Where to After Florence? 3 Tuscan Hill Towns to Explore.

Our Grand Tour ends in Florence, the gateway to Tuscany with its picturesque hill towns surrounded by endless wineries and sun-drenched countryside. The Tuscan hill country is a worthy option for those looking to extend their stays and do some further exploring. The following post from bloggers Beth & Randy is guaranteed to leave you hungry (perhaps quite literally) to explore more of this iconic region of Italy. 

Siena and San Gimignano are the most well known hill towns in Tuscany, but they certainly are not the only ones. In fact, central Italy is famous for its hill towns. Their crumbling stone walls seem to cling to every rocky peak, watching over the manicured valleys and vineyards as the rush of the 21st century passes by below. During our stay with Stefano, we visited three hill towns, including Chianciano Terme, in the Siena Province. Each offered a taste of what eludes so many visitors to Italy: tranquility and tradition.

CHIANCIANO VECCHIA

Wine tasting in the cellar of Agricola Fontanelle.

Separated by a valley, Chianciano Vecchia is only a 10 minute walk following Via Madonna della Rossa from Agriturismo La Pietriccia. We spent most of our time in Chianciano Vecchia exploring the wines of Agricola Fontanelle. In the cave-like cellars of the small batch winery, we met with winemaker Riccardo Rosati who, along with his two brothers, produces world-class wines from experience they’ve inherited from generations of family winemaking. We spent a few hours with Riccardo and his family, sampling their wines and incredible selection of cured meats and olive oil. The family’s warmth made us feel like locals, just visiting with some friends on a weekday night.

MONTALCINO

If Virginia is for lovers then Montalcino is for wine lovers. This medieval hill town is famous for its Brunello di Montalcino red wines, featuring an array of enoteche (wine bars). Heck, even the 14th century fortezza contains one. Just outside of Montalcino sits the Abbey of Sant’Antimo. Located in a valley of olive trees, the abbey is considered to be one of the top architectural remains of the Romanesque Period. Several times a day the church’s community of monks fill the 12th century stone hall with the harmonious sounds of traditional Gregorian chants. We got to hear the chants in person and it was mesmerizing. The performances are free and open to the public.

PIENZA

A beautiful, typical scene in this perfect Italian town.

Named after pope Pius II, Pienza is full of renaissance architecture, moving with the feel of a modern day medieval village. As I looked out over the gentle, carefully cultivated hills of Val d’Orcia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was easy to see the inspiration behind pope Pius II decision to remodel his hometown in the style of his day: Renaissance. Besides the hill towns’ grand views and classic architecture, Pienza is also known for its sheep’s milk cheese, pecorino. Plus, with streets names like Via Dell’Amore (Love), Via Del Bacio (Kiss) and Via Della Fortuna (Fortune), it is difficult not to fall head over heels for this charming hilltop town. 

How To Travel Europe Hassle-Free (While Seeing More)

 
Traveling in Europe requires a bit of a learning curve. 

Picture yourself in a new city standing on a street corner, map outstretched before you while your traveling companion tries to cross-reference your location with your trusty guide book. In less than an hour, your train leaves from the station across town—but you’re still trying to locate the closest metro station. 

Quite quickly your romantic European vacation can morph into an unexpected opportunity for you to practice your conflict resolution skills. 

If you’re trying to see a number of different cities, scenes like these can become all too common. It’s easy to spend a lot of time and energy managing your itinerary, catching your next flight, and finding your next hotel—while schlepping yourself and your luggage all over the streets of the beautiful European cities you’re trying to enjoy.

With OneLife Tours it's easy—simply bring your bag down to the hotel lobby and step into our private coach. We drive you door to door, accompanied by our expert guides. All of our tours are designed to make travel between cities hassle-free and expedient.

Because we have our own vehicle, we have a degree flexibility that simply isn’t possible while traveling by rail or plane. We take advantage of this flexibility by stopping at noteworthy historical sites that would be next to impossible to see otherwise. For instance on our Grand Tour we're able to make a stop at the fascinating site of the battle of Verdun. During the First World War, this small French village was the stage for the longest continuous battle in the history of modern warfare. 

 
Our guides are passionate about the places we visit and know exactly where to go and what to see. Our tours allow you to maximize your enjoyment of Europe while minimizing your stress and planning. You can sit back and enjoy the ride knowing you’ll arrive in the next city with the time and energy to explore. 

With OneLife Tours there’s zero hassle and zero time wasted on missed connections and other unexpected headaches that can come with navigating unfamiliar foreign cities. 

Free up your time and energy with OneLife Tours to truly explore the magnificent art, culture, and food of Europe.