You can also find out more about FIt was first Barcelona, Venice The following are some examples of how to get started: Dubrovnik. Florence, with its 365,000 citizens, is one of the most visited destinations in the World. 4.6 million visitors. The director of the city’s Accademia gallery – home to Michelangelo’s David – talked in 2024 about “hit and run” tourism, describing visitors “on a quick in-and-out mission to take selfies … trampling the city without contributing anything”. Margherita Cavour describes Via Camillo Cavour – a street that leads to the Duomo – as a “rancid” soup of chain restaurants, and “shops which sell plastic trinkets who knows from where”.
Although steps are being taken – the city council has introduced a ban on new short-term lets and is promoting sights in lesser-known neighbourhoods – tackling overtourism is a challenge. Other Tuscan cities like San Gimignano and Siena are also suffering. Italy’s fifth largest region has a lot to offer, and there are no takeaway chains or selfie sticks in sight. Here are my six favourites.
For architecture: Monteriggioni
To hit Monteriggioni during its medieval festival In July, it’s like being transported back to the Middle Ages: local reenactors recreate the 13th century, with musicians, artists, soldiers, and artisans in the streets. And inns serve ancient recipes. This tiny town, despite its festival, is notable for its intact architecture. The wall was built in 1213 by the Republic Siena to protect itself from Florentine invasion. It has two gates, 14 watchtowers, and 570 metres. The church is located inside. museum The gardens used to be used for growing food in the event of an siege. It feels intimate, but is rarely crowded. On the square Il Tagliere Medievale The place to enjoy a chianti carafe and watch the people go by.
Stay at Il Piccolo CastelloDoubles starting at €115 B&B
For idealists: Pienza
Exists an “ideal” city? In 1459 Pope Pius II rebuilt Corsignano in his birthplace according to the criteria that architects and urban planners considered cities should meet, including harmoniously proportioned street, buildings and fortifications. He then renamed it after himself. Pienza is tiny – about 2,000 inhabitants – and best explored on foot. Piazza Pio II is the main square and it’s a tiny space that’s shared by both the city center and the cathedral. cathedral Honey-coloured Piccolomini Palace, Pius’s summer home. The three colonnaded walkways facing Piccolomini’s Garden suggest the harmony that architect Bernardo Rossellino aimed for. Via dell’Amore, Via del Bacio and Via dell’Amore (kiss), all of which lead to a panoramic walkway overlooking the Val d’Orcia, evoke a feeling of harmony. Pienza’s pecorino is a famous food: you can try it at La Terrazza del Chiostro, run by young chef Massimiliano Ingino.
Stay at Agriturismo CasalpianoDoubles starting at €135 B&B
For Renaissance art: Arezzo
Arezzo, located in eastern Tuscany, near the Apennines and rich in art, history, and culture, only attracts a small fraction of Florence’s tourists. Many people come for the monthly antiques fair Piazza Grande is the main square, which slopes. The treasure of the city is Piero della Francesca, a 15th century artist. Legend of the True Cross frescoes San Francesco is a beautiful basilica. I love the serene atmosphere. Mary Magdalene In the cathedral across the street. The cathedral is a short stroll across the park of Passaggio del Prato. fortress built by the Medici Family in 1540 The ramparts provide a great view of red roofs and rolling country. In the pedestrianised Via Cavour three friends took over an ex-hotel. corset shop The deli now sells chocolates, wine, and olive oil along with filled focaccia.
Stay at La Corte del ReDoubles starting at €79 Room-only
Volterra
Volterra was part of an Etruscan league consisting of 12 cities when it was founded 3,000-years ago. Its Guarnacci museum This collection of funerary urns is filled with hundreds of beautifully decorated urns. But for me, the bronze elongated nude male called Shadow of the Evening This sculpture, thought to date from the third century BC but which would look at home in a modern art exhibition, is said to have been an inspiration for Giacometti. The nearby Porta all’Arco It is amazing that an Etruscan Gate has survived for 2,300 years. Some of the more recent monuments are: Roman amphitheatre A Medici fortress The prison is now being used. Alabaster carving is another popular attraction in the town. EcomuseumYou can also buy from local cooperatives Artieri Alabastro. In a picturesque alley, La Sosta del Priore Sandwiches with wild boar and melted pecorino are available at (Prior’s Pitstop). lampredotto (tripe).
Stay at Villa NenciniDoubles starting at €65 B&B
Livorno is a port city with a great vibe
Tuscany is so full of sights, that the ancient port gets overlooked. Livorno, originally fortified by Pisans and ruled by Florence’s Medicis in the 1500s is a multicultural city thanks to this dynasty. Under Medici law, newcomers of any nationality or faith were encouraged to settle here, and a diverse population – Greeks, Armenians, Jews fleeing the Inquisition – helped Livorno thrive. Today, the politically leftist and greenish Livorno is home to a variety of people from Senegal, Morocco and eastern Europe.
Enjoy a breath of fresh sea air on the checkerboard promenade. Terrazza MascagniThen, walk to the front of the building. Quartiere VeneziaLivorno’s Little Venice is a charming little town with colourful houses, bridges and two Medici castles. Nuova The following are some examples of how to get started: Vecchia. Other sights include San Francesco Cathedral Parisian style covered markets are one of Italy’s biggest covered markets. Vettovaglie. Livorno’s chickpea-pancakes are famous.torte di ceci( ) Torteria Gagarin By the market, they are sold hot out of a wood fired oven for eating in a bun as a cinque e cinque sandwich.
Stay at Dogana d’Acqua Rooms & ArtDoubles starting at €75 room-only
For coastal charm: Porto Ercole
The village of Siena, on the southern tip of Tuscany, has been a port ever since Roman times. It was involved in a proxy conflict in 1555 between Spain (who supported Florence) and France. Spain won the war and built forts to guard all entrances. Forte Stella offers a view of the harbour and the three causeways that connect the promontory with the mainland. The walk to town passes by the botanical garden. Further north, you will find the quiet cemetery where rests the graves of Caravaggio’s simple tombThe strange end to a life that included brawls with other people, murders, arrests, and exile. Mystery surrounds the painter’s death, but he was said to be heading for Rome in the hope of papal forgiveness when he succumbed to “fever” – probably infection from a sword fight in Naples.
Take the footpath that is marked just before the intersection leading to Forte Stella. Sandy Spiaggia Lunga has a lot of undeveloped land, but there is a bar that offers sunbeds for hire in the summer. Porto Ercole’s harbour is right there. Grano Offers top-quality sourdough crust pizzas for sale by the slice.
Stay at Alba sul MareDoubles starting at €91 Room-only
