The idea of Tuscany as an idyll of olive groves, vineyards, hill-towns and frescoed churches may be clichéd, but it is largely true. Late medieval Tuscany was the birthplace of Italian culture and in many ways remains the essence of what travellers imagine Italy to be, a place where art and landscape are fused in the kind of harmony familiar from Renaissance paintings. The national language evolved from the Tuscan dialect, a supremacy ensured by Tuscan writers such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and, most influential of all, Dante – who all wrote in the Tuscan vernacular.
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Florence was the most active centre of the Renaissance, flourishing principally through the all-powerful patronage of the Medici dynasty.
Every eminent artistic figure from Giotto onwards – Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Alberti, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo – is represented here, in an unrivalled gathering of churches, galleries and museums.
Siena, one of the great medieval cities of Europe, remains almost perfectly preserved, and holds superb works of art in its religious and secular buildings.
In addition, its beautiful Campo – the central, scallop-shaped market square – is the scene of the Palio, when bareback horseriders career around the cobbles amid an extravagant display of pageantry.
The cities of Pisa and Lucca have their own fair share of attractions and provide convenient entry points to the region, either by air or along the coastal rail route from Genoa.
Arezzo and Cortona serve as fine introductions to Tuscany if you’re approaching from the south (Rome) or east (Perugia).
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San Miniato town panoramic view © Shutterstock
Asciano with Val d'Orcia © Shutterstock
You’ll be beckoned by the iconic form of Brunelleschi’s extraordinary dome, which dominates the cityscape in a way unmatched by any architectural creation in any other Italian city.
Yet even though the magnitude of the Duomo is apparent from a distance, and even though you may have seen it in a thousand photos, the first full sight of the church and adjacent Baptistry still comes as a jolt.
The colours of their patterned exteriors are a startling contrast to the dun-coloured buildings around them.
After Vasari’s death, work on the building was continued by Buontalenti, who was asked by Francesco I to glaze the upper storey so that it could house his art collection.
Each of the succeeding Medici added to the family’s trove of art treasures, which was preserved for public inspection by the last member of the family, Anna Maria Lodovica.
Her will specified that it should be left to the people of Florence and never be allowed to leave the city.
Considered to be the finest art collection in Italy, the three-floor gallery also contains the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance art.
Uffizi art gallery in Florence, Tuscany, Italy © Shutterstock
Chianti scenery is stunning too so it's also the perfect place to gaze at typically romantic Tuscan views.
Hotels in Chianti are rarely inexpensive, but this is prime agriturismo territory, with scores of farms offering rooms or apartments (or even self-contained mini-villas).
The venue for Chianti’s biggest wine fair (the Rassegna del Chianti Classico, usually held in early September), Greve in Chianti is a thriving mercantile town where there’s wine for sale on every street.
Well-heeled Castellina in Chianti formerly stood on the front line of the continual wars between Florence and Siena, and its walls and fortress bear testimony to an embattled past.
The best of Chianti lies east of Castellina and the Chiantigiana, in the less domesticated terrain of the Monti del Chianti.
Vineyard in Chianti © Shutterstock
It is indeed a freakishly beautiful building, a sight whose impact no amount of prior knowledge can blunt.
Yet it is just a single component of Pisa’s breathtaking Campo dei Miracoli, or Field of Miracles, where the Duomo, Baptistry and Camposanto complete a dazzling architectural ensemble.
These amazing buildings belong to Pisa’s Golden Age, from the 11th to the 13th centuries, when the city was one of the maritime powers of the Mediterranean.
It has to be said that visiting the Campo dei Miracoli in high season is not a calming experience – the tourist maelstrom here can be fierce.
Within a short radius, however, Pisa takes on a quite different character, because very few tourists bother to venture far from the shadow of the Leaning Tower.
Visiting the leaning tower in Pisa Italy is one best things to do in Tuscany © Shutterstock
While the focus of Lucca’s compact centro storico is the vast Piazza Napoleone, its social heart is Piazza San Michele just to the north.
Once the site of the Roman forum, these days this lively square is fringed with shops and cafés.
The “long thread”, Via Fillungo, heads northeast, cutting through Lucca’s shopping district to reach the extraordinary circular Piazza Anfiteatro.
Further east, beyond the Fosso (“ditch”), lies San Francesco and Lucca’s major art museum, housed in the Villa Guinigi.
Whatever else you do, be sure to walk – or cycle – at least some of the city walls, which are crested by a broad, tree-lined promenade.
The entire circuit is four kilometres round and lined with trees. If you want to avoid crowds, visit in the mid-afternoon.
View over Italian town Lucca with typical terracotta roofs © Shutterstock
One of Italy’s most spectacular events, it is preceded by weeks of preparation, medieval pageantry and chicanery.
Only 10 of the 17 contrade (neighbourhoods), chosen by lot, take part in any one race; horses, too, are assigned at random.
The only rule is that riders cannot interfere with each other’s reins.
Otherwise, anything goes. Each contrada has a traditional rival, and ensuring that it loses is as important as winning oneself.
Jockeys may be bribed to throw the race or whip a rival or a rival’s horse; contrade have been known to drug horses and even to ambush a jockey on his way to the race.
