Tuscany & Umbria
13 nights
Day 7 – 10 · Stop 3 of 5
Wander the cradle of the Renaissance: climb Brunelleschi's dome, lose yourself in the Uffizi and browse the Oltrarno's workshops, all on foot.
Getting there · Day 1
Your car
Zurich → Florence
589 km · 7 h
About €90–145 in fuel and tolls
Stay
A Hotel in Florence, a comfortable base for exploring the area. See rooms, photos and availability on the booking page.
Day trip · Day 2
Follow the Chiantigiana to this small hill town: duck through its covered medieval walkway, climb an Etruscan tumulus and take in the vineyards.
A day out from your base: go when you like and come back for the night.
Museum · Day 2
Walk through one of the world's great collections, with Botticelli's Birth of Venus, Leonardo and Caravaggio along corridors overlooking the Arno. Timed tickets sell out in season.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Sight · Day 3
Climb 463 steps between the dome's two shells, passing close under its frescoes, to a terrace with views across Florence. Entry is by timed reservation.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Lose yourself among medieval towers: climb above the skyline, seek out frescoed churches and sip crisp Vernaccia white wine.
Getting there · Day 4
Your car
Florence → San Gimignano
49 km · 1 h
About €5–10 in fuel and tolls
Stay
A Hotel in San Gimignano, a comfortable base for exploring the area. See rooms, photos and availability on the booking page.
Day trip · Day 5
Discover a proud medieval mining town in the Colline Metallifere: admire its cathedral square and walk through its mining past.
A day out from your base: go when you like and come back for the night.
Sight · Day 5
Climb the tallest of the town's towers for a view over the skyline and the Val d'Elsa, with the civic museum below it.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Food & drink · Day 6
Queue for a cone on the triangular square around the old well, and eat it on the steps under the towers.
No booking needed: drop in while it's open.
Step into a brick-red Gothic city: linger on the shell of Piazza del Campo and feel the rivalry of the Palio's seventeen contrade.
Getting there · Day 7
Your car
San Gimignano → Siena
37 km · 50 min
About €5–10 in fuel and tolls
Stay
A Hotel in Siena, a comfortable base for exploring the area. See rooms, photos and availability on the booking page.
Day trip · Day 8
Walk a long, steep Renaissance ridge and descend into cellars carved beneath its palaces, where Vino Nobile quietly ages.
A day out from your base: go when you like and come back for the night.
Museum · Day 8
Wander the vaulted halls of one of Europe's oldest hospitals, now a museum, with frescoes of medieval hospital life and underground archaeology.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Walk · Day 9
Walk the old town on your own, spotting the flags, fountains and street lamps of Siena's seventeen rival districts.
No booking needed. Just go when you like.
Rise to a cliff-top Umbrian city: gaze at its dazzling striped cathedral and Signorelli's frescoes, then descend into the Etruscan caves below.
Getting there · Day 10
Your car
Siena → Orvieto
119 km · 2 h
About €20–30 in fuel and tolls
Stay
A Hotel in Orvieto, a comfortable base for exploring the area. See rooms, photos and availability on the booking page.
Day trip · Day 11
Ride the escalators up into Umbria's lively capital: stroll the Corso, sip espresso by the Fontana Maggiore and wander medieval lanes full of students.
A day out from your base: go when you like and come back for the night.
Guided tour · Day 11
Follow a guide through man-made caves beneath the city, with Etruscan wells, medieval quarries and dovecotes.
Book a place ahead: the times depend on the provider.
Sight · Day 11
Gaze up at the dazzling gold facade, then step inside to see Signorelli's apocalyptic frescoes in the Chapel of San Brizio.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Cross a soaring medieval aqueduct, climb to a papal fortress and catch a summer of music and theatre in an elegant hill town.
Getting there · Day 12
Your car
Orvieto → Spoleto
67 km · 1 h
About €10–15 in fuel and tolls
Stay
Former convent turned into an elegant four-star hotel in the countryside around Spoleto. Swimming pool, tennis court, restaurant, bar and park.
Day trip · Day 13
Follow Saint Francis through a pink-stone hill town: Giotto's frescoes in his basilica, quiet lanes at dusk and a hermitage in the woods above.
A day out from your base: go when you like and come back for the night.
Walk · Day 13
Wander at your own pace, stopping wherever looks interesting.
No booking needed. Just go when you like.
Museum · Day 13
Explore the collection at your own pace.
Get tickets ahead to skip the queue, then go any time it's open.
Getting home · Day 14
Your car
Spoleto → Zurich
796 km · 9 h
About €120–200 in fuel and tolls