If you’re staying in Florence it’s easy to arrange day trips to neighbouring cities like Sienna and Pisa, with stop offs to visit local wineries (do your research as these can vary in quality depending on what you’re looking for).

I opted for that visited Montereggianni, Sienna and San Giammano.

The medieval hill town of Montereggiani with its 14 towers was called the crown of Tuscany by Dante.  The town is tiny with currently only 40 inhabitants, but is worth a quick visit for its stunning views.

Sienna was Florence’s sworn enemy from the medieval period and like Florence has an abundance of history and beautiful architecture.  More hilly than Florence, the historic main square (site every summer of a super violent horse race dating back to the middle ages, jockies are still allowed to punch, whip and kick each other during the race). 

The gothic cathedral is also well worth a visit (entrance fee is €5) and is beautiful with its black and white striped columns, sumptuous paintings and library, displaying illuminated texts that are hundreds of years old, in a richly painted gothic hall.

(Quick Traveller Tip) Public bathrooms aren’t really a thing in Italy, so make sure to use the facilities if you stop in for a coffee or a meal.  If you do find a public bathroom you’ll probably have to pay to use, so always keep a couple of euro coins handy)

We moved on to visit San Giammano, a gorgeous hill fort that once boasted of having 77 towers (now there are only 12), built for defense but also to show off the wealth and status of prominent families.  The city boasts the world’s best gelateria, with saffron and pine nuts being their signature flavour (it was yummy).

I also visited the Poggio ai Lachi winery, and learnt more about Italian wines (Chianti classico like champagne has to be from a specific region and can be recognised by a black rooster on the bottle).

I tasted several of their fabulous wines along with local specialities like balsamic vinegar and olive oils. The hosts were also great fun.  Like many of these places you’ll be encouraged to buy the products you try, but there wasn’t a hard sell which was cool.

It’s hard not to fall in love with the romance of the Tuscan countryside.  My new life plan is to win the Euro millions lottery and retire to the region having bought a beautiful farm with an olive grove, vineyard and dog who’ll hunt truffles for me (just putting it out to the universe, (please and thank you).