Riserva Naturale Provinciale Diaccia Botrona

Southern Tuscany

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The marshes surrounding the coastal town of Castiglione della Pescaia are an important shelter for migrating birds, and this 12.7-sq-km nature reserve off the SS322 is a wonderful chance to explore this flat yet fascinating landscape. Boat tours (adult/child €12/6; 5pm, 6pm and 7pm Tuesday to Sunday mid-June to mid-September) enable you to spot waterfowl, heron, flamingo and other species; book in advance.

Boat tours leave from Casa Rossa Ximenes, a handsome sluice-house commissioned in the mid-18th century by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I of Lorraine to help reclaim the marshes for agriculture and reduce the area's horrifyingly high levels of malaria.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Underground chamber tombs carved into the sandstone, Etruscan Necropolis of the Caves, Populonia. They all date back to the Hellenistic period (4th - 2nd century BC).

    Parco Archeologico di Baratti e Populonia

    24.99 MILES

    The Etruscan sites on display here are some of Tuscany's finest. Four marked walking trails lead through a vast green park, revealing a ruined town and…

  • Cattedrale di San Cerbone

    Cattedrale di San Cerbone

    19.38 MILES

    Presiding over photogenic Piazza Garibaldi (aka Piazza Duomo), Massa Marittima's asymmetrically positioned 13th-century duomo (cathedral) is dedicated to…

  • Parco Regionale della Maremma

    Parco Regionale della Maremma

    12.44 MILES

    This spectacular regional park incorporates the Uccellina Mountain Range, marshy plains and 20km of unspoiled coast. Access is limited to 12 signed…

  • Museo Archeologico e d'Arte della Maremma

    Museo Archeologico e d'Arte della Maremma

    10.84 MILES

    Grosseto's major tourist drawcard features an archaeological museum on the ground floor and a museum of ecclesiastical art upstairs. Items unearthed from…

  • Fonte dell'Abbondanza

    Fonte dell'Abbondanza

    19.4 MILES

    A rather risqué surprise lurks in the street-level loggia (balcony) of a 13th-century former wheat store close to Piazza Garibaldi. The loggia shelters…

  • Abbazia di San Galgano

    Abbazia di San Galgano

    29.23 MILES

    This now-ruined 13th-century Cistercian abbey was one of the finest Gothic buildings of its day. On a hill above is the tiny, round Romanesque Cappella di…

  • Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro

    Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro

    26.22 MILES

    The area's 3000-year mining history is explored at this intriguing industrial site in Campiglia Marittima, approximately 10km inland from San Vincenzo…

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Nearby Southern Tuscany attractions

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