Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Tuscany isn’t short on beautiful scenery or incredible views and ways to take them in. So many of her towns are built on hilltops, affording the most amazing sweeping vistas over the surrounding landscapes. There are also plenty of buildings all over that you can visit to admire the view from up on top of them. However, if you really want to admire a good view, the best combo is a nice hike to work up a little bit of a sweat, some fresh air and natural surroundings to admire along the way, and then a great view from the top of the trail as a reward for all of your efforts. Like hilltop towns and pretty vantage points, there is not a shortage of great hiking trails to choose from in Tuscany, however, if we were to recommend one today, it would be the Passo di Dante on Monte Pisano. If you have found a vacation rental in Pisa and you’re looking for somewhere to go for a pleasant and not overly challenging hike that boasts history and truly excellent views, then this is just the spot for you!

Monte Pisano has quite a few different routes to choose from and these routes are of various levels of difficulty, meaning that there is probably something to suit everyone, no matter their kind of previous experience with hiking or fitness level. All boast excellent views – with panoramas over the Tuscan Coast to one side of the mountain and across to the Lucca and Apuan Alps on the other side – and traverse through a stunning landscape made up of forestry dotted by ruins of ancient monasteries, pretty little churches, and old farmhouses.

Volterra is a beautiful, medieval hilltop town in Tuscany that is incredibly picturesque. Elegant, cinematic, and seemingly untouched by time, it feels as though one has stepped into the past when walking around the pretty cobbled squares and historic buildings. There is a reason that it was chosen as the setting of the Italian headquarters of a very ancient and powerful vampire coven in the movie series based on Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga. However, beneath this beautiful exterior, there is a lot of darkness and the town of Volterra is steeped in local myth and is home to quite a few macabre attractions. Perhaps, another reason as to why it was chosen as the fictitious home of a group of deadly vampires!

If you are intrigued by the more spooky or creepy things in life, a vacation rental in Volterra is a great idea as it offers all of the charm and typical features of a Tuscan town and Tuscan life, along with some fascinating morbid surprises. Head to the crossbow festival in May, the Jazz festival in August, the delicious truffle fair in October, the horrifying and informative Torture Museum, and the site of a witch trial. Or, you could go and explore the abandoned Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, a crumbling old mental institution that looks upsettingly just like the setting of a very scary horror movie.

Carrara Marble is famous worldwide. It adorns counters in the fanciest kitchens around the world and was the material of choice of the great Renaissance genius, Michelangelo. To this day, the area in and around Carrara is steeped in the tradition of marble quarrying and of parcelling it off to make beautiful things. You can go on exhilarating 4x4 tours through the glittering marble quarries of the region to see where the journey of so many famous art objects and buildings began, you can explore the stunning and exquisitely carved marble gem that is Carrara’s Cathedral and how the material can be used to its fullest and most extraordinary extent, you can wander around the many marble beauties in the town of Carrara, and you can also seek out the exceptionally lovely sculptures made of Carrara marble in churches and galleries and museums all over Tuscany, Italy, and the world.

The Tuscan Coast is less well-regarded and famous internationally than its inland counterparts, from famous cities like Pisa and Florence to its iconic rolling green hills and lines of cypresses. Yet, despite this, it is an excellent place to holiday, offering unbridled opportunity to explore. With a holiday rental on the Tuscan Coast, you can spend time discovering the different islands (each with their own unique characters), the charming and sleepy little seaside villages, the bustling promenades and bright lights of the larger resort towns, the natural wonders of the Orbetello Lagoon and the Maremma, and the absolutely picture-perfect beaches. The area in and around Monte Argentario, in particular, boasts a lot of exceptional beaches. Just find a vacation rental in Monte Argentario and come discover her many incredible beaches for yourself!

Located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, nestled between Giglio Island and the mainland Tuscan province of Grosseto, Monte Argentario was once an independent island but, around 4,000 years ago, two narrow strips of land called Isthmuses formed with water on either side and connected the north eastern and eastern side of Monte Argentario Island to the mainland, making it into the peninsula and comune that exists today.

We have previously written about the Orbetello Lagoon on several occasions. This coastal lagoon is one of Tuscany’s greatest treasures and is a diverse area of marshland that supports a varied and rich flora and fauna. Consisting of 1500 hectares of marshland separated from the sea on the west and east by two 6km strips of land and by the Argentario headland, it is an area that is both exceptionally lovely and incredibly unique near the coastal city of Orbetello. If you have found a holiday rental in Orbetello, there are lots of reasons to set aside some time to go and explore the lagoon but there is one particularly colourful and charming reasons: it is one of the best places in Italy to see a flock of pink flamingos en masse in the wild.