Featured holiday In the footsteps of the Medicis holiday Italy

4 nights/5 days
This is a holiday based on the history of the Medici family in and around Florence. From your 5-star hotel on the banks of the River Arno just outside Florence, you explore places associated with the Medicis in the city itself and the villas in the countryside nearby. A hire-car is included for visiting the region.
Included in your Expressions holiday
  • Accommodation in a double or twin room on bed and breakfast
  • Scheduled flights with British Airways London to Pisa or Florence, economy
  • Hire of a group B car for the duration of the holiday
  • Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

Luxury holiday in the footsteps of the Medicis

Highlights

Stay in 5-star hotel near Florence • Visit Palazzo Medici Riccardi • Visit the Bargello • Visit the Palazzo Pitti • Visit the Medici villas at Poggio a Caiano and Artimino • Visit Fiesole • Visit the villa La Petraia • Visit Pratolino • Use hire-car to explore the region

Special offers for this holiday>

It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.
Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights.

From about

£1,760 Five-star hotel

Holiday Code FHIT06

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Luxury holiday in the footsteps of the Medicis

Special offers for this holiday>

It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.
Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights.

From about

£1,760 Five-star hotel

Holiday Code FHIT06

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include ● Scheduled flights with British Airways London to Pisa or Florence return, economy
● Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a Deluxe double room at Villa la Massa, Candeli near Florence
● Hire of a group B car for the duration of the holiday
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.
Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights.

From about

£1,760 Five-star hotel

Holiday Code FHIT06

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include • Scheduled flights with British Airways London to Pisa or Florence return, economy
• Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a Deluxe double room at Villa la Massa, Candeli near Florence
• Hire of a group B car for the duration of the holiday
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are flights with British Airways from Heathrow to Pisa and from London City Airport to Florence daily. Upon arrival you collect your hire-car and then from Pisa it’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes’ drive and from Florence airport it’s a drive of about 30 minutes.

Luxury holiday in the footsteps of the Medicis

Expressions Holidays includes this hotel just outside Florence for this holiday.
Hotels included in this tour

Special offers

Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.

It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.
Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023

Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights.

From about

£1,760 Five-star hotel

Holiday Code FHIT06

The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.

Our prices include • Scheduled flights with British Airways London to Pisa or Florence return, economy
• Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a Deluxe double room at Villa la Massa, Candeli near Florence
• Hire of a group B car for the duration of the holiday
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are flights with British Airways from Heathrow to Pisa and from London City Airport to Florence daily. Upon arrival you collect your hire-car and then from Pisa it’s about 1 hour and 30 minutes’ drive and from Florence airport it’s a drive of about 30 minutes.

Luxury holiday in the footsteps of the Medicis

Highlights of Tuscany

Famous vineyards producing wines of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Alabaster is produced in Volterra. Gold and silver are worked in Florence and the Ponte Vecchio is lined with jewellery shops. Marbled paper and stationery is a speciality of Florence. Ceramics and hand-painted majolica from raw terracotta from Impruneta to the glazed pottery of Siena are to be found throughout Tuscany. Lucca has traditionally produced silk and hand-woven fabrics. Leather goods including shoes, handbags and belts are to be found from market stalls to designer shops such as Gucci and Ferragamo. Interesting markets include the Mercato dell' Antiquariato which sells furniture from antiques to bric-a-brac in Arezzo on the first weekend of every month, in Pisa on the second weekend and in Lucca on the third weekend. The 'wild' Maremma is known for its long-horned white cattle and cowboys (butteri) and natural springs including Saturnia.

Cultural highlights of Tuscany

As birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany contains a wealth of treasures: Giotto`s Campanile and Brunelleschi`s Dome in Florence, the Tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo in Florence`s Santa Croce, Botticelli`s `Birth of Venus` and `Primavera` and the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesca in the Uffizi, Michelangelo`s `David` in the Accademia, the architecture of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, `The Tuscan Maremma` painting by Giovanni Fattori in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the Piazza del Campo in Siena, `The Legend of the Cross` frescoes by Piero della Francesco in Arezzo, `The Creation` fresco by Bartolo di Fredi in the Collegiata in San Gimignano, Romanesque church of the Collegiata in San Quirico d`Orcia, 14th Century Fortezza of Montalcino, Renaissance masterpiece of the church of Madonna di San Biagio at Montepulciano, the abbey-church of Sant`Antimo, mediaeval Lucignano and the towers of San Gimignano, the Etruscan Museum in Cortona.  

Festivals in Tuscany

Many of Tuscany`s festivals resound with the flamboyance of the Renaissance and keep Tuscans and visitors alike in touch with the region`s rich history. Others are linked to Tuscany`s hearty traditions of eating and drinking. The most famous is Siena`s Palio which takes place on 2 July and 16 August each year. Others include the Sagra del Tordo (Festival of the Thrush) in Montalcino on the last Sunday in October when there is an archery contest and charcoal-grilled thrush are a delicacy. In Florence, Calcio in Costume (a football match played in mediaeval costume) takes place in June. Pisa has the Giocco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge), a mock battle in Renaissance dress also held in June. Viareggio celebrates Carnival on Shrove Tuesday with a huge display of flamboyant floats. In May and August Massa Marittima holds the Falcon Contest.  

Gastronomy in Tuscany

Simple country food is at the heart of Tuscan cooking. Regional dishes include Bruschetta (bread or ciabatta toasted and rubbed with garlic, olive oil and salt), Ribollita (bean, cabbage and bread soup), Pasta with hare or wild boar sauce, Porcini mushroom and truffle dishes, Bistecca all Fiorentina (thick cut of sirloin and fillet beef), Cantucci (almond and honey biscuits) served dipped in Vin Santo, Panforte (chocolate, nut and spice cake). Pecorino cheese made from sheep's milk. Local wines include the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano and the Bianco di Pitigliano. Famous reds include Chanti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Vin Santo made from semi-crushed grapes left for several months is an excellent dessert wine.

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