Two centre holiday combining the Tuscan coast and countryside
This eight-night two-centre holiday of the Tuscan coast and countryside not only encourages an in-depth exploration of one of Italy’s most diverse and romantic regions but is particularly well-suited to those who are interested in wine, gastronomy, and long scenic walks. Montalcino sits to the south of Florence and Siena, in the rural Brunello area, which proves to be an attractive alternative to Chianti. Enjoy wine-tastings at a local winery and walks through isolated vineyards and olive groves. Here, or during your stay on the coast, you can while away the hours on lush golf courses, surrounded by hills, wooded areas, and distant mountains. Castiglione della Pescaia provides a coastal contrast to the patchwork landscapes of inland Tuscany, with pretty, stone houses that follow the slopes up from the golden beach to the crowning mediaeval castle. The town is popular with Italian visitors, so has retained its authenticity, and is best visited in spring or autumn.
Highlights
• Visit Montalcino • Visit local vineyards and olive oil producers • Visit Siena for a day’s excursion • Visit Monte Amiato • Visit the Argentario peninsula • Play golf
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,770 Low season
£3,060 High season
Holiday Code FHIT34
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.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre holiday combining the Tuscan coast and countryside
Arrive at Pisa airport, collect your hire-car and drive the 2 hours 30 minutes or so to your hotel in the foothills below Monte Amiata south of Montalcino.
You have three full days to relax and the explore this less well-known region of southern Tuscany, sitting south of Siena and north of Monte Amiata, the region of the Val d’Orcia, and renowned for its beautiful landscape of hills, vineyards, olive groves and agricultural fields. This is one of the most charming man-made agricultural landscapes in Europe. The town of Montalcino offers an array of local shops selling wine, local produce and amazing ceramics. A short drive to the east is the wine-producing town of Montepulciano. In the area are many vineyards and wineries you can visit for explanation and wine-tasting. To the south of Montalcino is the Abbey of Sant-Antimo and nearby Monte Amiata, the dormant and largest lava dome of several in the region, and highest in Italy. The area is home to several thermal springs.
Today it is a relatively short drive between the two hotels, so take your time, perhaps with a detour south through the southern Tuscan hills and villages such as Seggiano, Castel del Piano and Arcidosso. Near here is the waterfall of the Acqua d’Alto. Roccalbenga is a charming village further to the south-west. Skirt around Grosseto and you reach your hotel for the next four nights, L’Andana, a short distance from the coast and the resort of Castiglione della Pescaia.
You have three full days to both relax and explore the area. This is the Maremma and now a land of fields and forests and long, sandy beaches on the coast. There are marinas and nature reserves, sandy beach clubs and golf courses. The pleasure port of Punta Ala is a short drive away, as is the peninsula of the Argentario and the chic resort of Porto Ercole.
Today, drive yourself to Pisa, about two hours away, for your return flight to London.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,770 Low season
£3,060 High season
Holiday Code FHIT34
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.
Call us on 01392 441245
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,770 Low season
£3,060 High season
Holiday Code FHIT34
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.
The journey and how you get there There are usually two or three flights a day with British Airways from London to Pisa. You may also consider travelling into and out of Rome. From Pisa to Montalcino it’s a drive of about 2 and a half hours, and from Castiglione della Pescaia back to Pisa, allow just under two hours. It takes about an hour and a half to drive between the two hotels.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre holiday combining the Tuscan coast and countryside
The Castello di Velona is an enchanting hotel and a perfect place from which to explore southern Tuscany. The restaurant terrace boasts magnificent views over the Tuscan countryside, and the outdoor pool and pretty gardens create a peaceful atmosphere.
Castle junior suite
L'Andana is an exclusive 5-star hotel in a magnificent natural location. This luxurious hotel offers the ultimate in relaxation with excellent local cuisine, superb spa facilities and stylish accommodation in the Tuscan countryside.
Superior double room
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.
I enjoyed every minute of the tour. Cindy-Marie was simply fantastic and her knowledge, kindness and humour was all that I could have asked for. This was a first class experience. Thank you for making it all happen.Customer on Tuscan wine tour, June 2022
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 8 nights.
From about
£2,770 Low season
£3,060 High season
Holiday Code FHIT34
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.
The journey and how you get there There are usually two or three flights a day with British Airways from London to Pisa. You may also consider travelling into and out of Rome. From Pisa to Montalcino it’s a drive of about 2 and a half hours, and from Castiglione della Pescaia back to Pisa, allow just under two hours. It takes about an hour and a half to drive between the two hotels.
Call us on 01392 441245
Two centre holiday combining the Tuscan coast and countryside
About Tuscany
An Expressions tailor-made holiday in Tuscany allows you to appreciate its classical landscape of rolling hills and vineyards dotted with olive and cypress trees, its misty green-grey mountains that are never too far distant, and hill-top towns of rich brown and gold stone houses. This combines with the beauty of the works of art contained in the towns and villages throughout Tuscany to create an inspirational union of the spirit and the senses. There is an intrinsic comfort in the supposed contrast between the delicacy of a Botticelli and the heartiness of Ribollita soup, yet both are typical of this fascinating region. As birthplace of the Renaissance, the impact of Tuscan and particularly Florentine traditions and culture on European heritage is fundamental to our way of life. In addition to the obvious attractions of the scenery of Chianti and the art cities of Florence and Siena, there are the less well-known regions south of Siena with its moon-like landscape of hills, the patchwork vineyards of Montalcino, the coastal marshlands of the Maremma, the spas of Montecatini and Saturnia, the islands of Elba and Giglio, and the Casentino with the source of the Arno and abundant mushroom crops. Wherever you travel on holiday in Tuscany, you will be inspired by the beauty of your surroundings and the way of life, which is quintessentially that of Italy too.
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.