florence, Italy
Within City Walls
City Tour
Sightseeing tour can include: Palace of Bargello, Church of Orsanmichele, Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, Pitti Palace, Boboli Gardens, House of Dante, Ospedale degli Innocent, Church of Santa Maria Novella, Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Accademia, Cappella dei Principi, San Lorenzo market, Piazza della Repubblica, The Brunelleschi Dome. Florence has amazing museums a short walk away with world class artistic treasures. |
For the Kids
See Galileo's telescope lens at the Science Museum. The Specola zoological museum is packed with an array of stuffed animals ranging from crabs to a rhinoceros. Pinocchio Park, the theme park in Collodi is devoted to Pinocchio's creator, a precious masterpiece created by artists. The Collodi Butterfly House is a splendid greenhouse-building of stone and crystal, housing a lush tropical garden with nearly a thousand butterflies from all over the world. |
Galleria degli Uffizi
With 45 rooms Uffizi Galleries is one of Italy's top museums and one of the most important in the world with its large collection of Renaissance masterpieces such as the Spring and the Birth of Venus by Botticelli, just to name a few. Built in the shape of a horseshoe extending from Piazza della Signoria to the Arno River and linked by a bridge over the street with Palazzo Vecchio it houses masterpieces from all of Italy in its frescoed corridors. Virtual Tour. |
Via de' Tornabuoni
Piazza Santa Trinita, this piazza sits just off the river at the end of Florence's shopping mecca. home to Gucci, Armani, Ferragamo, Versace, and more. Even the ancient narrow streets running out either side of the square are lined with the biggest names in high fashion. It's a very pleasant, well-to-do (but still medieval) neighborhood in which to stay, even if you don't care about haute couture. But if you're a shopping fiend, there's no better place to be. |
Side Trips
Pisa
The city of Pisa is extremely well-known in the world for the leaning tower of Pisa. On the one hand, It is proud of its past, when it was a Maritime Republic and became a world power during the Middle Ages. On the other hand, now famous for The Scuola Normale Superiore, the Sant’ Anna school of Advanced Studies and the University of Pisa. Voyage to marvellous banks of Arno, in the majestic Duomo or in its special museums such as: the Saint Matteo’s museum or that one of Duomo. There are also curiosities about Pisa: in the city there isn’t only one but two other towers: the Bell Tower of San Nicola Church which is near the banks of Arno and the Bell Tower of San Michele of Scalzi Church. Check out the excavation of the ancient Roman ships. Click me for a virtual parorama by AirPano. |
Siena
Italy's loveliest medieval city, famous of its colourful horse race, Il Palio. Start with Piazza del Campo, where the Palio di Siena takes place, and which is characterized by its peculiar shell-shape. Palazzo Comunale, built with red bricks and decorated with white marble, which hosts Civic Museum. Inside are many masterpieces by Sienese artists such as the stunning Maestà. The Torre del Mangia bell tower is among the highest and oldest towers in Italy from which you can admire a wonderful 360° view of Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside. The city's outline is marked by the profile of the splendid Duomo of Siena, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. Take a tour of an Etruscan tomb, visit a winery for a wine tasting, sample regional food, and visit a local village. Click me for more. |
Garfagnana & San Gimignano
Tour the caves and tunnels of the Grotta del Vento. Visit the prehistoric statues in the Piagnaro castle. Visit the Viareggio beaches. San Gimignano, a small walled village, famous for its medieval architecture and towers that rise above of all the surrounding buildings offering an impressive view of the city from the surrounding valley. At the height of its glory, San Gimignano's patrician families had built around 72 tower-houses as symbols of their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano still retains its feudal atmosphere and appearance. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990, San Gimignano offers visitors the chance to step back in time while enjoying its local products including saffron and its white wine, the Vernaccia di San Gimignano |
Versilia, Lucca
The Versilia (formerly Fosse Papiriane) is a province of Lucca, (famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls) named after the Versilia river. Known for fashionable Riviera resorts, it consists of numerous clubs that are frequented by local celebrities. The most famous and populated part of this area is Viareggio, which extends along coastline, is known as a seaside resort and home of Carnival of Viareggio. Lucca has many old churches, some of which now house art galleries. The main shopping street is Via Fillungo has a mix of high to mid-range shops selling a range of Italian designer labels such as Missoni, Armani, Max Mara, etc. Only in Lucca you can find a special Sweet-bread in shape of a small baguette or a bun. It's called Buccellato and it has raisins inside and has a unique taste of anise. |
Maremma
Unique because of the variety of its territory: blue sea, long beaches, black rock, hills covered with woods, marshes and flat lands, green hills and natural thermal baths. It's a timeless region with ancient roots. Sea and fishing towns, mineral hills and archeological parks, tuff cities, Mount Amiata and natural reserves. Art cities, medieval villages, Etruscan sites, museums, churches and natural parks. Maremma is all this and much more. Saturnia is a beautiful town in Maremma famous for its thermal baths, the sulphurous waters well-known for their therapeutic properties. Talamone & Capalbio are charming fishing village. The Tarot Garden is an amazing garden displaying large, impressive sculptures depicting 22 Major Arcana of Tarot cards. |
Chianti
An area made famous by the red wine of the same name. One of the most beautiful areas in the whole region, Chianti offers a unique landscape, with green, gentle hills covered with wide fields of vineyards and olive groves, small stone villages, characteristic parishes and countryside homes in stone. The tradition of cultivating vines in Chianti goes back a long time in history, back to the Etruscans that inhabited the area before the Roman empire. Between Florence and Siena you will find many farms, wineries and wine cellars that proudly offer their products. Big, small, old or new wineries in Chianti allow us to experience the real taste of the wine. Popular towns include Greve, Panzano, Castellina, Radda, Gaiole, among other breathtaking locales. Click me for more. |
Cortona & Arezzo
Scramble down Orvieto's ancient tunnels in the tufa rock and have a look through some of the puppets in toy stores make your way up to Cortona for a hike through the Etruscan tombs outside town. Wandering through the sights of Cortona, which has a number of fantastic medieval festivals, the inspiration for Under the Tuscan Sun. The drive to Arezzo is a quiet, curvy road through quintessential Tuscany. Arezzo is a great place to spend any afternoon, seeing the famous fresco cycles of Piero della Francesca, and the backdrop for Oscar-winning film, Life Is Beautiful. Try to time your visit to coincide with the Giostra del Saracino, a medieval joust or with one of the spectacular antiques fairs, which take place the first Sunday of every month. |
Mugello
Striking because of its natural beauty and the diversity found in its landscape, which goes from rolling plains to hills and to mountains. There are a lot of interesting sights to see, as the Medicean Villas and Castels. There are many villas and castles that belonged to the Medici family and to the Renaissance era as the family traced its roots back to the Mugello. Park and Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, the Palazzo dei Vicari (Vicar Palace) in Scarperia, and the Villa di Cafaggiolo in Barberino di Mugello. Also characterized by its many small villages. The most typical food products of the territory of Mugello include the Marrone del Mugello IGP (considered by many of the world's best chestnuts!), the bread of the Mugello and the Raviggiolo, a soft, fresh cheese. |