Tuscany holidays

Memorable moment...

Florence
Florence is packed to its stone rafters with Renaissance works of art. There’s the Ponte Vecchio, the city’s famous bridge, with its overhanging pastel-coloured jewellery shops and artists’ studios. The there’s the Piazza della Signoria – a square that leads a double-life as a gallery displaying marble statues. And there’s Santa Croce Cathedral. It’s home to the tombs of famous Florentines Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante, but that’s not it’s only claim to fame. This place has silver screen connections, too – they filmed A Room With A View here.

San Gimignano
Rising up from a sea of scarlet poppies, San Gimignano’s cobbled streets and twisted alleyways give the place a touch of fairytale magic. Part of the charm are its Rupunzel-esque towers. Built back in the 13th-century, they spear the skyline like a Medieval Manhattan. Built to serve as both fortresses and symbols of wealth, these tall, windowless towers have come to symbolise the town. Little wonder San Gimignano’s nicknamed the ‘City of the Beautiful Towers’.

Siena
Like a vacuum-packed snapshot of time, Siena is one of Italy’s best-preserved Medieval cities – and now UNESCO have stepped in to make sure it stays that way. Set on three ridges, its narrow streets are fairly steep so you’ll need to wear sensible shoes if you’re going to do it justice. Take a look at the striped Duomo which looks like a giant humbug. And then there’s the Campo, the city’s shell-shaped piazza where, every year, you can hear the thunder of hooves on the cobbles in the annual Palio horse race.

Pisa
The Leaning Tower is the ‘don’t miss’ sight in Pisa. But the city has a couple of other belters to tempt you to the amazing Campo dei Miracoli. Firstly, there’s the magnificent cathedral – the Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta. Peek inside and you’ll come face-to-face with a colossal statue of Christ and the candelabrum said to have sparked Galileo’s theories on pendulum motion. Then there’s the city’s baptistery whose carved pulpit is a masterpiece of Medieval sculpture.

Lucca
Wrapped in solid 16th-century walls, this gorgeous town is Tuscany without the tourists. Sprinkled across it like stardust are churches, palaces and piazzas, all linked by a time-worn web of Medieval streets. Lucca’s biggest claim to fame is that it’s the birthplace of composer Puccini. You might decide to check out the house where he was born, not far from piazza San Michele. These days it’s a museum dedicated to his life and works. Portraits, costumes and even Puccini’s piano are among the spoils.

Montecatini Terme
If you thought the spa craze sweeping Britain was a relatively new thing, take yourself along to this place. The 19th-century saw an explosion in spa culture and the hot springs here meant Montecatini mushroomed into one of Italy’s most en vogue health retreats. Flanked by pristine gardens and immaculate flower beds, the famous Terme Tetuccio spa offers up the ultimate in pampering. It’s one of nine spoil-me-senseless delights spread across a town so pretty that you can’t help wonder if you’ve walked onto a film set.

Arezzo
This city-sized town is a gravity-defying jumble of terracotta-topped townhouses. Perched on top of a hill, it staggers up the slopes like the tiers of a wedding cake – so a stroll around the winding streets takes some legwork. But the reward is well worth the effort. Arezzo has got a jewellery making tradition that dates right back to the Etruscan days. As such almost 230 tons of gold passes through these parts each year, so it’s safe to say this place has more than it’s fair share of jewellery shops. The antiques market is a good place to go for one-off pieces and it’s held on the first Sunday of every month. And make sure you put aside some time to visit Planet Gold to watch the goldsmiths at work.

Cortona
Not far from Arezzo you’ll find Cortona, a town that shuffled into the spotlight as the setting for film Under The Tuscan Sun. It’s one of the oldest hill towns in Tuscany. As you’d expect it’s a maze of slimline paved alleys that wind up and down a hill crowned by the Medici Fortress. So you’ll need a street plan to find your way round the Medieval labyrinth. As well as the usual delis, bakeries and trattorias, it’s home to a couple of small museums, and a handful of churches.

Apuan Alps
The Tuscan Riviera’s mighty backbone is this mountain range. From a distance it would be easy to mistake their glittering white peaks for snow, but it’s something much more precious – marble. In fact, it was Michelangelo’s use of Carrara marble that but this place on the map. You can quite easily hike, bike or pony trek your way around these impressive peaks. But if that sounds too much like hard work, why not pack up a traditional Tuscan picnic and scope out a spot for lunch in the sun?

Chianti
Take a trip into Chianti country to visit the Castello – a castle belonging to one of the oldest wine producing families in Tuscany – for a wine tasting tour. You can walk through the barrel-packed wine cellars with a guide giving you Oz Clarke-style snippets of Chianti history. Then you get to try it for yourself and perfect you swirl, sniff and taste skills. If you can spot the berry notes of Chianti or the honeyed flavours of Tuscan dessert wine, you’re ready to give Jilly Goolden a run for her money.