The galleries are worth the queue, but the region's real character lives in the towns most visitors drive straight past.
April 2026 · 1 min read
Florence earns its crowds. But spend a week in Tuscany and the days you remember are rarely the museum days. They are the ones spent in the towns the coaches skip, where the bar still closes for lunch and the square belongs to the locals.
West to the coast
Pisa is more than its tower; the Field of Miracles is genuinely sublime in the early morning. Beyond it, the Etruscan coast and the wine towns of Bolgheri reward anyone willing to drive an hour for a great bottle and an empty beach.
South into the Val d'Orcia
Then turn south, where the postcard hills begin. Pienza for pecorino, Montalcino for Brunello, Bagno Vignoni for the thermal water. This is the Tuscany people picture, and it is even better in the flesh.
More from this region: Discover Tuscany
