Italian Holidays         

Don't try to go by car into city centers, you'll only waste a lot of time.
Find a parking in the outskirts.
You normally find posted signs to these when arriving the city.

Try to find your own rythm when driving around.
The traffic is speedy and in high season often dense, let other cars pass so you can continue at your own speed.

Cities known for their art treasures:  Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, Cortona, Arezzo.

San Gimignano with its famous stone towers.
San Gimignano Hotels

Pienza known by it's Renaissance style as well as the agricultural surroundings.
           This is wehere you should taste the original Tuscany cuisine!

Carrara internationally famous for it's marble quarries. It's perfect quality appreciated by famous sculptors like Michelangelo and Henry Moore. This was the irigin of Michelangelo's David.

Carfagnana A beautiful, vigorous and quiet valley between the Orecciella mountains and Alpi Apuane.Best seen from Serravezza, Barga or Castelnuovo di Garfagnana.

Thermal baths: All over Tuscany you'll find thermal wells of volcanic origins.
Used by emperors, kings and aristocrats, Bagni di Lucca must be one of the most famous SPA's. But also the nearby Montecatini Terme is well known, it's architectonic buildings shows a span from the 1700 style to art nouveau.
Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say about hotels in Montecatini Terme

Torre del Lago Pucchini near Viareggio is beautiful place where the famous opera composer Giacomo Puccini were living.
Viareggio Hotels

Montepulciano is a beatiful city with a breathtaking scenic view over parts of Umbria and the southern part of Tuscany also gives visitors the pleasure of tasting it's fantastic
Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say about hotels in Montepulciano
Nobile di Montepulciano wine.
Montalcino offers the same scenic view and here you can taste it's famous wine, the Brunello di Montalcino.

In Crete Senesi you can experience a special landscape called "The Tuscany desert".It consists of ravines formed by eroded clay-ground through hundreds of years.

Monteriggioni is a medieval town worth seeing. It's placed on top of a ridge, completely surrounded by a high wall from the beginning of 1200 when it hosted a garrison.
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Volterra with it's splendid scenery and parts of the old Etruscan walls is absolutely recommended. Museo Guarnacci hosts one of the best collections of Etruscan objects found in Italy.
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Elba is a fantastic island a short distance out from Livorno. It's a beauty and should be visited outside the high season (when its over-populated by tourists...)

Search accomodations for all Italian regions and cities

Search accomodations for all Italian regions and cities

Find the best deal, compare prices and read what other travelers have to say about hotels in Italy

Hotels in Florence

B & B in Florence

Town House suite in Florence

Farmhouses in Florence

Villas in Florence

Castles in Florence

Hotels in Siena

Outside the tourist mainstream you find accomodations like Castello de Gargonza.This is a medieval "castle-city" remade to host tourists in peaceful surroundings in the middle of Toscana. Check out their web-site here: Castello de Gargonza

Tuscany Agri-Camping - A Fun Filled Experience in Tuscany!
Tuscany Agri-Camping you can have a wonderful stay at an agri-camp in the countryside of Tuscany or down by the beach.

Pre-book your events for Music and Theaters all over Italy now!
This way you can relax and enjoy your stay in Italy in a much better way.

Florence special:

 Museums, Tours, Exhibitions, Accomodations and Travel

Piazza del Duomo:
The space in front of the cathedral church (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) is dominated by Brunelleschi’s famous dome. On the other hand, Giotto’s campanile
(a free-standing bell-tower) and Ghiberti’s gold-plated bronze doors
(on the Baptistery) are definitively a monumental eye catcher.

Museo Nazionale del Bargello: Via del Proconsolo, 4
The Bargello concentrates on (renaissance) sculpture, containing many priceless works of art created by such sculptors as Donatello, Giambologna, della Robbia and Michelangelo.

Galleria degli Uffizi: Luggiato degli Uffizi, 6
The Uffizi Gallery (Italian: Galleria degli Uffizi) is a palace or palazzo, holding one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world.

Palazzo Vecchio: Piazza della Signoria
Is the town hall of Florence. This massive, gotic, crenellated building is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany.

Ponte Vecchio:
The Ponte Vecchio (Italian for Old Bridge) is a famous medieval bridgeover the River Arno, noted for having shops (mainly jewelers) built along it. It is Europe's oldest segmental arch bridge.

Palazzo Pitti:
The Palazzo Pitti (sometimes called the Pitti Palace) is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. It was bought by the Medici family in 1539 as the official residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Basilica di San Miniato al Monte: Via Monte alle Croci
(Basilica of St Minias on the Mountain) stands atop one of the highest points in Florence, and has been described as the finest Romanesque structure in Tuscany and one of the most beautiful churches in Italy.

Car driving: (Some useful tips)

Nearby Florence you find the famous Autostrada del Sole (A1), which sweeps trough all Italy. So you can reach Bologna, Milan, Rome and Neaples very fast. When entering the Autostrada you pull a ticket from an automat and when you leave the Autostrada you pay for the distance you have been driving. It’s quite cheap – just bear in mind that the ticket collector usually don’t applaud if you give him a big note! Try to collect a cartain amount of coins just for this purpose… :-)

The traffic police (polizia stradale) can give you a fine if you make any traffic offence. The police has lately started to react hard upon speed driving (the ‘national sport’ of the natives). Don’t flash your headlights, this can also cause a fine.

If you get mixed up in a car accident, call 112 to get the Carabinieri for assistance.

Note that within Florence citycenter (the zone between the avenues paralleling the River Arno) there is a traffic limitation or ZTL (zona traffico limitato). It means that from Monday until Saturday between 07.30 AM and 06.30 PM only inhabitants with special permission are allowed to drive there.

The best advice is to find a parking outside the city and travel in by train or bus.
If you want to drive into the center you should do this before 11.00 AM heading for the Central Railway station. There is a big parking located under street level, it’s not easy to find in the heavy traffic but it can be done…. (I have :-) ).

Other places you can park are: Porta Romana, Cascine (Piazza Vittori Veneto), Fortezza da Basso (Viale Filippo Strozzi) and Piazza Libertà.
If parking over night near the citycenter, be aware not to exceed the time limit! Your car could easily be removed by the guards!
In this case you have to make a call to 35 52 31
(or better have someone at your hotel to make the call). Here you can be told how and when to get your car back from Parco Macchine Requisite placed at
Via Circondaria, 19.

In case engine failure, call 116 to get in contact with ACI (Automobile Club d’Italia) they can assist you.

Some useful signposts (and what they mean):

Curva pericolosa          Dangerous road bend.
Deviazione                    Detour / Diversion.
Divieto di sorpasso      Passing / Overtaking prohibited.
Lavori in corso             Road work.
Pericolo                         Danger.
Rallentare                    Slow down.
Senso vietato / unico    Entrance prohibited / One-way traffic.
Vietato l’ingresso         Entrance prohibited.
Zona pedonale              Pedesstrian area.
ZTL                               Traffic restricted area.

  
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