Under the Tuscan Sun

Tuscany is a magical land of valleys and mountains, great food, great wine, lovely beaches and friendly people. It is most noted for its hill towns—little clay colored enclaves nestled on steep slopes, each one brimming with something special, whether it be a restored medieval church, great architecture, shopping or a café that makes the best gelato in Italy.

Unless time is of no consequence, the most decision is what to see and what to leave out. As always, my advice is less is more. If you try to make a beeline for every hilltown, they will all start to blend together and the experience will be disappointing. A car is not necessary. Most of the well known towns are along the rail line, and distances are not great.

If you don't have a car, a good suggestion to save time and avoid hassling with luggage and checking in and out of hotels is to make Florence your base. From there, take day trips to a few of the different towns. I have done this, and it works very well. And if you do have a car, then you can just drop luggage into the trunk, and drive around and stop into any particular town that catches your eye.

The hill towns I have selected are no means the "best" or the only ones. I have selected these because either I have been to them and can describe them first hand, or else they have features that are worth visiting.

Siena—more of a city than a town, and actually, Siena can also be used as a home base. It is south of Florence, so if you will be visiting more towns in the southern part of the region, you may well want to check into a Siena hotel and then do your day trips from there. This is a beautiful pink-clay colored city, with one of the largest main piazza's in Italy, and its cathedral is one of the most beautiful that I have ever seen (if its at all possible to pick out the most beautiful church in Italy!!!). While Florence is level and easy to walk, Siena is a very large hill—it slopes up and down. It's hills and valleys give it beauty but at the same time, do make it harder to stroll. So don't forget a good pair of walking shoes, and if you get tired, there's always a café for a cappuccino and gelato. Siena has elegant shops and boutiques, just like Florence.

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