Held since at least the 13th century, the race originally followed a circuit through the town.
Since the 16th century it has consisted of three laps of the Campo, around a track covered with sand and padded with mattresses to minimise injuries.
Siena Palio in Tuscany © Shutterstock
But one of the best things to do in Tuscany if you want to hunt down the biggest variety of the much-prized fungi is to go to San Miniato.
You'll find this famous truffle town strategically placed on top of three small hills overlooking the lower Arno Valley, between Pisa and Florence.
Classic antipasti are peasant fare: bruschetta is stale bread, toasted and dressed with oil and garlic; crostini is toast and pâté.
Tuscan menus always include soup, often ribollita, a hearty stew of vegetables, beans and bread, or zuppa di farro, a thick soup with spelt.
Tuscany is not known for pasta, but many towns in the south serve pici, thick, hand-rolled spaghetti with toasted breadcrumbs.
Meat is kept plain, often grilled, and Florentines profess to liking nothing better than a good bistecca alla fiorentina (chargrilled steak), or the rustic dish of arista (roast pork loin stuffed with rosemary and garlic).
Spinach is often married with ricotta and gnocchi, and used as a pasta filling, in crespoline (pancakes) or on focaccia.
Sheep’s milk pecorino is the most widespread cheese, but Chianti’s marzolino is the most famous.
Panino and wine, I Fratellini, Via dei Cimatori, Florence, Tuscany © Shutterstock
Almost everyone comes for the beach resorts, so the inland villages remain largely quiet even in high season.
The principal town, Portoferraio, makes a worthwhile day-trip from the mainland. At the highest point of the old quarter sits Napoleon’s residence-in-exile, the Villa dei Mulini.
The isolated village of Marciana is the oldest settlement and most alluring spot on Elba.
Its steep old quarter is a delight of alleys, arches, belvederes and stone stairs festooned with flowers.
Marciana’s main draw is 500m south – a cable car that climbs to the summit of Monte Capanne, Elba’s highest point.
No fewer than 156 beaches dot Elba’s coast, from little-visited shingly coves to broad white sand stretches.
If you don’t mind negotiating the ranks of baking bodies in summer, they offer all the facilities you could wish for.
View of Portoferraio on Elba Island, Italy © Shutterstock
Monti dell’Uccellina is recognised as the last virgin coastal landscape to survive on the Italian peninsula, and is therefore protected as the Parco Regionale della Maremma.
This breathtaking piece of countryside combines cliffs, coastal marsh, macchia, forest-covered hills, pristine beaches and beautiful stands of umbrella pine, and remains devoid of the bars, marinas, hotels and half-finished houses that have destroyed much of the Italian littoral.
The best beach here (20 minutes from Pratini, along the Strada degli Olivi) is a beautifully unspoilt, curved bay, backed by lush greenery.
The park authorities have defined half a dozen different walking itineraries; some set off from Alberese – home to the visitor centre – with the remainder leaving from Pratini, 10km into the hills, reached via hourly shuttle bus from the visitor centre.
A wild beach in the south of Tuscany © Shutterstock
“Low season” is defined by most hotels as meaning mid-July to the end of August (the weeks during which nearly all Italians head for the beaches or the mountains), and from mid-Nov to mid-March, except for the Christmas and New Year period.
Between March and October, booking ahead is in effect obligatory.
Boutique hotels and B&Bs have sprung up all over the city, operating under several different labels: places calling themselves relais or a residenza d’epoca are generally smart B&Bs, often located in historic palazzi.
Anyone visiting in summer should reserve accommodation as far in advance as possible; hotels are specially booked up at Palio time (early July & mid-August) when they charge higher prices.
You’ll also be glad of air conditioning in the summer heat.
Browse the places to stay in Tuscany.
City postcard view and towers of San Gimignano © Shutterstock
Note that many historic centres have a Zona a Traffico Limitato (ZTL), a limited traffic zone which won't allow you to drive through.
Validate your ticket as you get on the bus to avoid the risk of an on-the-spot fine.
There will also be time to venture to a charming hill town or two, such as San Gimignano, Volterra, or Montepulciano.
Aim for 10 days if you want to indulge in a wine-tasting experience in the renowned Chianti region, or embark on scenic drives through the rolling Tuscan countryside.
Looking for inspiration for your trip? Check our Italy itineraries or talk to our Italy travel experts.
If it’s at all possible, avoid August, when the majority of Italians take their holidays. This means that some restaurants and hotels close, and the beaches are jam packed.
The best time to visit Tuscany is before Easter or in the late autumn. The main towns are quieter then and the countryside is blossoming or going into harvest season.
The best time to see the fields of sunflowers bloom in Tuscany is in June or July. Winter is often quite rainy, and temperatures can drop, particularly in the hill-towns. This does, however, make it a good time to visit all the cities and major art trails.
Tuscany is perfect in August but don't miss our tips about the best time to visit Italy.
Landscape vineyard fog in Tuscany © Shutterstock
From Milan, you can easily catch onward connections to Florence and Pisa.
Find out the best ways to get to Italy.
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 17.07.2023
