Tuscany Vacation Guide

Best Tuscany Vacation Packages

May 9th, 2010 by A Traveller Through Tuscany

Tuscany vacations packages are an organized way of visiting Tuscany, experiencing some of its major highlights in a short period of time. I have just returned from a short Tuscany vacation, experiencing some of the best of Tuscany in a tour called Beautiful Small Cities Arts in Tuscany. This was a four night tour in three 4 star hotels in three different cities in Tuscany. It was a great deal at $554.77 US and I’ve returned feeling renewed and refreshed after having visited Tuscany again.

The tour included visiting four beautiful cities in Tuscany, as I mentioned, Pisa, Siena and Arezzo. The Tuscany hotels in this Tuscany vacation package include the Hotel Bonanno in Pisa, the Hotel Executive in Siena and the Hotel Il Patio in Arezzo. The tour price is based on double occupancy.

Pisa, in Tuscany

The Hotel Bonanno is a 4 star hotel with smart, clean, air conditioned rooms, a restaurant (the Bonanno Restaurant) and in a quiet location, with helpful, friendly, polite staff to serve you. It is close to the town center and ten minutes from the Leaning Tower in Pisa. After you’ve seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa there is so much to do because it is a city of history, architecture and artistic beauty. You should also visit the monumental Cemetery, the Baptistry, the Duomo, and the Field of Miracles. Also, be sure to visit the Museum of the Sinopie and the Museum of the Duomo during your stay in Pisa.

On the road to Siena. In Siena, you will be staying at the Hotel Executive in a residential neighborhood, with clean, modern décor, air conditioning and wireless Internet access. Siena is a medieval town; built 322 meters above sea level in the hills. You’ll find this historical town with many monuments to visit. Nearby you will find the Duomo Cathedral. Also, I visited the Palazzo Pubblico (the town hall) to gaze at the magnificent frescoes by Simone Martini and Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti. Exquisite!

The last town you will visit on the Tuscany package vacation is Arezzo where you will stay at the 4 star hotel, The Hotel Il Patio. The rooms are all designed with different eclectic themes and each comes with air conditioning, a Jacuzzi shower/bath and sauna – hair dryer , a mini bar, safety box and satellite TV. Really, a very delightful hotel in Arezzo.

Be sure to sample the Tuscan cuisine while you visit the art galleries, the monuments, the duomos monasteries and churches. Such delightful food will tantalize your taste buds with the local cuisine. Don’t forget to sample the delicious wines of Tuscany and pass the hours in the wonderful cafes. Breathtaking landscapes of rolling green hills, terracotta rooftops, crumbling monasteries, vine yards, shuttered windows and stone walls will treat your eyes. It will almost inspire you to become a painter or photographer or poet, if you are not one already. Tuscany is truly magnificent and you can experience the pleasures of the region by seeing a small part of Tuscany in depth on a vacation package.

This Tuscany vacation package is offered by italiatours.tourpackagers.com. ItaliaTours also offers other small tour packages to Tuscany for those who love food. There is a ”Enjoy Tuscan Gastronomy” package tour for the gourmands among us. For the wine lovers, they offer a Chianti Region Wine-Tasting and Dinner Half-Day Trip from Florence featuring scenic drives through the Tuscan landscapes, sampling wine and food. What could be better? ItaliaTours also offer another Tuscany vacation package, a half day trip through the Chianti Region Wine Tasting. The vacation packages are reasonably priced and offer a nice sampling of what Tuscany has to offer its guests to her beautiful lands. If you have more time, you can combine a couple of these tours together to add to your vacation experience.

Tags: 4 star hotels, Arezzo, Arts in Tuscany, Chianti Region Wine Tasting, Hotel Executive, Pisa, Siena, The Hotel Bonanno, Tuscany package vacation, Tuscany Vacation, Tuscany vacations packages

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Wine Tasting Tours in Tuscany

Jan 11th, 2010 by A Traveller Through Tuscany

For some people going to Florence, it is not only the goal of seeing the great Renaissance architecture and reliving history, but it is also to experience wine tasting in Tuscany of some of the great wines made in the region. There are many wine tours for those who want to experience Tuscany in style and, conveniently, you will be able to arrange a Tuscany wine tour either with the hotel in Tuscany you are staying at or prior to your Tuscany vacation, online at one of the websites of the companies that arrange wine tours.

