Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany is Italy at its most seductive \u2014 a landscape so perfectly composed it seems designed, presiding over a civilisation that gave the world the Renaissance and some of the greatest wine ever produced. Best approached slowly, by car, with no fixed agenda beyond a good lunch and a good bottle of Chianti Classico.

May\u2013June and September\u2013October offer the finest conditions. Late September is particularly special \u2014 the vendemmia (grape harvest) fills the valleys, the light turns golden, and the region\u2019s wines are at their finest. July\u2013August is very hot and crowded in the main towns.

A hire car is essential for rural Tuscany. The SS222 (Chiantigiana) through the Chianti vineyards is among Europe\u2019s most beautiful drives. Florence and Siena are served by Trenitalia from Rome and Milan.

Staying in an agriturismo (working farm with accommodation) is the quintessential Tuscan experience \u2014 hilltop settings, pools, their own wine and home-cooked dinners. Siena makes an excellent base: smaller and less hectic than Florence, genuinely medieval, with superb restaurants.

Uffizi Gallery, Florence: Book the first slot. Limit to two hours for maximum absorption.
Siena\u2019s Piazza del Campo: Sit at Caff\u00e8 il Palio with a Campari at sunset.
San Gimignano at 7am: Before the day-trippers arrive. The gelato at Gelateria Dondoli is genuinely the finest in Italy.
The Chianti wine road (SS222): Stop at Castello di Brolio and Badia a Coltibuono for lunch.
Pienza: The perfect Renaissance hill town \u2014 the Piazza Pio II is as close to perfect urban design as Europe has produced.

Tuscany\u2019s food is honest and deeply satisfying \u2014 bistecca alla Fiorentina, ribollita, pappardelle al cinghiale, pecorino di Pienza. A proper Tuscan lunch in a hill town trattoria, with a carafe of house Chianti, is one of life\u2019s great simple pleasures. For wine: Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are the three great reds.

Tuscany\u2019s hill towns require stamina \u2014 steep streets, uneven paving and steps throughout. The agriturismo lifestyle is inherently relaxed \u2014 swimming pools, afternoon rest and long dinners are built into the rhythm. Italian drivers are assertive on narrow roads \u2014 take your time and let faster traffic pass.

Rural Tuscany is very safe. In Florence, watch for pickpockets near the Duomo and Uffizi. Driving into Florence\u2019s ZTL (restricted traffic zone) without permission results in an automatic fine \u2014 check hotel arrangements carefully.

Volterra (northwest Tuscany) is the most dramatically situated hill town in the region and sees a fraction of San Gimignano\u2019s crowds.
Montalcino on a quiet weekday: walk the medieval walls, visit a cantina for a Brunello tasting, eat wild boar at Osteria Bassomondo.
The Bagno Vignoni hot springs: A medieval spa town where the central square is a thermal pool \u2014 one of Italy\u2019s most extraordinary small places.