Italy Travel Tours

Posts Tagged ‘Easy Italy Tours’

For Easy Italy Tours consider viewing the country by car.  With a creative driver and eight hours of time, you can become an expert on the Florence region of Tuscany.

Nothing is easier than getting picked up at the hotel by your driver.  Ask her to take you to the Piazzale Michelangelo, a terrace named for the artist himself.  The drive alone is a marvel.  It’s called the Viale Dei  Colli and it takes you past ancient walls to the 1590 Forte Belvedere built by the Grand Duke Ferdinand.

As you descend the hill away from Belvedere, you’ll see the old gate to the city called the Porta Romana and in front of you will be the Pitti Palace by Filippo Brunelleschi.  It is the largest Palace in Florence and central to several museums and galleries such as the Costume Gallery, Royal Apartments, the Gallery of Modern Art, and the Silver and Porcelain museums.

Another Brunelleschi masterpiece is the Cathedral at Santa Maria del Fiore, built from 1420 to 1434.  From there you can take a short ride with your tour guide to Piazza della Signoria, another medieval landmark integral to the development of historic  Florence.  It was originally the seat of the “heads of Guilds” or the Priori delle Arti.

Your driver will sense you are hungry and she will recommend a popular trattoria in Florence for you to tempt your taste buds.  You have not experienced pasta from the Mother Land until you have had home made pasta from Tuscany.

If shopping is your hobby, the bargains are here and easy to pick up.  There are outlet shopping centers featuring Milan’s top designers.  Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo, Armani and Fendi are all represented in these Easy Italy Tours and are sure to please your loved ones when you arrive home again.

To begin Easy Italy Tours it helps to know the basics about this exotic and popular destination.  Many people choose to focus their trip on Tuscany and with good reason.  Novels like “Under the Tuscan Sun” have sent visitors flocking to this region to explore its wonders.

Tuscany covers the heart of central Italy with a population of 3.5 million people.  Florence is the capital city of Tuscany.  Ringed by the Apennines mountains, Tuscany is predominantly hilly but with large plains.

The most famous aspect of Tuscany is its art history and geographical beauty.  The capitals of the ten provinces are Arezzo, Florence, Grosseto, Livorno, Lucca, Pisa, Pistoia and Siena.

Tuscany is easy to access with airports in Florence and Pisa.  A highway called the A1 connects the north with the south.  A11 is the coastal road connecting Florence with the sea.

More scenic are the feeder roads called the Via Aurellia, Via Cassia and the Via Clodia.  If you prefer to experience Europe’s sophisticated rail system, the Milan-Rome line will speed you on your way from north to south through the cities of Prato, Arezzo and Florence.

Tuscany also includes breathtakingly beautiful ports in Piombino and Livorno.  From here tour boats and pleasure yachts set sail for Elba, Corsica, Sardinia and the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago.

With all that Tuscany has to offer, it is difficult to know where to begin.  Many Americans begin in the city of Florence, however Siena and the thrilling Piazza del Campo, and Pisa and its famous Leaning Tower, and the old fortress in Livorno are equally impressive.

There is also an area called Minor Tuscany and this includes tiny medieval villages called Fiesole, San Gimignano , Montepulciano and Volterra.

Contact Federica Merli at Tuscany With Me, to custom design a trip that you will remember for the rest of your life.  No matter where you begin your Easy Italy Tours you’ll have a memorable time.