Discover the best things to do in Tuscany, a hilly region of central Italy with remarkable breadth as a destination.
Visits to Tuscany are often entirely concerned with the Renaissance, the beguiling city of Florence, and the cultural legacy of the powerful Medici family. But Tuscany is also a landscape of vineyards, the verdant Apuan Alps, and the long, sandy beaches of protected wildernesses such as Maremma on Italy’s west coast.
If you’re wondering what to do in Tuscany, you’ll never run out of ideas, from exploring medieval villages to learning the art of pasta cookery, and admiring world-famous art.
Explore Florence’s Historic District
Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence
Florence was the cradle of the Renaissance, and visiting its historic center (centro storico) is one of the best things to do in Tuscany.
Designated by the remains of its 14th-century town walls, the centro storico offers an unimaginable trove of artistic and cultural treasures, both in the city’s museums and outside in its squares.
Begin beside the impressive dimensions of Florence’s cathedral. One of the most beautiful buildings in Tuscany, if not all of Italy, the Duomo Santa Maria del Fiore is also a technical marvel featuring Brunelleschi’s innovative self-supporting dome.
Piazza Della Signoria, Florence
Somehow tear yourself away from the Duomo’s marble neo-gothic facade and find Piazza Della Signoria. Vying with the Duomo as the centro storico’s main event, the piazza is an open-air sculpture park.
Besides the artistic masterpieces on display, you’ll also see the Palazzo Vecchio, the medieval political palace that wields influence even today.
Read: Two Days in Florence
See David in the Accademia Gallery
David in Accademia Gallery, Florence
One of the world’s most famous sculptures, Michelangelo’s David, is found in Florence’s Accademia Gallery. Coming face-to-face with it is one of the best things to do in Tuscany.
Find the Accademia on via Ricasoli. Tap into one of the museum’s suggested visitor trails to get to grips with its large collection of sculptures, panel paintings, and antique musical instruments.
Among the treasures within is a model of Giambologna’s Abduction of the Sabine Women. Stop by Piazza della Signora to see the original.
Curiously, the reverse is the case with David. A copy can be seen in the square, but you’ll find the original within a well-lit alcove in the Accademia. Take your time as you marvel at the skill that breathed life into that marble form.
Marvel at Pisa’s Square of Miracles
Square of Miracles, Pisa
Located just inland from the coast, Pisa was once a powerful maritime republic. Testimony to its medieval importance is its UNESCO-protected Square of Miracles (Piazza Dei Miracoli), a visit to which is one of the best things to do in Tuscany.
The grand structures here are gathered together in an almost overwhelming show of wealth and importance. These include the Old Cemetery, the Baptistery, the cathedral, and the instantly recognizable Leaning Tower.
Baptistery, Pisa
All are built from the same snowy white marble. And while the tower is uniquely striking, probably the Piazza Dei Miracoli’s most significant building is the Baptistery. The largest structure of its kind in the world, it contains Pisano’s Pulpit, the sculptural spark that helped ignite the creative leap known as the Renaissance.
Revel in the Uffizi Gallery’s Art Collection
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Florence is known for its galleries and museums, and Uffizi Gallery is world class. Situated close to the Arno River, its collection is housed within what was essentially a stately 16th-century office block (uffizi in Italian translates as “offices”).
Naturally, offices had more panache in the days of the Medici, and this Vasari-designed edifice is more a place of frescoes than workers’ cubicles. Inside, you’ll find an extensive collection of artworks that span over 500 years.
Renaissance giants such as Giotto, Raffaello, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo are all represented within. You’ll also find the instantly recognizable Birth of Venus by Botticelli in the Uffizi. Try booking an entry time after 4 p.m. to help you beat the crush of other art lovers.
Read: The Ultimate Guide to Art in Florence
Explore the Sculpture-Filled Boboli Gardens
Boboli Gardens, Florence
Offering over 100 acres of art and botanical beauty, the Boboli Gardens of Florence is one of Italy’s most significant heritage gardens.
You’ll find it behind the Pitti Palace, the former Grand Ducal residence that’s since been transformed into the city’s largest museum complex. Commissioned by Cosimo Medici I in the 16th century, the Italian gardens are an artistic collaboration by some of the most recognizable names from the Renaissance.
