Cypress-lined roads, hill towns turning gold at sunset and Brunelleschi’s dome on the horizon. In Tuscany the galleries and the wine cellars are never far apart: come for one city and you’ll end up planning three.
Lucca brings together Ilaria del Carretto’s marble tomb in San Martino, the rooftop oaks of Guinigi Tower and the oval Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, with lunch around Via San Paolino and a final walk on the city walls. This is a full-day excursion from Florence, using direct regional trains both ways and leaving the sightseeing on foot. […]
Sant’Ambrogio Market on Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti gives you four distinct ways to eat inside a working Florentine food market. Choose La Caffetteria del Vecchio Mercato for breakfast, Il Trippaio for a takeaway sandwich, Da Rocco for meatballs at shared tables or Terrazza Menoni for beef tartare. The choice is as much about how you want […]
Florence’s Christmas markets offer three different ways to shop: European-style chalets in Piazza Santa Croce, Tuscan crafts at Fierucola di Natale and charity stalls inside Palazzo Corsini. Choose Santa Croce for hot food and festive decorations, or Palazzo Corsini for sheltered browsing, while Fierucola suits a visit centred on makers and producer goods. You need […]
Florence’s Scoppio del Carro, the “Explosion of the Cart”, brings a decorated cart, a historical procession and a burst of fireworks to the cathedral at Easter. It is both a religious observance and a civic celebration, with the main outdoor spectacle in Piazza del Duomo. Choose the procession if you want to see the oxen […]
Florence marks New Year’s Eve on 31 December with public-square music and a midnight countdown on Palazzo Vecchio. Choose between an evening centred on one public celebration and a festive dinner that carries you through the toast. Your choice also shapes where to stay and how to get home, while New Year’s Day brings an […]
Easter in Florence brings a fireworks cart to Piazza del Duomo and worshippers to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The holiday moves through spring rather than falling on a fixed weekend. Come for the public ceremony if you enjoy a tradition played out in a crowded city square. Attend cathedral Mass if you […]
On Christmas Day in Florence, outdoor celebrations and worship take the place of a normal museum day. Around the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, you can see the Christmas tree and nativity, attend worship or spend an evening watching light displays across the centre. Families also have skating and a Ferris wheel to consider. […]
A thermal day out from Florence can mean managed pools at Rapolano Terme, bathing beside a river at Bagni di Petriolo or a village walk at Bagno Vignoni. Choose the setting before committing to the drive: these are five separate return trips by car, not stops on one circuit. Bagni San Filippo offers wooded pools […]
Monte Ceceri is the half-day hiking choice from Florence without a car: take the bus to Fiesole, then walk into woodland shaped by old stone quarries. With a car and a full day, Monte Morello offers wooded hills and Resistance history, while Vallombrosa puts forest walking at the centre of the outing. Each trip returns […]
For a stay focused on central Florence, a car-free arrival usually makes more sense than hiring a car. From Florence Airport, the T2 tram brings you to Santa Maria Novella station, and arriving by rail puts you at the same starting point for walking into the historic centre. A car earns its place when Florence […]
A rooftop drink in Florence can put you close to the cathedral, above the Oltrarno squares or beside a hotel pool. Choose the outlook first, then the occasion: View on Art suits a cathedral-focused spritz, while Grand Hotel Minerva offers an evening setting for pizza and a drink. The six choices below include cocktail terraces, […]
A seated craft beer in Florence can be a drink on its own or the start of a meal. Mostodolce pairs its house beer with pizza near San Lorenzo; Birreria Art.17 offers changing taps in Sant’Ambrogio. Across the Arno, Archea Brewery has its own-recipe house range, while Diorama pairs beer with cured meats and cheese […]
At the Pisa Book Festival, you can meet independent publishers at the Arsenali Repubblicani, browse their books and spend part of your visit listening to authors. The exhibition is only one part of the festival: literary sessions take place in several nearby venues, so choose the talks you most want to hear and leave space […]
Pisa celebrates New Year’s Eve with music in Piazza dei Cavalieri and fireworks over the Arno. This is a late outdoor evening for travellers who enjoy a public crowd, rather than a seated show: you can join the music, watch from the riverbanks or make dinner the main occasion. Warm layers and a walkable return […]
The Terre di Pisa Food & Wine Festival brings local producers to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II for an October weekend of tasting, shopping and food events. It suits visitors who want to discover what the Pisa area produces, from olive oil and cheese to local wines, rather than simply sit down for a meal. You […]
