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.

Cacciucco

Livorno’s version of bouillabaisse meets pappa al pomodoro : a thin, pepperoncino - spiked tomato gruel poured over stale bread slices and a stew rich in fish and seafood. The exact recipe varies with the day’s market and chef’s whim, but usually finds a way of incorporating some tentacles.
Cafe Vivoli

Florence's most famous gelato on Via Isole Delle Stinche, a small street just around the corner from Piazza Santa Croce is Cafe Vivoli. Great chocolate flavours. The Vivoli family runs the cafe Vivoli for decades. You can sit at the tables for free and also eat lunch. Try a crema cafe` that is an expresso coffee in a large cup that is lined with luscious vanilla gelato
Caffè Bigallo Enoteca

Cosy establishment serving typical Tuscan dishes. Good value set menus.
Caffe degli Artisti, Cortona

Part locals’ bar, part tourist shop hawking honey, preserves, biscuits, meats, spices and olive oils.
Caffè dell’Ussero, Pisa

Look out over the Arno River and imbibe with the ghosts of Pisa’s intellectual élite at one of Italy’s oldest literary cafés – it opened in 1794.
Caffè Kosì, Montecatini Alto

Set in a pretty medieval town above Montecatini Terme, this has been a popular café since 1878. Allow sufficient time to sample the dozens of cocktails and exotic fruit gelati .
Caffè la Torre, Arezzo

Lively café in a 14th-century palazzo right in the historic centre. It has a wonderful garden and terrace.
Caffé Lepanto, Greve

Home-made gelato , good salads and other light dishes. Sit at an outdoor table on the lovely main square.
Camáldoli

San Romulado established this Benedictine community in 1012, though the monastery is 15th century and the Vasari-decorated church 16th. One mile (1.5km) up a forest path lies the secluded hermitage (only men admitted), a tiny village of monkish cottages alongside a Baroque church.
Campo dei Miracoli, Pisa

A grassy “Field of Miracles”. The Campo is studded with masterpieces of Romanesque architecture: a Baptistry and Cathedral containing Gothic pulpits by Pisano and, of course, that ridiculously leaning, famous belltower.

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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