Tuscany Holiday Reviews

The hotel was good, but the place generally was even better. A mix of relaxation and the urban vibe. Great food and drink culture and very friendly people

Stunning scenery, Fantastic for walking (and cycling although is very hilly and hot!). Florence and Siena both great places to visit and stunning arcitecture. Great wine - Montepulciano is also a great place to visit.

Lucca had a chilled pace of life with very little cars in the centre. People generally strolled around or used bikes. The route around the walls is a great way of seeing the town and appreciating the open spaces and countryside.

Lucca ia a beautiful little city. Make sure you walk or cycle round the walls. We went up the Torre del ore and had it to ourselves- make sure you go up here or the one with the tree growing out of the top (which looked a bit busier!). Lucca is best known for having 100 churches and a great number of them are worth a visit. The city has lovely little Piazzas and great restaurants. It's about a zillion times nicer than Pisa (only worth a visit to the main square with the tower).

Campo dei Miracolo and Pisa's precarious tower are the main reason people visit this Tuscan city that traces its history back to around 1000 B.C. The grand buildings are relics of the former republic of Pisa's maritime might. Visitors can no longer climb the Tower's 300 steps, but other top attractions in the city where Galileo was born include the National Museum of San Matteo and Camposanto cemetery. Local bus tickets can be bought at tabacs. An excellent rail network links Pisa with other Tuscan cities.

If you're visiting St Gimignano *make sure* you also pay a short visit to the museo della tortura. as my predecessing reviewer stated, the museum building itself is rather interesting. you immediately feel transfered into the old times when god-like pope-sent inquisitors spoke thir dark verdicts. Every room looks quite "spooky" with that little touch of the dark middle ages to it. The second thing: the information you get in this museum is really top notch. Not only do you get a very thorough undestanding of the means of torture of (I'd say) the 14.th to 16th century but also the historical background of the inquisition in italy. It's correct that this is a relatively small museum with not too many exhibits but I must say that this only helps creating the atmosphere a museum of this kind needs. You will definitely enter one of the dark sides of europe for at least one hour

Make the most of your hire car and tour the local picturesque villages. The scenery is free and if you are there when they are harvesting the grapes from the many vinyards that will add to your experience. I particularly recomend San Gimignano as a smaller though hilly town to visit.

Pisa is a lot more than the Leaning Tower, though it might not seem as much. This is obviously your first port of call (a climb up it, which is 300 steps of feeling a bit odd, is a must), along with the other buildings of the Piazza del Duomo, these being the Baptistry, the Cathedral (also a bit slanty), and the Camponato, a cemetery full of Pisan luminaries. Pisa itself is split by the River Arno, and the river lends to the picturesque nature of the university town. Decent places to eat and drink, though not necessarily anywhere to write home about, though the pizza takeaway place next to the NH Cavalieri hotel in the station square is a peach of a place. Pisa is also a great base from which to explore the rest of Tuscany and Liguria - you can, if you want, even train it to Rome, Milan or Turin from Pisa Centrale, though it might take a while.

italy has so much to look around, especially Rome, you need atleast few days to cover most valuable places in rome. venice is also nice to see but so much confusing them small streets.overall its good holiday place.

A Great Escape location, well seved by Ryan Air to most of Europe, and with good range of things to do, including the tower. Probably not enough for 2 weeks, but more than enough for the weekend.

Pisa is a stunning city, even ignoring the magnificent beauty of it's famous tower. There are many interesting sights to see, from old churches to the many little architectural gems hidden around the city. The standout highlight of Pisa, however, has to be the food. Gelato (ice cream) from any of the city's ice cream shops is some of the best I've ever tasted. I had the best pizza of my life from a little pizzeria down a back alley, with good wine and awesome Italian atmosphere, which I'm sure is repeated throughout the city. If you are looking for an interesting, memorable city break I would recommend Pisa.

Lucca is a beautiful town and its excellent rail and bus links make it an ideal base for visiting the popular tourist sites. Many of the picturesque lesser known areas are also accessible from Lucca.

Only went to Pisa and Florence. Did not see enough of the rest of Tuscany to comment. Will return one day to tour Tuscany

Tuscany is a lovely area of Italy, and has many attractions in and around it. I would especially recommend it to couples/honeymooners, but really to anyone looking for a relaxing cultured break.

Food is important in Italy, so why not experience that as much as you would the principal art and history places? And then why stumble about trying to find some things when this tour gives you immediate insight and direction about your Tuscan eating experience? A wonderful event of cheeses, jellies, spreads, wines and gelato! If you want more information about food beyond the tour, the lovely guides can give information about that. Even if you know and have visited Florence before, this is a great tour to take for you may well have missed some smaller elements of eating there . This is a fabulous way to understand something of the food of Tuscany.