Best of Tuscany – 7 day Itinerary
Why Tuscany?
Welcome to our Best of Tuscany – 7 Day Itinerary. We love Italy and one of our favourite parts is Tuscany, in the centre of the Country. Rolling hills, incredible cities and great weather all add to the appeal of this amazing region.
Fancy a trip there yourself? Read on for our guide!
How to get there
We flew from London to Rimini with Ryanair, which is the airport on the east coast of Italy that actually serves the tiny Country of San Marino. We wanted to fly to a lesser known airport if possible to reduce cost and the number of people on the flight (Covid fears!)
We’ve rarely flown to an airport this tiny and it made the experience pretty stress-free that we were one of the only flights in and the only flight out on the days we travelled. The plane however was quite full, but we did feel safe as everyone complied with mask wearing and we gave our seats a thorough clean when we sat down.
Cortona
Cortona is probably most well known as the setting for the book and film ‘Under the Tuscan Sun’. It’s a gorgeous town with lots of lovely little eateries and beautiful views. We had a delicious lunch at a tiny restaurant and the staff were so friendly. We found parking easily using this website (Discover Tuscany).
As we were leaving we saw the most incredible storm pass over in the distance – Tuscany is well known for its storms passing over the landscapes and I can confirm it’s quite the sight. Positive thing is it was over quickly and we didn’t get wet!
Florence
Florence is one of the most well known Cities in Tuscany, and it’s easy to see why. The Ponte Vechhio Bridge is iconic and a fascinating sight to see. But there is lots more to Florence than just the Bridge.
We visited for a day but you could easily fill a long weekend here. Due to reduced tourist numbers because of the Coronavirus Pandemic it was much quieter in the city than normal. We sat and ate lunch overlooking the famous Duomo (above) and it really is breathtaking.
Afterwards we stumbled upon a wonderful Eco Tour of the City (using an electric buggy – below). For $90 we got an excellent 90 minute tour of the cities highlights. It was a hot day and with two young children we managed to see FAR more than we would otherwise.
Obviously the highlight of any trip to Florence is the Ponte Vecchio bridge, and the benefit of visiting on a tour meant we got lots of interesting insights into its history.
Monteriggioni
Monteriggioni is a walled medieval town tucked away in the Tuscan Countryside. It’s tiny but perfectly formed and well worth a visit on a trip to this area of Italy.
It doesn’t take long to walk around Monteriggioni, we visited it on the same day as San Gimignano which is only a short distance away. As the wall of Monteriggioni is almost completely intact you can take a lovely walk (for a small fee) along them to see a great view of the town itself and the scenery beyond.
Pisa
We have long wanted to visit Pisa as the Leaning Tower is so iconic. However it’s always been just that bit too far away from anywhere we’ve stayed. On this trip we were 2 hours away so we bit the bullet and went on a day trip.
Pisa is situated in the west of Italy and attracts many millions of tourists each year. This year was significantly quieter due to the Pandemic, which meant our visit was probably less stressful than it can be with easy parking and plenty of options for food.
The Tower itself is a sight to behold and one of those things that amazes you every time you see it. You can climb up it for views over the Square of Miracles, but we didn’t as we wanted to keep away from other people where possible. As it stands the Tower is now closed due to the Pandemic so if you plan to travel check first!
In order to see what else Pisa had to offer we got a horse and cart ride around the City. It was about 30 minutes long and gave us a good overview of what Pisa had to offer, ideal with children in tow.
San Gimignano
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval town in the Provence of Siena.
Famed for its towers (65 at its height, 13 remain now), it’s a stunning town well worth a visit for a stroll. Again, quieter due to it being during the Pandemic, it is clear why it is so popular with locals and tourists alike. We had a really nice time walking around – it’s easily accessible with a buggy and young children. They were particularly fond of the mocktails we had in one of the beautiful squares.
We were there towards the end of the day as the sun was starting to go down and it was a beautiful time to be there. It was also slightly cooler by then!
Siena
Siena has been on our list of places to visit for ages, as you never hear a bad thing about it! Having now been there I can see why. It’s a spectacular city and immediately went on my list of favourites in Italy.
Siena is located in central Tuscany so quite easy to get to on any visit to the region. It’s a World Heritage Site and is most famous for its central piazza, Il Campo. The edge of the Piazza is lined with restaurants and cafes. We had a lovely pizza lunch there overlooking the unique sloping seashell shape of the Piazza.
Afterwards the girls enjoying running up and down the slopes for a bit before we had a walk around the impressive City.
Tuscany does Churches and Cathedrals very well! This is the Duomo Di Siena and it was incredible. We didn’t go in but if its anything like the outside then it’d be well worth it.
We walked around for a while admiring the shops and beautiful buildings. You could easily spend a day exploring or shopping.
Where did we stay in Tuscany?
Due to Covid-19 travel restrictions we booked our trip to Tuscany at the last minute. Prior to 2020 we’ve been a ‘book a year ahead’ type of family but, along with the rest of the world, we’ve not had a clue what life would be like one minute to the next this year so last minute it is.
We really lucked out with our Airbnb, to find somewhere this good, this last minute really was a stroke of luck. It had everything – the remote away from it all feel, the views, the pool and a fantastic play area for the girls. To top it off it was a really reasonable price for peak season and within easy reach of so many Tuscan highlights.
We paid £1656 for the week in August, and the property could sleep up to 8 guests comfortably.
Fancy a bonus Country? Why not give San Marino a visit!
We flew in and out of Rimini which is on Italy’s east coast and serves the tiny Country of San Marino. As we didn’t fly home until the evening of our last day, on the way to the airport we stopped to explore this beautiful place.
San Marino is the fifth smallest Country in the World, and is perched on a hill top landlocked entirely by Italy. Because of its elevation the views are spectacular, pretty much at every turn you are greeted by rolling hills as far as the eye can see.
We parked in Parcheggio 2 outside of the old town and walked up to the City Centre. It was an easy walk, albeit mostly uphill however there is also a cable car which sounds like a good alternative.
There are endless tiny alleys lined with cute shops and restaurants. As we traveled during the Coronavirus Pandemic it was much quieter than normal, which made it actually really pleasant to stroll around.
The strangest thing for us was that shops sell guns there, and these were displayed in huge window cases for all to see. It’s something that always makes me double take, being from England where Guns are illegal.
We had a lovely day in San Marino and I’d highly recommend it to anyone flying in or out of Rimini Airport (that is actually in Italy but serves San Marino). I really like it when you get to use the last day of holiday rather than just spend it getting home!
Final Thoughts
We feel like we saw SO much of what Tuscany has to offer during our 7 days there. It was busy, and some of the driving times were long but it’s hard to miss out on any of the places above! We did have plenty of downtime though and overall we felt the balance was good.
For more Italian holidays check out our trips to Sardinia and Sicily.
