Tuscany

Tuscany - an experience in your own car

Drive yourself to Tuscany in Italy and experience the epitome of what we all perhaps best identify Italy with. Chianti wines and virgin olive oil. Beautiful hilly landscapes in lovely ochre colours, idyllic towns dotted around on hilltops surrounded by tall cypress trees. Gastronomy is a chapter in itself and Tuscan cuisine boasts numerous delicacies to impress the most discerning palates. Pack your car and go on a self-drive holiday to Tuscany. Discover cities like Florence, filled with art and architecture. Visit the Uffizi Museum, walk along the Arno River and take the walk across Ponto Vecchio and see all the goldsmith shops with their wares on display. Also, don't miss out on enjoying the view from Piazzale Michelangelo.

Siena was once an independent republic, but is above all a brilliant example of the historical harmony that exists between past and present. Explore the network of narrow alleys and lanes around Piazza del Campo. Make your way past the beautiful and striated cathedral built in Romanesque and Gothic style in the 13th century. Also, visit the city hall, Palazzo Pubblico and the Sala del Consiglio, where Lorenzetti's famous frescoes depicting good and corrupt government are on display. Try the climb up the Mangia Tower. From the top you can enjoy the view over Piazza del Campo and take a break to rest your legs after the 503 steps up to the top. Siena is also known for its colourful horse race, the Palio, held twice a year.

With your own car, it's easy to get around and therefore possible to explore on your own and at your own pace. Drive yourself around and discover the beautiful and colourful vineyards of Chianti and visit the many medieval villages that dazzle with the hilly terrain and beautiful scenery. San Gimignano is located southwest of Florence at an altitude of 324 metres. Founded in the 3rd century BC and originally a small Etruscan village. But it was in the Middle Ages that the town grew large and rich, thanks to its strategic geographical position. Take the walk up the main street, Via San Giovanni, which runs from the southern city gate to the cathedral square. It's as if time has stood still, and here you step straight into the Middle Ages and the inspiration behind Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The main street is filled with wine merchants, jewellers and restaurants; try wild boar steamed in Chianti or spit-roasted hen with mushrooms. It's also here that the best ice cream in the world is served at Gelateria Dondoli, located in Piazza della Cisterna. The castle and circular wall of Monteriggioni are certainly to be spotted when the self-drive tour takes in these edges of Siena. There are 14 watchtowers, an outer wall and the site was almost impregnable and known for its impressive defences and is also mentioned in Dante's 'Divine Comedy'. A delightful experience for children and adults alike. Delicacies are also sold within the walls and every summer in July a medieval festival is held, considered one of the most authentic in the area. Visit Castello di Brolio, a 19th-century castle with a delightful garden, and you can also try a tour of the vineyard that put Chianti Classico on the world map, and further south-east are the beautiful towns of Crete Senesi and Val d'Orcia, where the famous Brunello wine is also produced. You can enjoy the views as you drive among tall cypress trees, Romanesque churches. But be sure to stop and visit at least one of the many wine cellars or interesting museums that tell the story of the Etruscans in the area. Drive yourself to the three medieval villages of Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino. The area between Pienza and Montepulciano is also famous for its pecorino cheese. The terrain is ideal for grazing sheep. Find out how the cheese is made at the Cugusi dairy, where you can also sample the different cheeses and the children can find out how sheep's cheese is made at the same time. Further east is the more open countryside of Val di Chiana, where you can explore the lovely towns of Cortona and Arezzo, as well as Lucca and Pisa.

When you're in your own car on a drive through the countryside, make sure you stop for a bite to eat at one of the small local restaurants called Trattoria. Try a 'bistecca fiorentina', panforte or some of their delicious pasta. Don't forget to visit the local wineries, oil producers and pottery workshops. To the west, along the Tyrrhenian Sea, there are also several quaint villages and lovely beaches.