Tuscany travel guide

Art and architecture

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is one of the world’s top art museums, and houses some of the most important works of the Renaissance by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and Michelangelo. While the nearby Accademia Gallery boasts perhaps the most famous sculpture in the world – Michelangelo’s David – and this is just the tip of the iceberg! You can also find Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens and Raphael down the road at the Pitti Palace.

If you don’t come for the galleries and the museums, then monuments like the ‘Leaning Tower’ of Pisa will keep you in awe. Plus the landscape delivers idyllic inspiration for professional and budding artists who come to capture the natural beauty and light of the area. Join them on one of the many art tours or painting holidays and bring back a colourful souvenir.

Food and wine

Tuscany is renowned for its delicious rustic cooking, drawing ingredients from its lush landscape. Indeed, many people come to visit one of the sagre or food festivals. These start in early summer and run through to autumn, as local specialities such as truffles, oil, cheese, wine, beans, chestnuts, mushrooms and game come into season.

Or you could take a Tuscan cooking tour: these can include visits to farmers markets and wineries, cooking with local chefs in castles and eating in some of the region’s best gourmet restaurants. Then come back and impress your friends by cooking up some of the region’s specialities: fagioli al fiasco (beans in a flask), or zuppa Toscana (Tuscan vegetable soup) followed by a refreshing glass of Chianti.

Nature trails

Italy’s central region is almost the size of Switzerland and is a veritable oil painting of dense forest, unspoilt moors, magnificent mountains, cypress trees and the sun-drenched Mediterranean. In the Apuan Alps you can find enchanted caves and cliffs of white marble. Deep in the Casentino Forests you can follow nature trails to remote monasteries and hermitages. For maritime wildlife head to the Park of San Rossore or the Etruscan Coast – this is where azure waters and untamed vegetation meet, and there are long sweeps of sand to recline on. Plus the Archipelago Toscano, including the infamous island of Montecristo, is also the largest marine park in Europe.

Favourite haunts

Find your perfect spot and make it a home from home. Here are three to try…

• City living
  Florence is the capital of Tuscany and from 1865 to 1870 was also the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. A centre of European trade and finance it is often considered to be the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and boasts a long legacy of brilliant art and architecture. This includes the work of Michelangelo who was sponsored by the Medici family, rulers of the city at the height of its power. Soak up the art, marvel at the monuments – dominated by the beautiful Duomo – and then tuck in to some tasty Florentine cuisine.
• Rural retreat
  Visitors to the valley of Lunigiana, in the extreme north of Tuscany, will find a real haven of chestnut and beech trees, pretty meadows, crystal clear waters and rolling hills and mountains peppered with fortified villages, castles and forts – in the Medieval era there were more than 160 of them. Find a villa, pension, farmhouse or B&B and make the most of the fresh air, mild climate and miles of glorious countryside.
• On the riviera
  Follow in the footsteps of Byron and Shelley and head out to the Gulf of Poets for rocky cliffs, secluded covers and an island-studded horizon. Nearby islands include intriguing Palmaria where forest sweeps all the way up to the mountainous summit. For a romantic day trip, take a boat out from the small fishing village of Portovenere and follow the coast north to the Cinque Terre – the five villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso.

Getting to Tuscany

Plane

There are several flight options from the UK to Tuscany. You can fly from London Gatwick to Florence with Meridiana. However, there are many more options to Pisa, including flights from Birmingham, Doncaster, Dublin, Bournemouth, East Midlands, Liverpool, London Stansted, Edinburgh and Glasgow with Ryanair; from Bristol and London Gatwick with Easyjet; from Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle with Jet 2; and from London Gatwick with Thomsonfly Charter, BA and SATA International. You can get to other parts of Tuscany from these main hubs. See www.flightmapping.com/Europe/Italy for more details.

Train

The Italian rail system run by Trenitalia is well connected with the rest of Europe. So you can easily take the Eurostar from London to Paris or Brussels, or the ferry to Calais, and then catch a train (there are overnight ones) to Florence Santa Maria Novella (SMN) station or Campo Marte station. There is also a beautiful train ride from Rome that hugs the Tyrrhenian coastline, passing Grosseto, Livorno, Pisa and Viareggio on its way to Liguria. Find Italian connections at www.raileurope.co.uk/ and www.seat61.com/Italy.htm.

Find out more

Get more information and holiday ideas from www.discovertuscany.com and www.turismo.toscana.it/new/sitoinglese/apet.htm . Guidebooks like The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria, Lonely Planet’s Tuscany and Umbria Regional Guide or the Florence and Tuscany Eyewitness Travel Guide can also help you find your way around while there.

Travel insurance for Italy

Tuscany has low crime rates but you don’t want to take any chances especially in popular tourist areas such as Florence, Pisa or near the coast. Make sure you take care of your personal possessions and take out travel insurance before you go.

It’s easy to get a quote and buy online travel insurance with Direct Line. Our annual travel policy is perfect for favourite places or holiday homes that you want to return to over again. It’s also great for frequent travellers to Tuscany or other places in the world – just make sure your geographical selection covers you for where you want to go.

Related information:

Hidden treasures – try a holiday off the beaten track this year

Staying secure abroad – although crime rates are low in Tuscany, you should be security conscious wherever you go

Airport protocol – unsure of the security measures at airports? We explain how to prepare and what you can and can’t pack