DK Travel : Tuscany

Limiting the choice of prime sights is not an easy task in a land as rich and varied as Tuscany. Its storybook landscape is home to medieval hill towns, fabled wines and, as crucible of the Renaissance, an unrivalled collection of artistic masterpieces. Here are the best of the best.

Osteria del Noce, Elba

The softly lit rustic dining room has a pergola-shaded terrace with sea views. The owners’ native Liguria is evident in the cooking.
Osteria delle Catene, San Gimignano

Dine in a softly lit brick-barreled vault. Like any good osteria, this one serves great platters of mixed cheeses and cured meats, along with a good selection of wines.
Osteria La Chiacchera

Remarkably cheap and no cover charge. The cucina povera (“poor people’s cuisine”) dishes and great desserts change daily.
Osteria Le Logge

This ancient converted pharmacy offers the best traditional cuisine and friendliest service in town.
Osteria Sette di Vino, Pienza

Tiny osteria with great mixed platters of pecorino cheese and salamis and a secret-family-recipe salad dressing.
Painting Workshops

ARTuscany offers educational holidays, including short breaks, tailor made to suit your interests, including a wide range of en plein air and hands-on art workshops in painting, drawing, sculpture, mosaics and glass work, ceramics and pottery as well as the reproduction of Etruscan jewellery
Palazzo Medici-Riccardi

A must-see in this Medici palace of 1444 are the chapel’s 360-degree frescoes by Benozzo Gozzoli.
Palazzo Pubblico

Siena’s medieval town hall is a genteel brick palace. The rooms were so gorgeously decorated with early 14th-century art – including Simone Martini’s Maestà and Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s incomparable Allegory of Good and Bad Government – that they’ve been turned into a museum (see Siena’s Museo Civico).
Palazzo Ravizza, Siena

A family-run 17th-century hotel. Some rooms retain their frescoes, and those at the back are quiet and offer views over the hotel’s garden.
Palazzo Vecchio

Arnolfo di Cambio’s mighty town hall (1299–1302) is still Florence’s seat of government. Cosimo I hired Vasari to redecorate in the 1540s, frescoing a Medici marriage around Michelozzo’s 1453 courtyard and swathing the gargantuan Sala dei Cinquecento with an apotheosis of the Medici dynasty. Francesco I shut himself away from matters of state in his Studiolo to conduct scientific experiments.

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Hotel price categories

For a standard, double room per night (with breakfast if included), taxes and extra charges.
- under €50
- €50-€100
- €100-€150
- €150-€200
- over €200
Restaurant price categories

For a three-course meal for one with half a bottle of wine (or equivalent meal), taxes and extra charges.
- under €25
- €25-€35
- €35-€55
- €55-€70
- over €70