1 Strategies for Seeing Tuscany

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COPYRIG

HTED M

ATERIAL

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

BólgheriBólgheriLarderelloLarderello

PornaranzePornaranze

Colle diColle diV. d’ElsaV. d’Elsa

PopuloniaPopulonia

CastagnetoCastagnetoCarducciCarducci

PiombinoPiombino

Punta AlaPunta Ala

AbbadiaAbbadiaS. SalvatoreS. Salvatore

RadicófaniRadicófaniCetonaCetona

SarteanoSarteano

ChiancianoChiancianoTermeTerme

MontepulcianoMontepulcianoPienzaPienza

SinalungaSinalunga

LucignanoLucignano

MonteMonteSan SavinoSan Savino

ChiusiChiusi

CastiglioneCastiglionedel Lagodel Lago

CastiglionCastiglionFiorentinoFiorentino

CortonaCortona

CapreseCapreseMichelangeloMichelangelo

CamáldoliCamáldoli

ViareggioViareggio

Massa

CastelnuovoCastelnuovodi Garfagnanadi Garfagnana

Borgo a. Mozz.Borgo a. Mozz.

PoppiPoppiBibbienaBibbiena

CastellinaCastellinain Chiantiin Chianti

StiaStia

RaddaRaddain Chiantiin Chianti

RadicondoliRadicondoli

Saline diSaline diVolterraVolterra

CastiglioncelloCastiglioncello

PanzanoPanzanoin Chiantiin Chianti

MonterchiMonterchi

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. d’ElbaI. d’Elba

LigurianLigurianSeaSea L. TrasimenoL. Trasimeno

ArnoArno

ArnoArno

ElsaElsa

OrciaOrciaGolfo diGolfo di

FollonicaFollonica

CastelloCastelloVicchiomaggioVicchiomaggio

RoccaRoccad'Orciad'Orcia

BagnoBagnoVignoniVignoni

EMILIA-ROMAGNAEMILIA-ROMAGNA

LAZIOLAZIO

UMBRIAUMBRIA

FlorenceFlorence

Abb. di MonteAbb. di MonteOliveto MaggioreOliveto Maggiore

EMILIA-ROMAGNA

TUSCANY

LAZIO

UMBRIA

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

RadicofaniCetona

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

Sansepolcro

Fiesole

(Firenze)

Collodi

Garfagnana

Grassina

Ponte a Ema

Certaldo

Castelfiorentino

FiglineValdarno

Strada inChiantiGrevein Chianti

Portoferraio

San Gimignano

Lucca

Montecatini Terme

Pistoia

Prato

Pisa

Livorno

Arezzo

Siena

A11

E45

E80

E80

E78

E78

SS67

SS73

SS71

SS71

SS64SS12

SS2

SS223

SS223

SS222

SS326

SS1

SS1

SS1

A1

A1

A1

A12

Parco Naturale delle Alpi Apuane

Monte Falterona, Campigna, e Foreste Casentinesi

PN Tenuta diS. Rossore

PN Tenutadi Tombolo

Florence

S. Galgano

I. d’Elba

LigurianSea L. Trasimeno

Arno

Arno

Elsa

OrciaGolfo di

Follonica

CastelloVicchiomaggio

Roccad'Orcia

BagnoVignoni

SS70

E45

E78

E80

SS439

SS439

15 Mi15 Mi0

0 15 Km15 Km

15 Mi0

0 15 Km

8

Strategies for Seeing TuscanySt

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Rule #1: Keep your expecta-tions reasonable.Consider the experience of two cou-ples I know who recently visited theregion. One fashioned an aggressiveitinerary that encompassed most ofthe major towns I cover in chapter6. And while they were able to saythey saw town after town, churchafter church, and artwork after

artwork, they spent 2 or 3 hours aday stuck in the car, fighting traffic,the heat, and crazy truck drivers.The other couple decided to take onless turf and, naturally, didn’t see asmuch; they even missed Cortonaand some of our other favoritetowns. Instead, they spent an entireafternoon in a Montepulciano cafe,splitting a chilled bottle of OrvietoClassico, staring over a wrought-ironbalcony at a church in the distance.

