Featured holiday Tuscany and Umbria food and wine holiday Italy

6 nights/7 days
This 6-night fly-drive holiday combines time in Tuscany and Umbria. The holiday has a focus on food and wine and included in both regions is a cookery lesson and wine-tasting. There is plenty of free time built in for you to explore nearby places of historic and cultural interest including Siena, San Gimignano or Florence in Tuscany and Perugia, Lake Trasimeno or Orvieto in Umbria.
Included in your Expressions holiday
  • Scheduled return flights with British Airways from London to Pisa and from Rome to London
  • Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
  • 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in a classic room at Villa le Barone, Panzano in Chianti
  • 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in an executive deluxe room at Le Tre Vaselle, Torgiano
  • Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Villa le Barone
  • Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Le Tre Vaselle
  • Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

Luxury food and wine appreciation fly-drive holiday in Tuscany and Umbria

Highlights

Panzano • Chianti • Siena • San Gimignano • Torgiano • Lake Trasimeno • Perugia • Orvieto • Assisi • Lake Bolsena • Todi

Special offers for this holiday>

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 Prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 6 nights.

From about

£2,440 fly-drive

Holiday Code FHIT22

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 food and wine appreciation fly-drive holiday in Tuscany and Umbria

Special offers for this holiday>

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 Prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 6 nights.

From about

£2,440 fly-drive

Holiday Code FHIT22

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 return flights with British Airways from London to Pisa and from Rome to London
● Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
● 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in a classic room at Villa le Barone, Panzano in Chianti
● 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in an executive deluxe room at Le Tre Vaselle, Torgiano
● Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Villa le Barone
● Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Le Tre Vaselle
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

Additional information Dates
This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Cookery
Cookery lessons are not possible at Villa le Barone on Thursdays and Fridays.
Travel times for this holiday
Pisa Airport to Panzano: 1 hour 30 minutes by car
Panzano to Torgiano: 2 hours car
Torgiano to Rome Fiumicino: 2 hours 15 minutes by car

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 Prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 6 nights.

From about

£2,440 fly-drive

Holiday Code FHIT22

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 return flights with British Airways from London to Pisa and from Rome to London
• Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
• 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in a classic room at Villa le Barone, Panzano in Chianti
• 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in an executive deluxe room at Le Tre Vaselle, Torgiano
• Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Villa le Barone
• Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Le Tre Vaselle
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are flights from Heathrow and Gatwick to Pisa with British Airways several times a day and back from Rome Fiumicino to Heathrow many times a day. From Pisa it’s a drive of about 90 minutes to your first hotel.

Additional information Dates
This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Cookery
Cookery lessons are not possible at Villa le Barone on Thursdays and Fridays.
Travel times for this holiday
Pisa Airport to Panzano: 1 hour 30 minutes by car
Panzano to Torgiano: 2 hours car
Torgiano to Rome Fiumicino: 2 hours 15 minutes by car

Luxury food and wine appreciation fly-drive holiday in Tuscany and Umbria

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.

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 Prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 6 nights.

From about

£2,440 fly-drive

Holiday Code FHIT22

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 return flights with British Airways from London to Pisa and from Rome to London
• Hire of a Group B car for the duration of the holiday
• 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in a classic room at Villa le Barone, Panzano in Chianti
• 3 nights’ bed and breakfast in an executive deluxe room at Le Tre Vaselle, Torgiano
• Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Villa le Barone
• Cookery lesson, one dinner and wine-tasting at Le Tre Vaselle
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints

The journey and how you get there There are flights from Heathrow and Gatwick to Pisa with British Airways several times a day and back from Rome Fiumicino to Heathrow many times a day. From Pisa it’s a drive of about 90 minutes to your first hotel.

Additional information Dates
This holiday can be arranged throughout the year. Additional nights can be added at any point on this itinerary. Timings can vary depending on the month and day of the week.
Cookery
Cookery lessons are not possible at Villa le Barone on Thursdays and Fridays.
Travel times for this holiday
Pisa Airport to Panzano: 1 hour 30 minutes by car
Panzano to Torgiano: 2 hours car
Torgiano to Rome Fiumicino: 2 hours 15 minutes by car

Luxury food and wine appreciation fly-drive holiday in Tuscany and Umbria

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.

Luxury food and wine appreciation fly-drive holiday in Tuscany and Umbria

Highlights of Umbria

Shop for ceramics in Gubbio, truffles and cooked meats from Norcia. Dramatic landscapes of the Monte Sibillini and one of Europe's highest waterfalls called the Cascate delle Marmore near Terni. One of Italy's beauty spots is the Fonti del Clitunno south of Trevi. See carpentry and woodworking in Todi. Visit the wine museum in Torgiano. Forests of holm oak near Spoleto. Antique fair in April and a national craft fair in August and September in Todi.

Cultural highlights of Umbria

A mixture of religious and secular art and architecture makes Umbria fascinating. The cities of Perugia and Assisi are great centres but the smaller towns of Gubbio, Todi, Spoleto and Spello are also of outstanding interest. Highlights of the region include the Fontana Maggiore in the Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia. Perugia`s Galleria Nazionale containing works by Perugino and Pinturicchio. Gattapone`s Palazzo dei Consoli in Gubbio and his Ponte delle Torri in Spoleto. The `Adoration of the Magi` by Perugino in the church of the Madonna della Lacrime in Trevi. Frescoes by Matteo da Gualdo in the Pinacoteca of Gualdo Tadino. `San Sebastiano` by Luca Signorelli in the Pinacoteca at Citta di Castello. Frescoes by Giotto and Lorenzetti in the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.

Festivals in Umbria

Perugia has a jazz festival in the summer and the Sagra Musicale music festival held in its churches in September. Orvieto holds concerts in August and has a firework display on the 15th. Spoleto`s Festival of the Two Worlds, a world-class cultural event, takes place June and July. Spello holds its Infiorata in June when the streets are decked with flowers. Foligno holds jousting in September during its Giostra della Quintane.

Gastronomy in Umbria

Umbria's gastronomy is very much a product of its earth and waters: Mushrooms and truffles flavour many dishes, Game and wild boar, Trevi produces black celery, olive oil and black truffles, Pecorino cheese from Torgiano, Todi offers Panzanella, dried bread soaked and marinated in sliced tomato, basil, onion and olive oil, Sweet macheroni with walnuts, Salami and sausages are a regional speciality, Trout from the rivers and perch from Lake Trasimeno, Strangozzi and Bici are local pasta, often flavoured with porcini and truffles. Umbria produces some high quality robust red wines near Torgiano (Rubesco produced by Lungarotti for example) and Orvieto is known for its white wine.

Other holidays you might be interested in...