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Tuscany by car
Tuscany by car
The Italian region of Tuscany has become one of the biggest tourist attractions in Europe for thousands of travelers, thanks to its wonderful landscapes, hills, vineyards ...
Tuscany has as capital Florence, and has 10 subdivisions (Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Massa-Carrara, Pisa, Pistoia, Prato and Siena.
First I have to say this trip was made by me and two friends from childhood, that's why this trip made me very excited to do since Tuscany has always been on my list of destinations to visit and of course it was a nice and exciting reunion.
So, attracted by its natural beauty, history, gastronomy, we decided to start our route through Tuscany, by car.
Tuscany is a fairly large region of Italy, that's why you can not cover it in just a few days, in our case, our route through Tuscany was only four days. So, starting with Pisa, and departure from Rome, since we divided our trip in Tuscany, Cinque Terre, and Rome. This was our route by car through Tuscany.
Since we were determined to travel much of Tuscany, in a few days we decided to rent a car because it would give us freedom of movement. After assessing several companies, we opted for auto click, which offered good service and cheap with full insurance.
Tips (if you decide to choose auto click you will have to call the company once you arrive at the Pisa airport, so they come to pick you up at the airport since they have the office 5 minutes away by car).
So after a flight from London - Pisa, we called the company to pick up our car an Opel Corsa Selective 2004 and with this we launched our trip.
1.Pisa
After picking up our Opel corsa, we head to the city center, where we can appreciate the real show that is at the foot of the famous tower of Pisa.
Once we saw the show formed at the foot of the tower we were not going to be less in doing it, of course. Here we have our proof.
2. Lucca
Lucca is one of the few Italian cities that keep intact the medieval splendor of its historic center. It is called "the city of the 100 towers", Lucca was saved from the continuous war that ravaged the Tuscan cities. That is why it keeps its Renaissance walls intact.
Tips: if you travel by car, you will ask where to park your car, since inside the wall you can not drive, that's why I'm going to advise you to park your car in the parking of the Lucca stadium just outside the wall, You will take 10 minutes walking to get to the historical center of Lucca, and you will get a safe and FREE place to leave your car.
Where to stay in Lucca, we stayed in Casa Francesca, a house with large dimensions and very welcoming, from here to thank Francesca as she was an exceptional guest, advising us places to visit in the city.
3. Florence
The first thing we did when we arrived in Florence was to look for our Camping, called Camping Firenze, located 6 km outside the historic center of Florence.
The campsite offers private bus, direct to the historic center for only 3€ round trip, with reduced hours so we did not opt for this option. Another option would be to take the public bus from Firenze, the bus stop closest to the campsite is located five minutes walk, I do not recommend this last one if you have a car, since in Firenze the public bus does not work relatively well in terms of punctuality. The option I advise would be to take your car to Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini where you can find free parking near the historic center of Florence.
Once in the historic center, we decided to visit the most emblematic points of the city, if you are a single day in Florence these are the places you should not miss:
Piazza delle Signorie
Main square of the city, an open-air gallery that has many ancient sculptures.
Duomo and Baptistery
It is one of the masterpieces of Gothic art and the first Italian Renaissance that stands out for its huge dome 45 meters in diameter.
Ponte Vecchio
It is a medieval bridge over the Arno River, it is one of the symbols of the city and one of the most famous bridges in the world. It crosses the Arno River at its narrowest point.
Piazzale Michelangelo
Place to enjoy the wonderful views of the city from the top in its viewpoint. Enjoy a wonderful sunset, but that if you prepare to see a crowd of people, when you get off the lookout you will find one of the best pizzas of Firenze I'Pizzachere.
Santa Maria Novella
One of the main churches in the city.
Palazzo Pitti
It is one of the largest art galleries in Florence, also has the garden of Boboli, the most important garden in the city.
Uffizi Gallery
It contains one of the oldest and most famous collections of art in the world. It has works by many of the most renowned artists in history, such as Botticelli, Miguel Ángel, Da Vinci and Rafael.
Academy Gallery
It is one of the basic museums of Florence, dedicated to sculpture and painting, whose main work is the famous and original David by Michelangelo.
San Frediano area
We went in search of the famous Fiorentina del I'brindellone and we found this area where we could find quite an atmosphere.
4. Chianti
After having spent a day in Florence in the morning we headed to our next destination Siena, we chose to go by a secondary road, where you would enter the valleys of Chianti, which is considered the heart of Tuscany and is famous all over the world for its wines. The Valley offers a wonderful view: hills covered in vines, magnificent forests of chestnut trees, oaks and holm oaks, and picturesque medieval villages full of historical evidence such as Greve in Chianti.
We decided to go to one of the many wineries along the way, Antinori
Before arriving in Siena we decided to deviate to make an express visit to Monterigioni.
Built between 1213 and 1219 on one of the hills of Siena for strategic and military purposes, Monteriggioni is an attractive medieval village located 55 kilometers south of Florence. One of the strong points of the visit is the climb to its walls, from where you can see the beautiful landscape of the Tuscan countryside.
5. Siena
we arrived in Siena, with the bad luck that was already getting dark and we didn't find any budget accommodation, everything that night was above 300€ a night, so we could not enjoy Siena, we had low battery in our mobiles so we went to dinner at pizzeria alle scalette recharged our devices and started our route to the only accommodation we could find for a reasonable price in Ventena, the truth is nothing special but a small rather dwarf town next to Montevarchi in the province of Arezzo, we made night, we recharged all our electronic devices and the next morning we would be ready to continue our journey.
NOTE: if you have time, enjoy Siena as Siena has a beautiful historic center declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. And it is said that it is a pleasure to get lost in its medieval alleys.
6. San Gimignano
Known as "The City of a Thousand Towers", San Gimignano is a small walled village of medieval origin declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
It is a small town that you can travel in a couple of hours. points of interest in San Gimignano:
Via San Matteo and Via San Giovanni, Piazza della Cisterna, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza Pecori, Piazza delle Erbe, the Duomo, the Collegiata or the Palazzo Comunale, home of the Civic Museum and from where you can access the Torre Grossa , where you can get wonderful views from the top of the tower.
Also you cannot leave San Gimignano without taste an ice cream from Gelateria Doldoli, the best ice cream shop in the world in the years 2006/2007 and 2008/2009. the best ice cream I've ever tasted in my life.
It was time to leave in the direction of Cinque Terre, leaving behind a wonderful region such as Tuscany, amazed by the great cultural wealth that this territory enjoys, we began our flight to La Spezia. Where, once there, leaving our little companion with four wheels on its side for two days and one night, we would undertake the search of one of the most coveted corners of the Italian coast, Cinque Terre.
Pisa
lucca
Firenze
chianti
Siena
san gimignano
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