TOUR DESCRIPTION

After being picked up directly at your accommodation, you will be whisked away along winding, vineyard-filled, roads from Florence to Arezzo (or from any other place in Tuscany), a hilltop Medieval city perched above four sun-drenched valleys.
The vistas, ancient walls, and quaint streets are so quintessentially Tuscan, in fact, that Arezzo served as the setting for Roberto Benigni's Oscar-award winning film "Life is Beautiful".
Aside from the beauty and splendor of panoramic views, Arezzo is the birthplace of Renaissance artist and architect Giorgio Vasari, patron of the Medici family who created many recognizable architectural and artistic Renaissance masterpieces.
You can explore the museum at his home as well as the numerous Romanesque churches and Renaissance palaces.
One of the most notable stops during your Arezzo Tour is the Basilica of San Francesco (dedicated to patron saint St. Francis of Assisi) which houses the newly restored Piero della Francesca Legend of the True Cross fresco cicle. Also, schedule your tour for the first weekend of the month and you will also be able to explore the extensive outdoor Arezzo antique market and bring home some of your own Tuscan treasures.
Arezzo is considered the second most important area of production of gold art and Italian jewelry. In the streets of the center you will meet several artisans jewelers and we can arrange a visit to an important producer.

 

The second stop on your daily tour of Tuscany is the Etruscan town of Cortona, another jewel on top of the hill highlighted in the bestseller by Frances Mayes and in the book inspired film Under the Tuscan Sun in which Diane Lane lives her adventure at Casa Bramasole. At an elevation of 2,000 feet, you’ll explore the steep, narrow streets bustling with small shops and locals, earning that exquisitely savory Tuscan lunch of crostini, pastas, and local desserts, paired with the famous wine Syrah Cortona produced in the area.
We recommend you to visit the small, but important, Etruscan museum of Cortona that preserves, among other things, the "Tabula Cortonensis", a bronze sheet with one of the longest inscriptions ever found in the Etruscan language and ancient artifacts of three millennia, so you will enjoy a dip in the origins of European culture.

In the small Diocesan Museum in front of the Cathedral of Cortona some works by Luca Signorelli are preserved. Signorelli was one of the most important artists of the Renaissance, contemporary of Michelangelo, and was born and lived in Cortona.

The majesty of the views overlooking the famed Val di Chiana (Chiana Valley) and Trasimeno Lake, where Hannibal ambushed the Romans in the Punic Wars, are simply unparalleled.
The picturesque Cortona has timeless appeal from the Etruscans to the Romans to modern-day Hollywood. Come from Florence to Cortona and explore this Tuscan gem with us!

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Available: All year round, rain or shine
• Duration: approximately 8 hours
• Travel time: approximately 3 hours
• All drivers/guides are Tuscan locals
• All tours can be customized according to your interests and/or timetable
• Tours in Tuscany can make suggestions for a personalized itinerary based on your preferences
• Quotes for tour will be personalized according to your needs, timetable, group size, etc.

 

INCLUDED IN THE TOUR

• Luxury, air-conditioned vehicle
• Pick up and drop off in Florence, Siena and surroundings areas in Tuscany
• English-speaking driver at disposal all day
• All local taxes, gasoline, highway/parking tolls, and driver's meal

 

NOT INCLUDED

•  Lunch
• Admission fees where required unless otherwise specified
• Guide inside of official tourist sites such as museums and churches