t want to follow aschedule, pack a lunch before set-ting out and follow your bliss to the

ideal picnic spot somewhere underthe Tuscan sun.

Rule #5: Don’t follow theseideas to the letter; use themas building blocks for yourtrip.This guide was designed to help youpiece together your own dream get-away. You can plan your time in Flo-rence using one section and thenhop about Tuscany, in the next fewdays, using another. It’s like an a lacarte menu—select one item fromcolumn A and another fromcolumn B, according to your owntastes and interests, to make themost of our advice.

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