Pisa’s Internet Festival brings digital culture into public talks, practical workshops and interactive installations across the historic centre. You can listen to an author discuss ideas, try a digital game or join a lab rather than spend your visit in conference sessions. It is a public festival, not a trade-only technology conference. Choose activities around […]
Pisa’s Luminara di San Ranieri turns the Arno riverfront into the focus of an evening of candlelight, followed by fireworks over the water. Choose a riverbank position for the illuminated façades, rather than relying on a place on Ponte di Mezzo itself. The bridge is also a crossing point, and crowd management shapes how you […]
Pisa makes a useful base for historic towns with quite different reasons to visit: Lucca for its walls and cathedral, Calci for a Carthusian monastery, San Miniato and Vicopisano for hilltop towers, and Volterra for Etruscan heritage. Choose the main historic visit before choosing your day, since several monuments open only on particular days or […]
Choose the Luminara of San Ranieri for a candlelit riverfront festival evening, and plan to stay overnight rather than hurry away after the fireworks. For a sightseeing-led trip, the Pisan New Year offers a daytime spring tradition. Gioco del Ponte brings historical pageantry, while Summer Knights suits a visit built around a particular concert or […]
At Pisa Airport, choose your meal around which side of security you need to be on. Al Volo suits a quick stop in arrivals, Mastro Bistecca Osteria offers a Tuscan steak meal in the public terminal, and Buoni & Belli serves the departures area after security. Outside the terminal, Pizzeria La Paradisea and Luigi’s Burger […]
Pisa’s nightlife gives you a choice between a sociable evening around Piazza delle Vettovaglie and music-led nights at Lumière or Borderline Club. In summer, Arno Vivo adds outdoor music and dancing beside the river. Choose the music first if a concert or dance night is your priority. Choose the central bars if you would rather […]
After visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa, choose the meal you want before choosing the nearest table. Quarto d’Ora Italiano suits a pizza lunch, while L’Ostellino offers a takeaway sandwich when another monument admission is approaching. For a seated meal, Cantina Vasari centres the choice on beef tartare, Osteria dei Cavalieri on Tuscan cooking and […]
A quick lunch in Pisa can mean a filled panino or a portion of chickpea flatbread, without settling in for a restaurant meal. Choose one stop to suit your appetite and the part of the centre you are visiting. L’Ostellino suits a break around the cathedral complex, I Porci Comodi offers a substantial roast-pork sandwich, […]
Choose April–May for a walking-led Pisa city break, with May the strongest single month. You can spend more of the day around Cathedral Square and beside the Arno without peak summer heat. September is a warmer alternative, though its rainfall average is higher than late spring’s. Winter suits you better if quieter sightseeing and potentially […]
Viareggio is the simplest choice for a swim combined with a seaside town walk from Lucca. Lido di Camaiore favours a day with sunbeds and beach-club facilities. Motrone offers a free-beach alternative among the clubs, while Lecciona trades the built-up seafront for a longer approach through parkland. Choose for the journey back as well as […]
Lucca Comics & Games brings comics publishers, game designers and cosplayers into Lucca’s historic centre and festival pavilions. Choose the part of the festival you most want to experience, whether that means finding comics, trying board games or joining a costumed gathering. You can enjoy its public spaces without buying pavilion admission, but a ticketed […]
Lucca’s Luminara di Santa Croce brings a religious procession through the historic centre, with candle carriers, civic representatives and costumed groups accompanying an image of the city’s revered crucifix. The Cathedral of San Martino is the destination, but your choice of viewing place changes the evening: watch the departure, settle along the streets or make […]
Hiring a bicycle in Lucca gives you a leisurely way to enjoy the elevated promenade on its Renaissance walls. You can collect a shop bike for an outing or use Lime for a short journey where the app offers a bicycle. Choose your vehicle around who will ride it and how often you want to […]
Choose September for Lucca’s public religious traditions, or build a music-led visit around one Lucca Summer Festival concert. Santa Croce gives you a procession through the historic centre rather than a performance inside a venue. For ordinary sightseeing, choose dates outside Lucca Comics & Games: its crowds reach well beyond the festival pavilions. Film screenings, […]
Pisa Airport and Florence Airport both give you a public-transport route to Lucca, with a final walk into the walled centre. Pisa’s E3 bus avoids a railway change, while regional trains let you join the journey at Pisa Centrale or Florence Santa Maria Novella. A taxi or private transfer reduces boarding steps, especially with bulky […]
