Tuscany – Italy, thé region in Europe with probably the most beautiful cities and views ever. We all know the famous cities of Florence, Siena and Pisa, they are defenitely worth the visit! Besides the big/famous cities, Tuscany has plenty of smaller villages/cities that are truly beautiful. We loved a mix of small villages and the architecture of the big cities. During our 7 months in Tuscany, we’ve been visiting the following cities that we recommend:
Lucca
Lucca, the city we’ve been living for 7 months. We always say to eachother: if there is one city we would want to live, it would be Lucca. It’s kind of small, has the most amazing architecture, super friendly people and the area is super green. We really felt at home and safe in this city.
Lucca is a walled – car free city with a historical old town. The old town has so many small streets to wander around, we never got bored walking in this city. On the wall you’ll find people walking, pickinking and sporting. Around Lucca it’s super green with a river, hills and mountains close by.
Volterra
Volterra is a medieval village on top of a hill in the province of Pisa. The center is small, but very beautiful with it’s small streets and churches. You’ll have great views over the landscape in Tuscany. Not only the village is worth a visit, but the road to it is just as beautiful through the hills.
Florence
Florence, this one cannot miss in the list of the beautiful cities in the world! We must say, we are more the nature people than the city people, but Florence is amazing. Besides that it has the most beautiful architecture in the world, it felt like a super clean and safe city. A lot of parks in the city, and every corner had something beautiful. The duomo (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore), is the third biggest dome in the world. In real it’s even bigger than you expect, we were amazed by it and could stare at it for hours!
Pienza
This small village is already pretty famous, but defenitetly for a reason! In the middle of Val D’Orcia, you’ll find another village on top of a hill: Pienza. The architecture of the super old town is beautiful, in combination with the amazing views over Val D’Orcia. You’ll have a great view over the national park since the village is high. You can walk around the village to see each side of the view.
barga
In the mountains of Tuscany, you’ll find the colorfull village of Barga. Also a beautiful medieval town with loads of tunnels and small streets. The village is car free and can be very steep. At the top there is a big church, where you can enjoy the view over Garfanana, the mountain area of Tuscany.
Siena
In the middle of the wine region and close to Val D’Orcia, another amazing city. Siena is famous for the big square where you could see the Palio. This was actually the only thing we knew about Siena. But this city has so much more to offer! The surroundings and the road to it, are just as beautiful.
Nozzano Castello
A village and castle in one! A few kilometers outside of Lucca you’ll see this town, also on top of a hill. It once was a powerfull stronghold, but is now a beautiful small town. The castle is in the middle, and there are some houses around the castle. Very nice to just walk around.
Pisa
Pisa, everyone knows this city for the leaning tower and this is the main attraction of the city. Pisa is actually a very small city and you can walk it in a few hours. Besides the leaning tower, it’s very nice to walk along the river that goes through the city with some more beautiful architecture.
Pistoia
Pistoia is a city close to Florence but so much less famous. The city is actually beautiful and has a lot of history. It has a dome which looks like the one in Florence, but much smaller. The surroundings of the town are super green, and you could walk along the river for a more relaxing day.
Montecatini Terme
Montecatini is famous for it’s thermal waters. It’s the biggest spa town in Italy, but the city itself is not so big. You could spent the day in one of the spa’s, of visit the Terme Tettuccio in Montecatini. You can see all the fountains, drink the water from the tap and walk around in the park. We were suprised by this town! It has some beautiful roman architecture and felt like we almost walked in Rome. Defenitely worth a visit.
In Montecatini you can go up with the funiculare to Montecatini Alto. It’s a small village on the top of the hill and has beautiful views over the city and surroundings. You can walk around in the city to see each side, and there are plenty of restaurants to eat some pizza or pasta!
