Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Tuscany is a photogenic place with picture-perfect views and attractions around every corner. From the rolling hills topped by medieval villages and the valleys filled with vineyards, to the ideal Renaissance town of Pienza and staggering architectural gems of Florence, there are all sorts of must-see sights that you'll want to see with you own eyes and then capture on film forever.

Some of these things are well-known and obvious but there are some that you might never heard of before. This author has chosen some of her favourites to share with you; some of Tuscany's most photogenic sights and picturesque spots that you must track down!

1. The hills surrounding Dicomano

I recently wrote about the excellent Agriturismo Frascole, a winery in the Tuscan Apennines, where I had a wonderful day tasting wine with my family.

We've recently written a lot of posts about shopping and fashion in Tuscany and Florence, in particular, is a great place for those interested in Italian fashion to go shopping. While Milan is more famous for her fashion and one of the main fashion capitals of the world, Florence is also a very important city in Italian fashion and has been ranked in the top 15 fashion capitals of the world. Famous designers like Gucci and Pucci come from and are still headquartered in the city and there are endless great places to go shopping all over.

Florence is known for her museums and the Medici, in particular, were instrumental in building, and leaving behind, the extraordinary wealth of priceless artworks that live in the city today. However, in addition to their collecting of art, they also assembled a vast selection of natural specimens such as fossils, animals, minerals and plants. These examples and a large collections of books are held today in the Museum of Natural History.

Opened to the public in 1775 by Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, it was originally comprised of several natural history collections housed within the Palazzo Torrigiani on Via Romana. It has grown immensely over the centuries and is now one of the finest collections in the country.

Twinkly lights bouncing off historic walls, children screaming in delight at the sight of Santa or Befana (the kindly witch who delivers Christmas gifts in Italy), the smell of mulled wine and freshly made food wafting from a market, warming cold hands on hot drinks after ice-skating, tables laden with local delights, live cribs filled with cute animals...all of this and much more, besides, can be found all throughout Tuscany each Christmas.

However, you will also find that every city and town has its own unique traditions and areas of expertise and offer a slightly different experience.

Whether you're all about the food, the sweets, family fun, traditional markets or some other specific facet of festive fun, there is a different town that will best cater to your whims.

Tuscany is a wonderful and magical place at Christmas; historic cities all lit up with twinkling lights, traditional Christmas markets, incredible live crib scenes, Santa's grottoes and chances to meet Befana (the kindly witch who traditionally delivers gifts at Christmas in Italy), and absolute piles of delicious food all over.

If you are thinking of spending Christmas abroad, it is an ideal destination that is full of festive cheer!

In this series, we have been discussing different cities and towns across the region, each of which has their own unique selling points that can suit you whether you are interested in markets, Christmas sweets, ice-skating or other specific festive activities. Here are more of our picks of great Tuscan destinations this Christmas.