The Boboli was also the first-ever garden designed in what came to be recognized as the “Italian Style”. Wandering amid its precisely pruned hedges and eye-catching follies, you’ll encounter the dramatic Fountain of Neptune by Lorenzi, and the Buontalenti-designed grotto with its centerpiece of Giambologna’s Bathing Venus.
Discover Lari Village
Lari Village
Once known as “the capital of the Pisan Hills”, Lari is an exquisitely constructed hilltop town. With a history dating back to the Etruscan era, it’s a repository of centuries of regional history.
Because of its strategic importance, Lari contains the imposing Renaissance fortress Castello dei Vicari. Today, this Italian castle has been transformed into a museum exhibiting objects from Etruscan times up to the Renaissance. Descend the stairs to the prison to explore the subterranean level once simply referred to as “hell”.
While Lari’s political importance ebbed over the centuries, its significance for cherry lovers has never diminished. An important production center for the fruit up until the mid-20th century, today the village’s cherry harvest (featuring 14 native varieties) is celebrated in a two-week festival at the start of summer with cherry wine, cherry torta, and dancing.
Make Authentic Tuscan Pasta
Pici
The world of Italian pasta can be bafflingly wide, and in Tuscany you’ll come across unusual regional pasta married with rich and delicious sauces. A classic is pici, a rustic, sausage-like spaghetti, once hand-rolled by the Etruscans and maintained by the Sienese in their fragrant all’aglione garlic sauce.
If you’re in the village of Lari and wondering what to do in Tuscany next, pay a visit to the Martelli pasta company. Situated close to the castle in the historic village of Lari, the Martelli family continues to make traditional, handmade pasta in their boutique pasta factory. Join them inside for a deep dive into the production of this artisanal product.
Read: Tuscan Food: Incredible Dishes to Try
Explore Volterra
Volterra
A beautifully preserved medieval village, Volterra has a history that stretches back to the pre-Roman Etruscan civilization.
The history is tangible within the town’s impressive Etruscan-era walls, as well as among its other archaeological treasures. See the beautifully situated Roman theater, the Etruscan Acropolis (dating back to the 8th century BC), and Volterra’s handsome Piazza dei Priori with its weathered flagstones and countless arched windows and doorways.
Volterra
Perched on a hilltop southwest of Florence, Volterra has long been known for its production of alabaster. The “alabastrai” artisans of Volterra created all manner of objects from alabaster, the most significant being Etruscan funerary urns. Head to Volterra’s Guarnacci Museum to see them, one of the world’s leading museums about the Etruscan civilization.
Wander Livorno’s Canals
Livorno
One of the best things to do in Tuscany is to go slightly off the beaten track and discover a slice of authentic Tuscany. Livorno is one of the best places to achieve this.
Once a powerful medieval port controlled by the Florentine Medici family, Livorno (a name that translates to the ungainly “leghorn” in English) has a rich past. Today it’s the third largest city of this Italian region and, while it’s expanded, the historic seafront has remained intact.
Livorno’s most handsome quarter is the Venezia Nuova, a 17th-century area of canals, bars housed in the storerooms of former merchants’ mansions, and seafood-focused trattorias. Leading off from the port, you’ll find Venezia Nuova full of life at aperitivo hour.
Cycle Lucca’s Defensive Walls
Lucca
Close to the coast is Lucca, a beautiful Italian city with a sizable historic center ensconced within its original medieval walls.
Formerly one of the richest cities in Tuscany, Lucca is a glorious spot for a day trip or weekend escape. Wander across its pretty boutique-lined piazzi, climb to the leafy heights of its Guinigi Tower, and take a cycle ride around the broad walls.
Essentially, the walls form a circular park where you’ll pass locals playing games of chess and basking in the sun. Beyond the walls, the rolling Tuscan countryside vies with Lucca for your interest.
Wander the Lanes of Siena
Siena
Siena is a brooding firecracker of a town. Much lies below the surface, such as the neighborhood rivalries that erupt during the famous Palio horse race. In its tightly wound
medieval center, the tidy herb gardens of the Sienese homes fragrance the lanes.