Wine tours should best be started in the morning because they can take up a lot of the day, so the early started, the better. To enjoy the wine tours of Tuscany means much more than just tasting the wine. Most of the vineyards in Tuscany are located on hilltops and offer a splendid view of the surrounding landscape. These scenic views offer much to the artist or photographer. To understand more about wine, most tours will take you around the vinery, starting at the VAT room- where the process of destemming and vinification are described in detail. Then you get a chance to go to the cellar where the wines are stored until they age. Each visit ends with a wine tasting session and one can also buy wine made here. Depending on the wine tour, you may also get a chance to lunch at a winery to get a better understanding how wine and food are intricately related.

To get most of the Tuscany wine tour, set aside a full day because many tours also incorporate visits so the nearby villas, olive groves and castles. The day will be a breathtaking day in Tuscany. There are many vineries in Tuscany but the most renowned Chianti regions near Florence should not be missed. There are two other wine towns, not to be missed, including Siena and San Gimingnano where one can taste the superb Chianti and Vernaccia wines.

Other vineries are located in the town of Montalcino where the famous Italian Brunello wine is made. Most Tuscany wine tours include Montalcino where one can view the splendid cypress groves, eat the grapes and also enjoy a great lunch at the Tuscan castle. After the tour, one also gets a chance to visit the ancient Abbey of Saint Antimo.

Just south of Florence is another super Chianti region known as Badia a Passignano and Greve where the Gallo Nero wines are made. The wine tour in this area takes you through the stunning country side, stopping at the small towns famous for authentic Tuscany cuisine.

South of Siena is the town of Montepulciano where the excellent Vino Nobile is produced. Here the wine tour will take you around the sprawling hilltops and give you a glimpse of the beautiful vineries. Both Sangiovese and Canaiolo Nero grapes are used to produce this stunningly successful vino Nobile.

Wine tours of Tuscany are best enjoyed with professionals. Most hotels in Florence will organize a wine tour for you. Make sure to take an empty backpack because you will be returning with some great wines to bring back home. The cost of a wine tour ranges between $75-$200. If you are traveling to Tuscany, a wine tasting tour should be included in your itinerary.

Tags: Badia a Passignano, Florence, Greve, hotel in Tuscany, Montalcino, Siena and San Gimingnano, Tuscany wine tour, vacation in Tuscany, wine tasting in Tuscany, wine tours

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Tuscany Vacation Packages

Dec 29th, 2009 by A Traveller Through Tuscany

Tuscany, located on the west coast of Italy, is one of the most popular places visited by tourists from all over the world. Among the reasons why Tuscany is famous as a vacation destination includes its historical medieval cities depicting Renaissance art, a cuisine of some of the tastiest of traditional Italian foods and its premium quality wines. In the world of alcoholic beverages, Tuscany stands at the top with its famous wines such as the Sangiovese reds Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and the White Vernaccia di San Gimignano. There are many options for you to decide upon as far as Tuscany vacation packages go for your Tuscany vacation.

For the first time visitor who wants to vacation in Tuscany, it is difficult to recommend where to start your Tuscany vacation. The entire Tuscany area is beautiful and there is a lot to see and do. There are the historic cities of Florence, Pisa and Siena with their splendid architecture and art collections in the galleries, and then there is the sprawling, romantic countryside with vineyards and small towns with their own authentic Tuscany culture and flavor. In the south, there is the Abbazoa dei san Galgano, where one of Italy most dramatic Gothic buildings can be found. There is so much to see and do on a Tuscany vacation.

However, one can easily get confused on what to see and do in Tuscany. Everyone has a different recommendation and it seems that if you talk to ten people, you will get ten different answers on travel ideas in Tuscany.

Some people go to Tuscany to study and end up staying there a long time or even a lifetime. However, with the recent recession, there are some great Tuscany vacation packages. For most people anywhere from three to four days is more than sufficient. The four nights in 4 star hotel inclusive package is probably one of the best. The trip takes you around the beautiful small cities in Tuscany which includes traditional cuisine with ample wine tasting trips to the vineyards. The three cities one should not miss include Pisa, Sienna and Florence. For those who love wine, the Chianti wine tasting package deal is exceptional. The three day trip includes a visit to three different vineyards in Florence, Siena and Lucca. The tour allows one to appreciate the exquisite beauty of the Florence landscape and the traditional Tuscany cuisine. Truly, a hedonistic vacation.

Many other Tuscany vacation packages exist and all are similar in the sightseeing but vary in duration of stay. The average cost for a three to four day Tuscany vacation package varies from $500- $900. At the lower end of the scale you stay in a bed & breakfast type accommodation and at the other high end you stay in a luxury 4 star hotel, farmhouse or villa in the countryside.

