Italy Travel Tours

Posts Tagged ‘Montepulciano’

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.

New in Tuscany Italy travel this year is the range of options in accommodations and a reduced price structure.  The global recession hasn’t stopped restaurants and museums in Italy from increasing their prices a little.

However the hospitality industry has responded by dropping their rates.  There have never been more options for tourists hoping to discover this destination admired the world over.

Here are some of the highlights of Tuscany for today’s traveler.  First of all, the ancient town of Assisi is recovered from the earthquake that decimated it in 1989.  Tourists are hard-pressed to see signs of the disaster.  The cathedral and fortress had final repairs in 2006.  Assisi remains a top choice for religious Pilgrims hoping to see St. Francis’s birth place.

There are exciting things happening in Cortona, including the Museo dell’ Accademia Estrusca and the church of San Francesco.  The museum now has some of the relics which were removed from the facility years ago.

Livorno has a spectacular waterfront area which has just been overhauled to resemble Nice or Cannes.  Buses will take you to the waterfront on the southern shore as it is a bit of a haul for pedestrians, and it is known for its fine seafood restaurants.

One of the best kept secrets of Tuscany is Lucca, a favorite among the tour guides themselves.  The Puccini Festival offers an opera concert every night in San Giovanni.

Montepulciano capitalizes on the wine industry.  Many of the locals will put you up in their apartments. A professional tour guide will bring you right to the wineries.  You will find a delightful choice in tour guides by visiting the website of the sponsor of this Blog, “Tour Tuscany with Me”.

Of course there is Pisa and its famous leaning Tower.  The hotel industry here has suffered from the recession and has responded by luring Delta Airlines to provide a non-stop flight from New York.

Even if you’ve been to this region before, Tuscany Italy travel has many updates for new memories.