The idea that this is Florence’s tough twin comes into focus as you arrive at the Gothic architecture of its 13th-century cathedral. Whereas the Florentine duomo is light and airy, the Sienese equivalent is clad in bewitching Gothic stripes. The famous Piccolomini Library inside draws a luminous contrast with the Duomo’s moody exterior.
Get Fashionable at Tuscany’s Museums
Ferragamo Museum Photo by Sailko on Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Italy isn’t just a land of incredible cuisine and immortal sculpture; it’s also a nation of fashion and design. Florence is one of the country’s epicenters for snappy loafers and sharp-suited Italians, so checking out the fashion museums there is one of the best things to do in Tuscany.
A headlining homegrown fashion brand is Gucci. Head to the Palazzo della Mercanzia to find its HQ’s engrossing, three-floor museum featuring Oscars awards dresses and more. One of the city’s best restaurants, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, is on the ground floor.
Find more fabulous Florentine fashion at the headquarters of Ferragamo, located in the luxury shopping district of Via de Tornabuoni.
The Ferragamo brand does everything from ties to hotels these days, and the focus of its compact museum is equally eclectic. Its exhibits swerve from focusing on the 13th-century bankers who built the building to Marilyn Monroe’s custom-made stilettos.
Beyond Florence, several other fashion museums are nestled in those Tuscan hills. If you’re near Arezzo, find your way to the Gori & Zucchi museum. It’s the first in the country dedicated to jewelry with a collection of over 2,000 glittering pieces.
Experience Tuscany’s Wild Side in Maremma
Marina di Alberese, Maremma National Park
In Tuscany’s southwest, you’ll find Maremma, a vast swathe of untouched coastline that spills over into neighboring Lazio.
This is a protected wildlife area and Maremma’s boar, foxes, and snowy plovers range across the watchtower-dotted Uccellina Mountains and the area’s 15 miles of sandy coastline. If you enjoy nature, you’ll love it here. If you’re a beach lover as well, you’re in heaven.
Walk through the low-growing sage bushes and wildflowers to reach the famously pristine beaches in Tuscany, such as Marina di Alberese. You’ll find no entry fee-demanding beach clubs here as you do in much of Italy. Grass feathers the dunes, bleached logs stand in for picnic benches, and the water is glassy and clean.
Scale the Heights in San Gimignano
San Gimignano
A kind of proto-Manhattan, San Gimignano is a UNESCO-protected medieval town with a very modern skyline.
As you approach the village through the beautiful Val d’Elsa countryside, you immediately notice the tower houses rising above the puzzle of terracotta rooftops. These ostentatious domiciles were a sign of San Gimignano’s medieval wealth in the days when the town acted as a stopover for pilgrims en route to Rome.
In its pomp—which you can see reproduced in ceramic miniature in the town’s San Gimignano 1300 museum—there would have been about five times as many stocky skyscrapers. Each would have housed ambitious, well-to-do local families.
You can look inside Torre Grossa, the tallest remaining tower in the town, to get an idea of what Keeping up with the Joneses felt like in medieval Italy.
Have a Tuscan Farmhouse Experience
Tenuta Torciano Winery
Between Tuscany’s beautiful cities are its green and gold fields, its fertile red earth, and its iconic lines of cypress leading the eye to vineyards and the hilltop silhouettes of grand farmhouses.
In the stunning Val d’Elsa, your eye might alight on the vine-striped property of the Tenuta Torciano winery. Close to the historic towers of San Gimignano, this well-established winery produces delicious Sangiovese-based wines and more.
Tenuta Torciano Winery
Among its many tours, Tenuta can help you learn what lies behind the intriguing oak doors of those picturesque Tuscan farmhouses. Arriving at the winery, you’ll step into a horse-drawn carriage for an exploration of the estate as you learn about life in this glorious pocket of the world.
Afterward, it’s time to taste in the dining room. Tear apart still-warm focaccia, taste local antipasti such as San Gimignano’s famous ham, and try the vineyard’s excellent range of Italian wines.
San Gimignano
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