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 might prevent you from really experiencing it. It’s tempt-ing to want to make tracks, given that there is so much to see withina relatively small region easily traversed by car. But structuring arelaxed itinerary makes for a memorable trip. In this chapter I pro-vide some suggestions for maximizing your time in Tuscany.

Previous page: Vineyards in the Chiantiregion.

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In hindsight, they considered thatstop the pinnacle of their trip, writ-ing, “We wouldn’t have traded thatlazy Tuscan afternoon for theworld.”

Rule #2: Remember, dis-tances between towns areshort.Visiting Tuscany is as easy as travel-ing around a small U.S. state or mid-sized Mediterranean island. You candrive from Florence to San Gimignano,Lucca, or Siena in less than an hour.The entire Chianti wine country isonly 48km (30 miles) from north tosouth, and 32km (20 miles) at itswidest point. What’s more, it beginsonly 4km (21⁄2 miles) south of Flo-rence. You can even drive from Flo-rence west to Pisa in an hour. Onceyou veer off the autostrada, theroads become slower, but unlessyou’re going to the most remotehamlet in Tuscany, they’re generallywell maintained and signposted (ifsometimes erratically). The onlyproblem in summer will be occa-sional heavy traffic caused by thou-sands of other visitors aiming forthe same hilltowns as you.

Rule #3: Decide whether tohotel hop or stay in oneplace.Checking in and out of hotels isoften a tedious hassle—involvingluggage transfers, packing andunpacking, registering and checkingout, and other technicalities thatcan drain pleasure from a vacation.Because most Tuscan towns arewithin easy reach of one another,you can set up camp in the same

9Strategies for Seeing Tu

scany

The countryside near Panzano, in Chianti Country.

Passing the time in a Tuscan outdoor cafe.

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hotel for 3 nights—in Siena, forexample—and venture to smallertowns nearby on day trips. FromSiena, you can easily visit SanGimignano, Pienza, Montepulciano,or even the Chianti wine countrywithout 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 servelunch until 2 or 2:30pm, but you’llneed time to park (which is oftentricky) and to locate the address ofyour restaurant (ditto). If you don’twant to follow a schedule, pack alunch before setting out and followyour bliss to the ideal picnic spotsomewhere under the Tuscan sun.There’s no shortage of them.

Rule #5: Every now and then,let the train take the strain.It’s cheaper, greener, and hassle freearriving in your Tuscan town for theday by train. The Italian network isinexpensive, accessible, and easy touse—even for beginners. Not everytown is handily reached by rail, butthe highlights of the region’s north-west like Lucca, Pisa, or Prato are allmade for seeing by train.

Rule #6: 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 from columnB, according to your own tastes andinterests, to make the most of ouradvice.

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The logical start to your Tuscan adventure is Galileo Galilei airport in Pisa. Keenly priced flights connect it with most ofEurope—and there’s a direct flight to New York’s JFK 5 days a week.However, if you’re already touring near Milan, Venice, or Rome,there’s no need to think about connecting to Pisa by air. All are welllinked to Tuscany by rail or autostrada. Rome and Milan are alterna-tive, hassle-free intercontinental air gateways—both about 3 hoursfrom Florence by train. From Rome, a 277km (172 mile) drive northto Florence on the fast-moving A1 takes you right past some of thehighlights of southern and eastern Tuscany: Break your trip in Mon-tepulciano, Cortona, or Arezzo. Milan is slightly farther—298km(183 miles) northwest of Florence—but worth the minimal extra dis-tance if you find a cheaper flight there. A drive down to Florence caneasily be broken in Pisa or Lucca. For more about reaching Tuscanyby plane, and the options for getting between airports and your finaldestination, see the “By Plane” section in “Getting There/GettingAround,” in Savvy Traveler (p 187).

Pick Your Point of Entry

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