Before you book a trip to Florence, determine what you want see, where you want to go and for how long. If you find a three or four day inclusive package is sufficient for you and your traveling partner or family you will find you have ample time to see the country side in the day time and explore the local towns in the evening. Of course everywhere you visit, you can sample some great wines in the restaurants, bistros cafes. You will find there are many tour operators which offer Tuscany vacation packages which also include airfare for less than $2,000.

Tags: Abbazoa dei san Galgano, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Siena, Tuscany Vacation, Tuscany vacation packages, vacation in Tuscany

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Villas in Tuscany

Nov 28th, 2009 by A Traveller Through Tuscany

When planning your Tuscany holidays, you might consider a villa in Tuscany because there are many to choose from and they are a good option for either families or a group of friends traveling together. Many villas these days have been sub-divided into flats or apartments that are the ideal place to stay when vacationing in Tuscany. These are now known as bed and breakfast inns or B&B in Tuscany.

Since the time of the Romans, the tradition of owning a home in the countryside to escape the heat of the summer sun has lasted up until today. Families also used their country estates as a safe retreat from the frequent battles between various political groups. Many families own both a home in the city where they work and a house in the countryside which they used for vacations. However, many of these villas have been changed into Bed and Breakfast inns or hotels. Staying in the Tuscan countryside is, without a doubt, a wonderful experience, offering the chance to experience rural life in beautiful surroundings. The design of these villas is sometimes ornate, with courtyards, arches and a well and this architecture is found throughout Italy.

Bed and breakfast inns are family owned and situated on farms throughout the Tuscan countryside. Do not worry that by staying at one of these B&Bs, you will be far from everything else you want to see in Tuscany. The province of Tuscany is very small, in fact, and you are less than an hour from the major cities of Tuscany such as Florence, Pisa or Siena.

Here are a few suggestions Bed and Breakfast Inns for your Tuscany holidays.

La Campanella Bed & Breakfast

La Campanella Bed & Breakfast is located in the countryside area of Mugello in Tuscany, just north of Florence. By visiting Mugello, you will find lovely countryside, a valley, rolling hills, mountains and the Sieve River. If you are looking for a peaceful time in the Tuscan countryside, this is it – a place for walking through the woods, painting, bird watching or photography, You can relax and swim in their pool and enjoy the marvelous gardens around the house.

The price of a single, double or twin ranges from 75 – 95 Euros. A hearty breakfast is included in the price of your room. Lunches, picnic lunches and dinners are also available.

For more details and booking, visit the owners website called A Tuscan Place.

More details about the region of Mugello can be found by visiting their official website at the Mugello Tourism Website.

Antica Pieve Bed & Breakfast

Built on the hills of Chianti on the well known ancient Roman road, the “Cassia”, between Florence and Siena, this lovely Tuscan villa is close to all the places you want to go on your Tuscany holidays from Florence to Seina, Barberino Val d’Elsa, Certaldo to San Gimignano and more. The garden is lovely and there is a swimming pool where you can swim, relax or have a drink by the pool. This Tuscany B&B has six rooms for rent, all come with a bathroom and show, satellite TV, safe, hair drying, phone, air conditioning and internet.

Antica Dimora Firenze

This Tuscany B&B is located in the middle of Florence in a historical villa, close to San Marco Church and all the tourist sites will have on your agenda. It’s a charming place to stay and the staff is warm, friendly and helpful.
The rooms are beautifully decorated individually in the Tuscan style. A good breakfast of cheese, pastries, toast, juice and coffee is included in the price of your room. Your room comes with air conditioning, telephone, internet connection, satellite TV, hairdryer and mini-bar. This bed and breakfast hotel has received many excellent reviews by other travelers on their own Tuscany vacations and is well worth booking a room in, if you want to be in the center of Florence.

This villa in Tuscany’s official website is located at www.anticadimorafirenze.it, if you would like further information.

Tuscany is one of the most wonderful places in the world to visit, whether you wish to pursue the arts, paint or photograph, take a walking tour, do a wine tour or two in Chianti, learn to cook in the Tuscan style, relax in the countryside, surrounded by the beauty that is Tuscany, it is all here for you to enjoy on your holidays in Tuscany. All you have to do is bring your camera and your walking shoes and some comfortable clothes for the season. Tuscany is waiting for you with all her beauty.

