To begin with: Spring in Tuscany doesn’t only mean sunshine. Weather is changing frequently. In one week, we had three and half days of rain and three and a half days sunshine.
But when the sun was shining this blessed part on planet earth appeared at its best. It blossomed everywhere. The region around the Crete Senesi just looked painted.
Sleeping in an old winery
While it’s very expensive in summer, we could totally afford staying at a beautiful winery in spring. The rainy days were more pleasant this way.
The name of our winery is Villa Barberino and it’s located in Meleto, near Florence. It was perfect for our destinations.
Tuscan dreaming
Cities, villages, landscapes, Pizza, Pasta, Vino and Gelato – Italy just can’t disappoint.
One week was totally enough for the following Tuscan classics.
Florence
The romantic capital of Tuscany. This city is famous for its history and its amazing buildings. In the Middle Ages it was one of the richest cities in Europe and is the birth place of the Renaissance.
The Uffizi, the Palazzo Medici, the Ponte Vecchio and the cathedral are just a few of the many sights this city at the Arno River offers to you. More about Florence here!
Siena
Who doesn’t know the beautiful pictures of Piazza del Campo?! This is the place where the famous horse race Palio di Siena takes place twice a year since the Middle Ages.
The whole Old Town belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage. Just like Florence, Siena has a long history and they were rivals for long times. The university of the city was built in 1240 and is one of the oldest universities of the country.
Siena is said to be Tuscany’s most beautiful city. Well, this is a matter of taste, but it’s beautiful for sure.
Just as said before, you have to see the Piazza del Campo in the centre of Siena. You can see the Palazzo Publico here and also the Torre del Mangia. If you have the time, stand in line and go up the tower. The view must be phenomenal. We just didn’t want to wait for hours.
The cathedral was also very impressive. They used black and white marble and it was built in the 14th century. It’s a perfect example for Italian Gothic.
I think we don’t have to talk about Siena’s beautiful alleys. It’s Italy and it explains itself.
San Gimignano
This little town is also called ‘Manhattan of Tuscany’ or ‘Manhattan of the Middle Ages’. Well, we could discuss that but it’s really impressive. San Gimignano is not far from Siena and especially beautiful from the outside.
Unfortunately, the clouds became darker and we had to stop our short visit here.
Lucca
Lucca was a powerful city in the Middle Ages. Today it mesmerizes with its beautiful alleys, the cathedral and let’s say the very popular ‚Anfiteatro Romano‘. This means, this was a place, where a lot of people tried to enjoy the sun at the same time at the same place.
Today’s Piazza dell’Anfiteatro is the inner court of the former Roman amphitheatre. Christians of the Middle Ages destroyed it and used it’s stones for building churches and palaces. You can still see some ruins outside the Piazza.
Just like everywhere in Italy, there were a few churches in Lucca. I think, we don’t have to mention them.
Pisa
Everyone knows this city, no matter if he or she was there or not. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is known everywhere and the picture of it is omnipresent. Maybe this is the place, where most tourists from all over this planet took a picture of themselves.
We can’t blame them. The Leaning Tower is really leaning and it just doesn’t fall. And it looks really amazing.
The city has even more to offer, but we were hungry and decided to have lunch instead. But next time, we will really explore Pisa. And no, we didn’t take a picture trying to put the tower in place.
Exploring the beautiful Crete Senesi and Chianti region
Oh, it was so beautiful. Maybe this was my favourite part of the trip.
We can’t tell much about it. If it’s sunny outside, just get in the car and drive through the amazing landscape of Crete Senesi and Chianti region.
Everything is green and the flowers are blooming. This picture will only be interrupted by beautiful Tuscan villas with Italian cypresses standing along the entry. With more money on the bank, we would definitively buy one of those.
Have you been to Tuscany yet? What did you like most and why?