Tuscany

Florence holds the densest concentration of Renaissance art anywhere. The Uffizi and the Accademia (Michelangelo's David) both need timed tickets booked well ahead; the Duomo complex, with Brunelleschi's dome and the climb up the campanile, needs its own combined ticket. Quieter and often better: the Bargello for sculpture, the Brancacci Chapel frescoes and the Palazzo Pitti gardens.

Siena is the medieval counterweight, built in brick around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo where the Palio horse race runs each July and August. Its striped cathedral is arguably the finest in Italy. Two or three nights in Florence and one in Siena is a sensible split before heading into the countryside.

San Gimignano keeps fourteen of its medieval tower houses and is magical early and late, and overrun in the middle of the day. Volterra is the Etruscan alternative, higher, windier and far less visited. Montepulciano and Pienza sit an easy drive apart in the Val d'Orcia, one for Vino Nobile and one for pecorino cheese and the most famous view in Tuscany.

Lucca is flat, walled and best seen by bicycle on top of its ramparts. Arezzo has the Piero della Francesca fresco cycle and almost no crowds. Pisa is worth a couple of hours for the Field of Miracles and not much more.

Three wine roads cover most of what people come for. Chianti Classico between Florence and Siena is the easiest, with cellar doors in Greve, Panzano and Radda. Montalcino produces Brunello, the most serious (and expensive) reds in the region. Bolgheri on the coast makes the Super Tuscans, with a famous cypress avenue leading into town.

Book tastings a day or two ahead; most estates take small groups by appointment rather than walk-ins. Nominate a driver, as rural police checks are common and the limit is low.

Eat simply and seasonally: bistecca alla fiorentina shared between two or three, ribollita and pappa al pomodoro in winter, wild boar ragù with pici pasta, pecorino from Pienza, and cantucci with vin santo to finish. A lunch menù in a country trattoria is often €15-20 and better than the equivalent in Florence.

Fly into Florence (FLR) or Pisa (PSA), and rent a car once you leave the city, not before. Historic centres are ZTL restricted-traffic zones with automatic cameras, and fines arrive months later through the rental company. Park outside the walls and walk in, every time.

The train covers Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo and Siena well. Everything else really needs a car. An agriturismo, a working farm with rooms, is the classic countryside stay and usually the best value, especially with a group or family.

May, June, September and October are ideal: warm days, long light and, in autumn, the grape and olive harvest with truffle season following in November. July and August are hot, sometimes 35°C and above, and the cities are packed.

Winter is cold and quiet, with many rural restaurants and hotels shut, but Florence's museums are blissfully empty. Budget roughly €150-250 a day for two in a mid-range agriturismo with a car, meals and a tasting or two.

If you want more of Italy, the guides for Puglia and Rome pair naturally with this one.