Things to see in Tuscany
89 places in Tuscany you should see at least once in your life.
Anghiari
The village of the battle painted by Leonardo
ArtArezzo and the Legend of the True Cross
Piero della Francesca's masterpiece in the basilica of San Francesco
FaithThe Sanctuary of La Verna
The mountain where St Francis received the stigmata
VillagesCortona
An Etruscan hill town with a view over the Valdichiana and Lake Trasimeno
ArtMonterchi and the Madonna del Parto
Piero della Francesca's pregnant Madonna in a small museum
FaithCamaldoli
A hermitage and a monastery in the heart of the ancient forests
CastlesPoppi and the Castle of the Conti Guidi
The castle of the Casentino, where Dante was a guest
NatureThe Foreste Casentinesi National Park
One of the oldest forests in Europe, between Tuscany and Romagna
ArtSansepolcro and the Resurrection
The hometown of Piero della Francesca and the painting that saved it
VillagesCertaldo
Boccaccio's red brick village, reached by funicular
ArchaeologyFiesole
The Roman theatre and the view of Florence from the hill
Faith · UNESCOThe Basilica of Santa Croce
The temple of Italian glories, with the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and Machiavelli
Art · UNESCOThe Baptistery and the Gates of Paradise
The bronze doors that Michelangelo said were worthy of Paradise
Art · UNESCOThe Medici Chapels
Michelangelo's New Sacristy, where Night and Day keep watch over the Medici tombs
Art · UNESCOBrunelleschi's Dome and Florence Cathedral
Climb the most famous dome of the Renaissance, built without scaffolding from the ground
Art · UNESCOMichelangelo's David at the Accademia
The marble giant in the tribune built just for him
Art · UNESCOThe Uffizi Gallery
Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Caravaggio in one of the world's great museums
Food & wineThe Mercato Centrale and lampredotto
A sandwich of tripe and the market where Florentines do their shopping
Art · UNESCOThe Bargello Museum
The great museum of Renaissance sculpture in a medieval fortress
Art · UNESCOPalazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens
The palace of the Medici grand dukes and their Italian garden on the hill
Art · UNESCOPalazzo Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria
The open-air sculpture gallery and the town hall of the Florentine Republic
CuriositiesPiazzale Michelangelo and San Miniato al Monte
The postcard view of Florence, best at sunset
Art · UNESCOPonte Vecchio and the Vasari Corridor
The goldsmiths' bridge and the secret passage of the Medici
Faith · UNESCOSanta Maria Novella
Masaccio's Trinity and the world's oldest pharmacy still in business
Art · UNESCOThe Medici villas of Castello and La Petraia
The country houses of the Medici, part of a UNESCO site, on the edge of Florence
Food & wineGreve and the Florentine Chianti
A funnel-shaped square and the gentle hills of Chianti Classico
CuriositiesImpruneta
The home of Tuscan terracotta and the peposo stew
FaithThe Mugello and Bosco ai Frati
The green valley of the Medici and Michelozzo's convent in the woods
CuriositiesVinci and the Leonardo Museum
The hill town where the genius was born, among olive groves
ArtThe Tarot Garden
Niki de Saint Phalle's giant mosaic sculptures in the Maremma hills
SeaCastiglione della Pescaia
A fishing port and a walled village above the Maremma beaches
NatureThe Maremma Natural Park
Wild beaches, pine forests and the butteri, the cowboys of Tuscany
SeaGiglio Island
Granite, clear water and a medieval village on top of the island
SpasThe Saturnia hot springs
Free waterfalls of warm sulphurous water among the fields
VillagesMassa Marittima
A medieval mining town with one of the finest cathedral squares in Italy
SeaMonte Argentario
A mountain island linked to the coast by sandbars, with coves and Spanish forts
VillagesPitigliano
The little Jerusalem carved into a cliff of tuff
ArchaeologySovana and the vie cave
Etruscan tombs and sunken roads cut deep into the rock
SeaThe beaches of Elba
Fetovaia, Cavoli and Sant'Andrea, between granite and clear water
NatureCapraia
A wild volcanic island of trails, cliffs and clear water
Food & wineBolgheri and the cypress avenue
Carducci's cypresses and the home of the Super Tuscans
CuriositiesLivorno and the Terrazza Mascagni
A chessboard promenade on the sea and the city of cacciucco
ArchaeologyPopulonia and the Gulf of Baratti
