Archive for 'Day Trips'

Gambassi Terme is a town in Tuscany, located in the south of Florence province, on the border with the province of Siena, which is home to famous thermal baths. Archaeological evidence indicates that the town has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age but it wasn't properly settled until the Etruscans arrived in the seventh century BC. It was later home to the Romans and there is evidence of a castle there in the Middle Ages, going as far back as 1037. Gambassi Castle then became property of the bishopric of Volterra until the end of the twelfth century before a newer castle was built next to the old in the 12th century. Disputes over the ownership of the town led to bloody battles until it finally came under Florentine rule in the 13th century. Only since 1977 has it been called Gambassi “Terme”, an addition to highlight the importance of its natural spas (the “terme”).     Read More

If you're planning on staying in a villa with pool in Siena and are looking to explore the area more thoroughly while you're there, there's one particularly memorable way to do so! Why not take a horse-riding tour of Siena? The tour will take you from the centre of the city of Siena and then all through the stunning surrounding Tuscan countryside, allowing you to really take it all in at a calm, leisurely pace.

Surely, it will allow you and your party to make some seriously wonderful memories of Tuscany that you will come to cherish for the rest of your lives! You can have fun, get some fresh air, take some great photos and learn more about this beautiful part of the world.     Read More

If you've found a luxury villa in Florence and are spending time in that great city, you might find the crowds of tourists and pace of trying to see everything a little tiresome after a while. Of course, you'll want to see as much as you can and it is worth the lines but it might be worth escaping the city for a little while so you can return revived and ready to tackle the wealth of things to see and do. Why not take a day trip out of the city and get some fresh air by exploring the nearby Chianti region on horseback? A fun and somewhat different way to get around and see things, this is a great way to get some light exercise and to explore both the Tuscan landscape and the wine-making heritage of the famous Chianti area.     Read More

Art is not something which merely lives in the past or which is stuck in museums in Tuscany today. Despite the long historical legacy of art production in the region, it is still very much alive and is visible everywhere you go from the vast array of graffiti in Milan, to Keith Haring in Pisa, to the humorous interventions with mundane objects by Clet in Florence. Just wandering the streets of most Tuscan towns will bring you into contact with art in a way that isn't possible in most other places in the world. Prato, likewise, has art at every turn, from both modern and contemporary artists as well as the older monuments and buildings. Find a vacation rental in Prato and stroll through its medieval streets to uncover the newer artworks hidden in plain sight.     Read More