Taking the bus from Florence to Lucca starts with choosing the right Florence stop. Autolinee Toscane’s DD leaves from Guidoni, reached by tram from the central station area, while FlixBus uses the boarding point named on your ticket. Both bring you within walking distance of the old town. For a journey from Piazza della Stazione […]
In Lucca, a gluten-free shopping stop is not the same proposition as a restaurant meal. Glee Gluten Lactose Free Lab makes products to take away for later, Atelier Damiano Carrara offers specialist pastries, and I Gelati di Piero has selected gluten-free gelato alongside products containing gluten. The two restaurants below are places to discuss a […]
A vegan meal in Lucca can mean soup with focaccia at Soup in Town, fresh ravioli at In Pasta – Cibo e Convivio, or pizza at Pizzeria Le Mura. Choose by what you want to eat, not by assuming the whole kitchen is vegan. In Pasta has a specifically labelled vegan main course alongside vegetarian […]
Choose the main Lucca Film Festival window if cinema is the reason for your trip. The festival brings screenings and public events into Lucca’s historic centre, making it possible to combine a film-led break with time in the city. If sightseeing matters more than the programme, you have greater freedom to visit before or after […]
Lucca’s walls turn a defensive ring into a place to walk, while Siena’s Piazza del Campo draws you into a city of monumental buildings and Sienese painting. Choose Lucca for relatively level, unstructured wandering, or Siena when art and museum collections are the reason for your stay. Both reward sleeping in the centre, but your […]
Lucca’s extra-virgin olive oil belongs as much on a slice of toasted bread as in a bottle to take home. For a bottle with a protected local origin, look for the Lucca designation, and for one you will enjoy using, pay attention to its aroma and finish too. The hills around the city produce oils […]
Lucca brings together Ilaria del Carretto’s marble tomb in San Martino, the rooftop oaks of Guinigi Tower and the oval Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, with lunch around Via San Paolino and a final walk on the city walls. This is a full-day excursion from Florence, using direct regional trains both ways and leaving the sightseeing on foot. […]
Sant’Ambrogio Market on Piazza Lorenzo Ghiberti gives you four distinct ways to eat inside a working Florentine food market. Choose La Caffetteria del Vecchio Mercato for breakfast, Il Trippaio for a takeaway sandwich, Da Rocco for meatballs at shared tables or Terrazza Menoni for beef tartare. The choice is as much about how you want […]
Viareggio is the simplest choice for a swim combined with a seaside town walk from Lucca. Lido di Camaiore favours a day with sunbeds and beach-club facilities. Motrone offers a free-beach alternative among the clubs, while Lecciona trades the built-up seafront for a longer approach through parkland. Choose for the journey back as well as […]
Florence’s Christmas markets offer three different ways to shop: European-style chalets in Piazza Santa Croce, Tuscan crafts at Fierucola di Natale and charity stalls inside Palazzo Corsini. Choose Santa Croce for hot food and festive decorations, or Palazzo Corsini for sheltered browsing, while Fierucola suits a visit centred on makers and producer goods. You need […]
At the Pisa Book Festival, you can meet independent publishers at the Arsenali Repubblicani, browse their books and spend part of your visit listening to authors. The exhibition is only one part of the festival: literary sessions take place in several nearby venues, so choose the talks you most want to hear and leave space […]
Pisa celebrates New Year’s Eve with music in Piazza dei Cavalieri and fireworks over the Arno. This is a late outdoor evening for travellers who enjoy a public crowd, rather than a seated show: you can join the music, watch from the riverbanks or make dinner the main occasion. Warm layers and a walkable return […]
The Terre di Pisa Food & Wine Festival brings local producers to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II for an October weekend of tasting, shopping and food events. It suits visitors who want to discover what the Pisa area produces, from olive oil and cheese to local wines, rather than simply sit down for a meal. You […]
Pisa’s Internet Festival brings digital culture into public talks, practical workshops and interactive installations across the historic centre. You can listen to an author discuss ideas, try a digital game or join a lab rather than spend your visit in conference sessions. It is a public festival, not a trade-only technology conference. Choose activities around […]
Pisa’s Luminara di San Ranieri turns the Arno riverfront into the focus of an evening of candlelight, followed by fireworks over the water. Choose a riverbank position for the illuminated façades, rather than relying on a place on Ponte di Mezzo itself. The bridge is also a crossing point, and crowd management shapes how you […]
Florence’s Scoppio del Carro, the “Explosion of the Cart”, brings a decorated cart, a historical procession and a burst of fireworks to the cathedral at Easter. It is both a religious observance and a civic celebration, with the main outdoor spectacle in Piazza del Duomo. Choose the procession if you want to see the oxen […]