The only Etruscan city built on the sea, above a perfect bay
SeaElba and Portoferraio
Napoleon's island of exile and its Medici port
VillagesBarga
A hilltop village in the Serchio valley with a cathedral facing the Apuan Alps
CuriositiesThe Devil's Bridge
A daring medieval hump-backed bridge over the Serchio
NatureThe Grotta del Vento
Underground lakes, chasms and alabaster in the Apuan Alps
SeaForte dei Marmi
The elegant Versilia, with its fort, pier and beach clubs
FaithLucca Cathedral and Ilaria del Carretto
The Volto Santo and Jacopo della Quercia's sleeping young wife
ArtThe Walls of Lucca
Four kilometres of tree-lined ramparts to walk or cycle around the city
ArtPiazza dell'Anfiteatro
An oval square born on the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre
CuriositiesTorre Guinigi
The medieval tower with holm oaks growing on top
ArtPietrasanta
The little Athens of sculptors, between marble and bronze foundries
CuriositiesThe Viareggio Carnival
Giant papier-mâché floats parading along the seafront
ArtPuccini in Lucca and Torre del Lago
The composer's birthplace and his villa on Lake Massaciuccoli
CuriositiesThe Carrara marble quarries
The white mountains that gave Michelangelo his marble
Food & wineColonnata and its lardo
A quarrymen's village and the pork fat cured in marble basins
CastlesThe Castle of Fosdinovo
The Malaspina fortress, Dante's host and its ghost
ArchaeologyPontremoli and the stele statues
The mysterious stone figures of the Lunigiana
FaithThe Charterhouse of Calci
A vast baroque monastery and a natural history museum at the foot of Monte Pisano
Art · UNESCOThe Monumental Cemetery of Pisa
A Gothic cloister built around earth brought from the Holy Land
Art · UNESCOThe Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli
The most famous tilt in the world, in a field of white marble
Food & wineSan Miniato and its white truffle
A hill town on the Via Francigena and the white truffle of the Pisan hills
NatureThe Balze of Volterra
Cliffs of clay that have swallowed churches and necropolises
VillagesVolterra
The Etruscan city of alabaster on a windswept hill
Art · UNESCOThe Medici Villa of Poggio a Caiano
Lorenzo the Magnificent's villa, model of the Renaissance country house
CastlesPrato and the Emperor's Castle
Frederick II's white castle and the city of cantucci
SpasMontecatini Terme
Liberty-style spa palaces and a funicular to the medieval village
CuriositiesCollodi and Pinocchio
The village of Pinocchio's author and the baroque Garzoni Garden
ArtPistoia and its Piazza del Duomo
A striped baptistery, a glazed frieze and one of Tuscany's finest squares
CuriositiesThe Ferriere suspension bridge
A swaying footbridge 36 metres above the Lima river
MountainsAbbadia San Salvatore and Monte Amiata
An extinct volcano, chestnut woods and a Lombard crypt
NatureThe Crete Senesi
Lunar hills of grey clay between Siena and the Val d'Orcia
FaithMonte Oliveto Maggiore
A monastery in the Crete Senesi and a cloister frescoed by Signorelli and Sodoma
SpasBagni San Filippo
White limestone waterfalls and free hot pools in the woods of Monte Amiata
FaithThe Abbey of San Galgano
A roofless Gothic abbey and a sword thrust into a rock
FaithThe Abbey of Sant'Antimo
A Romanesque abbey in pale stone among olive trees and cypresses
Food & wineMontalcino and Brunello
The fortress town of one of Italy's greatest red wines
VillagesMontepulciano
Vino Nobile, Renaissance palaces and cellars carved into the hill
VillagesMonteriggioni
A perfect ring of walls and towers that Dante put in the Inferno
Villages · UNESCOPienza
Pope Pius II's ideal Renaissance town, and its pecorino
Food & wineThe Sienese Chianti and Radda
Medieval villages and cellars in the land of the Black Rooster
Villages · UNESCOSan Gimignano
The medieval Manhattan, with its skyline of stone towers
SpasBagno Vignoni
A village whose main square is a pool of hot spring water
Nature · UNESCOVal d'Orcia
The landscape of cypresses and rolling hills that defines Tuscany
Faith · UNESCOSiena Cathedral and its marble floor
Striped columns, an inlaid floor and the Piccolomini Library
Art · UNESCOPalazzo Pubblico and the Allegory of Good Government
The frescoes that explain how a city should be run
CuriositiesThe Palio of Siena
Ninety seconds of bareback racing around Piazza del Campo
Art · UNESCOSiena and Piazza del Campo
The shell-shaped square, one of the most beautiful in the world