Tags: Antica Dimora Firenze, Antica Pieve Bed & Breakfast, Barberino Val d’Elsa, Bed and Breakfast Inns, Cassia, Certaldo, Florence, La Campanella, Mugello, Pisa, San Marco Church, Siena, Tuscany holidays, villa in Tuscany

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Florence Luxury Hotels

Oct 5th, 2009 by A Traveller Through Tuscany

There are many types of hotels in Florence to meet every type of budget for travellers. However, some people want to travel in style and stay in the finest hotels. Florence also caters both to the backpackers and to the rich and wealthy. If you are looking for some of the greatest and finest luxury hotels in Florence, here are some of them for your to choose from:

The Grand Hotel Firenze is probably in a class of its own. This 5 star hotel is located overlooking the Arno river and was once a 19th century palace. The entire hotel is a masterpiece with rich decorations, attentive service and has restaurants that will satisfy all your culinary taste buds for the finest in gourmet cuisine. The hotel offers a wide range of service and facilities from a gourmet dinner, personal shopper, museum guides, Wi-Fi, baby-sitting and a spa to help you stay young and fit. Each of the 107 rooms are spacious, tastefully decorated with high ceilings. The bathrooms are in colored marble giving an appearance of a fairy tale excursion. Each room also features multimedia Quadrigia electronics that include on demand programs. There is nothing that is not available at the Grand Hotel Firenze. The biggest advantage of staying here is that you are only steps away from the historic district where all the museums and art galleries are located. For a night’s stay at the Firenze, it will cost you about $500 a night.

Florence Luxury Hotels - Hotel Savoy

Another of the great Florence luxury hotels is the Hotel Savoy. The Savoy Hotel is all about extravagance and luxury. Located in the heart of historical district, this hotel with contemporary interiors, stylish marble decors gives a distinct Italian feel. Everything in the hotel is state of the art, from the room electronics, the panoramic gym, and excellent cuisine at its restaurants. The views of the city from the hotel are unmatched, giving you great photography opportunities and the service is unsurpassed. Within a few minutes, one can visit the art and architecture of the Renaissance period at one of the nearby museums. Richly decorated with wide spacious rooms and high ceilings, the Rocco Foret Savoy Hotel is worth every penny.

Another luxury hotel in Florence that is an absolute gem is the Villa la Massa Hotel. Located about 6 km from the city of Florence, this fascinating 16th century medieval dwelling has been restored into a Tuscany style hotel with modern furnishings and all the amenities you need to stay in comfort and luxury. The hotel complex is next to the bank of the river Arno and is absolute luxury. The hotel has everything one can possibly want including a golf course, fitness center, heated outdoor pool, tennis, and the finest restaurants in all of Italy. This is the hotel most frequented by Hollywood moguls and movie stars when they visit the city of Florence. The prices for rooms are high, but the luxury and comfort and privacy you receive is worth it.

Florence luxury Hotels - Castello-del-Nero

The Castello Del Nero in Florence is another 12th century castle converted into a modern day luxury hotel. Located on a private estate with many miles of private game reserve, this hotel itself is worth the price of coming to Florence. It offers everything for the tourist including horse riding, biking, trekking, swimming, and a fitness center. The cuisine is genuinely Tuscan with organically grown vegetables and fruits. There are also wine tasting sessions, hot air balloons, and guided tours of this region of Tuscany.

The spacious rooms at the Castello Del Nero Hotel and Spa are a delight, each offering a magnificent review of the surrounding lake. The only word to describe this hotel is splendid. There is no price listed on internet for this luxury hotel in Florence so you can rest assured, it will cost you a little fortune to spend a night here and definitely worth it for those seeking the finest in luxury hotels in Florence.

The Sofitel Firenze hotel is a five star luxury hotel in Florence. Each of the rooms is luxuriously furnished, chic and has the latest electronic gadgets. Located in a 17th century palace, the Sofitel Firenze hotel is within walking distance to the shopping district and all of the tourist sites in Florence you must see. Elegantly restored with original decorations of marble and stone, the Sofitel Firenze hotel will meet all your expectations of having the finest on your Tuscany vacations.

Florence has many luxury hotels, the choice is strictly personal and must be made according to your desires and needs in a hotel. Many of the luxury hotels offer everything that one can possibly want but you will have to pay for it. Most luxury hotels in Florence start of at $500 a night and go as high as $4000 a night. The best advantage of luxury hotels in Florence is that they offer an all inclusive package and first-rate service. This will help avoid standing in long lines to visit any museum or art gallery because they will help you arrange appointments for what you want to see. Transport to and from the historic sites are available in most luxury hotels by private car.

There is nothing better than staying in one of the Florence luxury hotels while on one of your Tuscany vacations because you will return here many times to experience all that is Tuscany.

Tags: 5 star hotel, Castello Del Nero Hotel, Florence Hotels, Grand Hotel Firenze, Hotel Savoy, hotels in Florence, luxury hotel in Florence, Rocco Foret Savoy Hotel, Sofitel Firenze hotel, Villa la Massa Hotel

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