Are you planning a trip to Tuscany? If you’re not, you should deeply consider it! It is amazing. From the mountains to the vineyards, Tuscany is always a good idea. In this guide I share tips, towns, itineraries and hidden gems for having the best adventurous, glamorous and relaxing time in Italy. I also share about things you should be aware of including different tourist traps so you can keep an eye out. This guide is mainly for people who will rent a car during their stay, but you can also make it work without!

Tuscany, Italy

Lucca, Province of Lucca, Italy

Siena, Province of Siena, Italy

Florence, SC, USA

A 7-10 day Tuscan vacation

Florence is a great city with lots of architecture, history and life. But beware: many people think the same! Florence is a very touristy city so if you’re not fond of crowds, I would advise you to be there off season. You can spend the day visiting the historic center seeing iconic sights such as “The Duomo”, “Uffizi Gallery” and “Palazzo Vecchio”. You can also just stroll around the city getting lost in those gorgeous streets if you prefer! If you would like to see some views over the city for free, I would recommend going to “View on Art Rooftop Cocktail Bar”, a cocktail bar where you don’t have to use money, but you can buy a drink to celebrate the view if you want.

I also recommend this fresh pasta shop so you can buy some fresh pasta, cook it at home and enjoy yourself!

San Miniato is a very charming town! It’s really authentic and not touristy at all. It also has amazing views! It’s like everywhere you look you can see the Tuscan country side and it’s gorgeous. After a full day in Florence you might want a slow and kind of relaxing day. San Miniato is a hidden gem and has really local and authentic places. You don’t really need a guide for this place because it’s not very big so you can just enjoy yourself and stroll around the wonderful streets and have a nice quiet time. If you are the type that wants to do stuff all the time and doesn’t need to relax, you can always go to Pisa afterwards

Lucca is a very authentic beautiful Tuscan city. You can spend hours walking in the city and going into coffee shops and book stores and such. There is also this (paid but affordable) tower where you can go up and see the most fantastic panoramic view of the city and the mountains! It’s called Guinigi Tower. Children under 8 years get in for free, people under from 8-18  years old and people over 65 years pay €4 and the rest pay €6. This is also the closest point to a beach there is in this guide other than Pisa so if you want to go there “Spiaggia Libera” would be a good option.

Ok I had to do a whole category with this because I’m so obsessed with where we stayed! We stayed at this amazing castle hotel half an hour away from Florence named “Castello di Montegufoni” or just “Montegufoni”. It was incredible. The view was unbelievable and the location was just perfect. I strongly recommend this hotel and it’s also pretty affordable! They have 29 rooms all from rustic to recently renovated and they are all wonderful! I think they all have kitchens and are like small apartments. Btw THIS IS NOT SPONSORED! This is my legitimate opinion.

You can go to www.montegufoni.it if you want to find out more!

The Chianti region includes Greve in Chianti, Radha in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti. Discover the picturesque Chianti countryside famous for its vineyards, tasty wines and darling villages. You can sample some local wine while enjoying the scenic landscapes!

I strongly recommend going to Florence twice. It’s got lots of stuff you can’t miss! You can go to the southern Florence second time around. I really recommend going to “Piazzale Michelangelo” or “Villa Bardini” which are lookout points and have the most amazing view overlooking the entire city. I also really recommend this amazing Gelateria (ice cream shop) called “Sbrino - Gelatificio Contadino” I already shared in day 1 that is located in the southern part of the city. You can also cross “Ponte Vecchio” to get into the city center if you wish.

There are also lots of things to do in Siena! You can go to the cathedral, “Piazza del Campo” and “Torre del Mangia”. Torre del Mangia has an incredible view, but it costs money to get up there. Just walk around and take in the medieval beauty.  

The rest of the days you are staying there you can just relax! If you are staying at Montegufoni (the hotel I recommended in the beginning) you can sleep in, go to the pool go get some ice cream at a nearby town, (obviously you can also do that at other hotels but I know this one has a pool) and lots of other things. One ice cream shop I really recommend is in “Certaldo”. There’s not much to do there because it’s not very interesting but the ice cream is reallyyyyyy gooooood! It’s called “Ma Ke Gelato - Gelato Neutrale. Try the Mango!

If you don’t really want to slow down I have some other cities and small towns I can recommend! You can also visit some of the towns/cities you already have been to if you feel like you missed something or just really liked it. 

Hello! First of all I want to thank you for purchasing my guide! In this guide I have tried to make things specific but also make it so you can kind of mix and match. Meaning that you can take some things from different and do them when you want. I have made my recommended itinerary for visiting Tuscany. I have also tried to make for different travel styles, budgets and ideals. 

There are different things you should be aware about in Italy: 

1. Pickpockets! There are many pickpockets in Italy, especially in those touristy areas. You should be well aware of that and try to keep you valuables as safe as possible.

2. Tourist scams! There also exist many tourist scams in Italy and it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish them. Some of the most common tourist traps are: 

- People who look like they’re from a type of an organization and are getting you to sign something (always say a polite “no thank you” to that!), 

- Someone selling roses on the street and tell you a price but then tries to get you to pay more than that.

 - Restaurant tourist traps where the food is really unauthentic and overpriced. The solution to that one is to look and see if the menu is in English and if it has a lot of pictures. If it does, it must be a scam. 3. Opening & closing times! In Italy businesses and restaurants tend not to be open in the afternoon because they (business owners) sleep at that time. You should ALWAYS check the schedules of every place you’re planning to go to! This is another way to distinguish tourist traps from the real thing. If it’s a restaurant that’s open at six, it’s probably a trap. Authentic restaurants close at around 15:00 (3 PM) and open up again at 19:00 or 20:00 (7PM or 8PM).

Consider visiting a winery or taking a cooking class to fully immerse yourself in the Tuscan culture. Remember to check local travel restrictions and opening hours of attractions before your trip.

There are many incredibly beautiful flower fields in Val d’Orcia and it is perhaps one of the best landscapes in Tuscany. You can spend the day there just walking around and looking at all the pretty flowers.

A 7-10 day Tuscan vacation

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