Pisa
For a Zen-like respite from the Piazza dei Miracoli crowd, explore this peaceful walled garden laced with centurion palm trees, flora typical to the…
Must-see attractions in Tuscany
Livorno
Piccola Venezia is a tangle of small canals built during the 17th century, using Venetian methods of reclaiming land from the sea. At its heart sits the…
Boboli & San Miniato al Monte
Possibly founded by Syrian merchants as early as the 2nd century, the current church is largely a Renaissance construction. Its most extraordinary feature…
Northwestern Tuscany
The Vespa, Italy's iconic scooter, revolutionised travel when Piaggio launched it from its factory in Pontedera, 25km southeast of Pisa, in 1946. The…
Elba
Portoferraio's loftiest highest hill is crowned by this largely intact, 16th-century fort (1548) – a key point, together with Fort Stella and Torre del…
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Guingi
Lucca
Lucchese history from the 8th century BC to late 18th century AD is evoked through archaeological objects, paintings and other artworks at this small…
Montepulciano
Built for Cardinal Giovanni Maria Ricci in the 16th century, this handsome palazzo has a rear loggia with a stunning view of the countryside. Home to many…
Livorno
Livorno's seafront aquarium swims with black-tip reef and zebra sharks, seahorses, Madagascan spider tortoises, moon jellyfish and impressive green sea…
Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla
Arezzo
This 13th-century abbey was rebuilt to a design by Vasari in the 16th century, and its austerely elegant Romanesque exterior stands in extreme contrast to…
Museo Civico & Pinacoteca Crociani
Montepulciano
It was a curatorial dream come true: in 2011 a painting in the collection of this modest art gallery was attributed to Caravaggio. The work, Portrait of a…
Volterra
As befits a town that's hewn the precious material from nearby quarries since Etruscan times, Volterra is the proud possessor of an alabaster museum. It's…
Siena
Remarkably, this vaulted space under the duomo's pulpit was totally filled with debris in the late 1300s and was only excavated and restored in 1999…
San Lorenzo & San Marco
Founded in 1545 to furnish medicine to the Medici, Florence's botanical gardens – managed today by the university – are a wonderfully peaceful retreat in…
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi
Lucca
This 16th-century mansion built for a wealthy Luccan merchant is a wonderful piece of rococo excess. The private apartments are draped head to toe in…
Siena
Completed in 1348, this 87m-high red-brick-and-travertine bell tower commands magnificent views from its highest levels. Its name (The Tower of Eater)…
Chianti
Medieval Montefioralle crowns a rise just east of Greve, and can be accessed via a 2km walking path from the town centre (head up Via San Francesco, off…
Livorno
Laid out in 1854 to prettify the wasteland around the city's great water cistern (unveiled in 1842), this lush public park is a peaceful green oasis of…
Northwestern Tuscany
Neoclassical Villa Grabau, 11km north of Lucca in San Pancrazio, sits among a vast parkland with sweeping traditional English- and Italian-styled gardens,…
San Gimignano
Protected and opened to the public by the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI), the Italian National Trust equivalent, this art- and antique-filled tower house…
Museo Civico Archeologico di Pitigliano
Southern Tuscany
Head up the stone stairs to this small but well-run museum, which has rich displays of finds from local Etruscan sites. Highlights include some huge…
Duomo & Piazza della Signoria
The Dante House Museum was built in 1910 above the foundations of Dante's dwelling. Up the road, 11th-century Chiesa di Santa Margherita, nicknamed …
Santuario della Madonna del Monte
Elba
To enjoy an invigorating 40-minute hike, head up through Marciana along Via della Madonna to reach this much-altered hilltop chapel with its 13th-century…
Siena
Nestled in the shadow of the huge Gothic church of San Francesco, this 15th-century oratory is dedicated to St Bernardino and decorated with Mannerist…
Southern Tuscany
In the 7th century BC Roselle (Rusellae) was already an Etruscan town; it fell under Roman control in the 3rd century BC. Although there are no great…
San Gimignano
The name of this 13th-century church refers to its original location next to a drawbridge (ponte means bridge) leading to the bishop's castle. The…
Eastern Tuscany
When you tire of magnificent art and churches, take a break in this medicinal plant museum inside 18th-century Palazzo Bourbon del Monte. Exhibits provide…
Chiesa di San Pietro alla Magione
Siena
Serenely beautiful, this Romanesque church was built in the 10th century and used by the Knights Templar in the 12th century. It then passed to the…
Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati
Siena
Occupying 13th-century buildings once used by the University of Siena, this municipal library was established in the 1750s. Its labyrinthine structure…
Siena
Sheltering behind an anonymous facade, this Ashkenazi synagogue in Siena's former Ghetto once serviced a community of 500. Sadly, a mere 50 Jews now live…
Livorno
Constructed between 1704 and 1714 but extensively damaged during WWII and subsequently rebuilt, this church was named after the King of Castile. Its…
Museo Nazionale della Residenze Napoleoniche
Elba
Villa dei Mulini was home to Napoleon during his stint in exile on this small isle. With its Empire-style furnishings, splendid library, fig-tree-studded…
Pistoia
Just steps from Piazza del Duomo is this beautiful gem of a Romanesque church, thought to date from the 8th to 10th centuries within the ancient city…
Pistoia
Pistoia's Gothic Palazzo Communale is strung with works by Tuscan artists from the 13th to 20th centuries. Don't miss Bernardino di Antonio Detti's…
Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo a Passignano
Chianti
The four Vallombrosan monks who call this medieval abbey home open their quarters to visitors on regular guided tours. The highlight is the refectory,…
Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo
Chianti
An 11th-century church on this site was destroyed in the 13th century and replaced by this structure, which was subsequently heavily altered over the…
Pistoia
This gallery inside Palazzo del Tau is devoted to Pistoia's most famous modern son, sculptor and painter Marino Marini (1901–80). Dozens of his drawings…
Montepulciano
Elegant Piazza Grande is the town's highest point and main meeting place. If you think it looks familiar, it might be because it featured in New Moon, the…
Livorno
This early-18th-century Domenican church with its thick stone walls and prominent dome stands sentry on the western side of Piazza dei Domenicani as it…
Centro Per l'Arte Contemporanea Pecci
Northwestern Tuscany
The striking work of Holland-based, Indonesian architect Maurice Nio at Prato's contemporary-art museum lures art lovers into its lair with a dazzling…
Santa Croce
Though Michelangelo never lived in Casa Buonarroti, his heirs devoted some of the artist’s hard-earned wealth to the construction of this 17th-century…
