Live the Tuscan dream - for real

The spirit of la dolce vita is around every corner in Tuscany. Rolling hills dotted with cypress trees stretch out to the horizon, a patchwork of vineyards and farms produce some of Italy’s best food and wine, and the regions glorious Renaissance cities are easily as lovely as the art collected in their galleries.

So it’s little surprise that Tuscany is regularly named one of the most popular places in Italy for a holiday. But if you really want to get under the skin of this enticing area, you’ll need more than a short city break.

Whether you want experts to take you behind the scenes at wineries, chefs to teach you the secrets of traditional dishes, walking routes through Tuscany’s spectacular landscapes or even a taste of aristocratic life in the gardens of the area’s powerful families, a special interest holiday, guided by an expert host with specialist knowledge, lets you discover what truly makes this region so unique.

When it comes to the world’s favourite cuisine, Italy wins out so often that it’s almost a certainty. But you’ll quickly discover that Tuscany stands head and shoulders above the competition at home too. From world-class wine to centuries-old traditional recipes and mouth-watering concoctions whipped up from a few simple ingredients, this is somewhere to linger over every bite and sip.

Chianti region, Tuscany

Salute! Tuscany’s famous wines are one of the reasons tourists flock to the region. Chianti is a particular draw but there are other stupendous reds too such as Brunello from Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Perfect for drinking in a vineyard with a view, they’re also the ideal accompaniment to Florence’s classic dishes.

Meat-lovers will be in heaven with a Bistecca alla Fiorentina, a T-bone steak that’s at least three inches thick and served rare; the meltingly slow-cooked beef and red wine stew Peposo dell’Impruneta; or Pappardelle al ragu di cinghiale, a rich wild boar ragu.

For something lighter, Panzanella teams leftover bread with tomatoes, cucumber and onion, while Ribollita is a satisfying cross between soup and stew using more stale bread, combined with tomatoes, white beans and vegetables. The daring could also try traditional Florentine street food, lampredotto – made from the fourth stomach of a cow simmered in broth, it’s served with salsa verde in a bread roll.

Visit around grape harvest time in September and early October to find schiacciata all’uva in bakeries around Tuscany. This once-a-year treat uses the region’s schiacciata bread, similar to focaccia, baked with ripe grapes like Sangiovese, Canaiolo or uva fragola (“strawberry grapes”).

Try a taste of all that’s best about Tuscany with a food and wine holiday. Get hands on at a cooking class led by local chefs in the Tuscany countryside, discover how to roll pasta in the heart of Florence or learn the secrets of authentic pizza.

You’ll enjoy plenty of chances to relax and indulge too, whether that’s lunch at a winery in the hills of Chianti, such as Castello D’Albola estate, or on a farm outside the hilltop village of San Gimignano with its ancient towers. Or join locals at the historic Antica Macelleria Falorni, a butcher’s shop that’s been tempting visitors for centuries, all followed by a few scoops of gelato, of course.

On our Food and Wine in Tuscany break.

Florence is known as the “Cradle of the Renaissance”, but beyond the region’s art and architecture, there’s equal elegance to be found in Tuscany’s gardens. History, artistry and green-fingered talent combine in elaborate grounds created for the ruling Medici family, gardens fit for a princess, and plenty of Baroque grandeur.

We have the rich and powerful Medici to thank for many of Tuscany’s spectacular gardens, but if you only see one, it has to be the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Designed for the Duchess Eleonora of Toledo after the Medici family bought the Pitti Palace in the mid-16th century, they quickly became a model for court gardens across Europe. Following Renaissance principles, the natural and the man-made blends together in a verdant corner dotted with grottoes, magnificent fountains and sculptures.

Palazzo Pfanner gardens in Lucca, Tuscany

One of Tuscany’s most unusual gardens is tucked away in Castellare di Pescia near Lucca, where the Hesperidarium botanical garden has collected more than 200 varieties of ornamental citrus from across the world.

As you wander through the gardens and vast greenhouse, you’ll stumble across new varieties from the southern hemisphere flourishing next to 16th-century citrus cultivated for the Medici, plus figures inspired by the tale of Pinocchio, whose author spent part of his childhood nearby.

Seize the chance to venture beyond the big-name gardens into more unusual historic sites and grounds around Tuscany. Along with Florence’s landscaped Boboli Gardens and wisteria-laden Bardini Gardens, stroll through the rose garden and Japanese oasis of the Piazzale Michelangelo, or the city’s Botanic Garden – founded in 1545, it’s one of the oldest in Europe.

Or imagine how life must have been for the rich and powerful. Wander the gardens of three historic villas which once belonged to the Medici family – Villa Medici La Magia, the Parco Mediceo di Pratolino, and summer retreat, Villa Medicea Castello – and walk in the footsteps of Napoleon’s sister Elisa Bonaparte, princess of Lucca at the Villa Reale.

There’s Baroque splendour nearby at Villa Torrigiani and the Palazzo Pfanner, as well as at Villa Garzoni, whose rare plants and formal terraces make for one of the finest gardens in the country.

On our Gardens of Tuscany holiday.

Is there any better way to see Tuscany’s iconic rolling hills than on foot? And you’ll find far more than the iconic landscapes of the Val d’Orcia and Chianti, with trails leading through the rugged peaks of the Apennines, historic pilgrim routes and ancient tracks to hilltop cities with their medieval towers. Grab your walking shoes and get ready to soak up the views.

The Via Francigena is one of the world’s most important routes of pilgrimage, connecting Canterbury and Rome for more than a thousand years. And almost 400km of the route travels through Tuscany, passing through forests and medieval villages which seem almost unchanged since the first pilgrims walked this way.

Divided into 16 stages, plus a few optional detours, you don’t need to trek the entire trail to enjoy the experience. One six-mile stretch follows the course of the Cessana stream to the hilltop village of Buggiano Castello with its centuries-old churches, where pilgrims would have given thanks for their safe passage.

Montecatini Terme, Tuscany

Leonardo da Vinci is intimately linked with Tuscany. Born in the village of Anchiano in 1452, he lived for years in Florence. What’s less well-known, though, is the historic walking trail linking Leonardo’s birthplace and Vinci, the nearby small town where the Renaissance artist, inventor and all-round genius is celebrated to this day.

The Strada Verde, or Green Way, begins at his family’s farmhouse in the hills and leads through ancient woodland and landscapes which inspired the adult artist, before finishing in Vinci itself.

Head off the beaten track to revel in the scenery. Stroll along riverside paths which once marked the boundary between the rival cities of Lucca and Florence or trails into Tuscany’s hills, climbing to the fortified hilltop village of medieval Montecatini Alto.

There’s history to be found along a centuries-old pilgrimage route, and walks through Leonardo da Vinci’s childhood. You could even find yourself inspired by local legends, such as the story of Pinocchio, as you pass the sweeping branches of the centuries-old ‘Oak of the Witches’.

On our Walking in Tuscany holiday.