Italy
Tuscany remains the template for the European countryside escape: cypress avenues, hilltop towns and a landscape so composed it reads like set design. The region's converted villas, wine estates and borgo hotels turn slow travel — long lunches, cellar visits, aimless drives — into the whole point of the trip.
The UNESCO-listed valley south of Siena delivers Tuscany's most photographed scenery, with Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano within easy reach of superb estate hotels.
The wine country between Florence and Siena is the classic base: castle wineries, stone hamlets and back roads that link the two great Renaissance cities.
Fiesole and the slopes ringing Florence offer villa hotels with city views, keeping the Uffizi and the Duomo a short drive away without the urban bustle.
Tuscany's wilder southern coast pairs Etruscan hill towns and cowboy country with beach clubs and the vineyards of Bolgheri further north.
Dining runs from trattorie serving pici and bistecca alla fiorentina to serious tasting menus on wine estates. Evenings are about long dinners and cellar tastings rather than nightlife; Florence supplies cocktail bars when the mood calls for a city night.
Agriturismo and villa stays suit families well, with pools, space to roam and cooking classes that children genuinely enjoy. Medieval towers, Siena's Campo and gelato-paced town wanders keep sightseeing light-hearted.
Few settings beat a Val d'Orcia sunset from a private terrace with a glass of Brunello. Hot-air balloon flights over the vineyards, hilltop dinners and thermal baths at Bagno Vignoni give the region its honeymoon standing.
Destination Guides
Tuscany rewards the traveller who resists the checklist. This is our guide to the region's hill towns, wine country and coast — and how to structure a week that feels unhurried.
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Food & Dining
In the world's great wine regions, hotel restaurants have become the truest expression of terroir — kitchens fed by the estate outside the window and cellars no city house can rival.
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