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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
rate
gies
for
Seei
ng T
usc
any
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.
10St
rate
gies
for
Seei
ng T
usc
any
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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