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Tuscany & Umbria Walking Tour

Tuscany and Umbria make up the green heart of the Italian peninsula and are famous for some of the country’s best food and wine. This easy walking tour starts in Florence and continues south to Rome, passing through beautiful rolling hills and stopping in elegant cities and towns along the way. Combine great cuisine with rich history and cultural traditions plus comfortable hotels and beautiful walks and you’ve got the perfect Italian holiday.
Duration: 7 nights / 8 days
Dates: Available upon request, contact us for details
Trip starts/ends: Day 1 Florence, Day 8 Rome
Activity level: Level 1-2: city walking plus a variety of walks in the countryside (we can tailor the activity to your group) [more info]
Group size: min. 4 - max. 14

Highlights

* begin your tour in the beautiful Renaissance city of Florence
* hunt for truffles with a trained hunting dog
* stay two nights in the lovely hilltop town of Volterra
* learn about the mysterious Etruscan civilization
* learn how to make traditional “bronze cut” Italian pasta
* see San Gimignano, the “city of the towers”
* dip your toes (or more!) into open-air thermal pools
* tour Siena with a local city guide
* see iconic landscapes of rolling wheat fields dotted with solitary cypress trees
* try some of the best local wines at a tasting lunch
* spend 2 nights in the hilltop town of Orvieto, famous for its stunning cathedral
* enjoy 3-4 easy walks in the countryside
* visit the town of Bolsena and its beautiful lake
* explore the hilltop town of Civita di Bagnoregio, that sits perched on a narrow pedestal of clay and tufa stone
* end your tour in Rome

Trip price includes

7 nights accommodation in 3* (and possibly one 4*) hotels in Florence, Volterra, San Quirico d’Orcia, and Orvieto; 2 dinners and 3 lunches (including winery lunch and cooking lesson); all activities and transfers as per itinerary; 3 easy walks in the countryside + an optional one on day 6; at least 1 bilingual (Italian-English) guide throughout the week

Not included

5 dinners and 3 lunches; drinks other than water at group meals; anything not listed in the inclusions 

ITINERARY

Spend a wonderul week in the “green heart” of Italy on this easy walking tour of Tuscany and Umbria. We can tailor the physical activity to your group’s needs and do as much (or little!) walking as you wish. We can also run it with no countryside walks and just concentrate on the cities and towns that we visit, focusing on food, wine, cooking, art, history, or whatever interests you!

Days 1-2: Arrivals and visit of Florence 
Meet your group in Florence for a casual walk around the city followed by dinner together at one of our favorite restaurants. The following morning we’ll have a guided visit of the city so you can learn all about the Medici family, the birth of the Renaissance, and the stories behind some of the era’s most impressive art and architectural works. Transfer to Volterra on the afternoon of Day 2.

Days 2-3: Volterra & San Gimignano
Spend two nights in the charming hilltop town of Volterra, that was founded by the Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. We have several fun activities, including a truffle hunt with a trained dog, and a day-trip to San Gimignano, whose Medieval towers used to rise up like a mini-Manhattan. We’ll have a lunch at a local producer of Vernaccia and Chianti wines, and of course have a tasting!

Days 4-5: Siena & the Val d’Orcia
Spend a day in the fascinating city of Siena, which rivaled Florence for 400 years to control local banking and trade. See the central square, the Piazza del Campo, which some consider to be the most beautiful in Italy. Learn about the horse race called “Il Palio,” where 10 jockeys ride bareback around the square to see which neighborhood claims glory. Tour the cathedral with a local guide and see how the inhabitants made it one of the most spectacular church interiors in Italy after their plans to expand the church were foiled by the Bubonic Plague. Continue from there to the Orcia valley, famous for its iconic scenery and photogenic rolling hills. We’ll visit the town of Pienza as well as the thermal baths of Bagno Vignoni.

Days 6-7: Orviteo and Umbria
We continue our journey southwest into Umbria, where we stay two nights in the historic town of Orvieto. Also founded by the Etruscans, Orvieto sits on a raised pedestal of rock and lords over the countryside below, especially from the gliterring facade of its cathedral. Tour the city and also the nearby town of Bolsena (on the banks of a lake of the same name) and Civita di Bagnoregio, which was nearly abandoned because of its precarious position on a bed of clay and volcanic stone but is now a charming little village.

Day 8: Departures from Rome
Transfer to Rome this morning and continue your adventure in The Eternal City or ask us to provide transport to the Fiumicino Airport for flights.

Contact us for updated pricing
[info on prices]

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Activity Levels

Some tours have a range of activity levels through the week, where some walks may be more challenging than others, but this will give you a general idea of the type of walking/hiking involved on your tour.

1 – EASY: City walking, all or mostly paved, minimal climbing
2 – GENTLE: Moderate hills & easy terrain
3 – MODERATE: Some sustained hills with occasional steep grades on a mix of terrains
4 – HIKE: Classic hiking with rough/rocky terrain, sustained hills, and longer mileage
5 – CHALLENGING: Challenging hiking with steep climbs and descents over rocky terrain and some longer mileage

See below for more detail:

1 – EASY: City walking, all or mostly paved, with minimal climbing (though some cities may have steeper inclines). Archaeological sites may be unpaved but the grades and difficulty level is easy. TOURS: Sicily Coast-to-Coast and any “light active” version of a tour

2 – GENTLE: Moderate hills & easy terrain
The terrain is easy to navigate with packed earth or gravel roads. There are some climbs but nothing too challenging. TOURS: Tuscany, Puglia, Provence
[2+ The “plus” indicates more challenging terrain though the walks are gentle].

3 – MODERATE: Some sustained hills with occasional steep grades and rocky terrain
Here you find a mix of terrain with some steep stretches.
TOURS: Corsica, Sardinia, some of the Dolomites tours, and some hikes on the Greek Islands
[3+ The plus indicates rockier terrain or lots of stone steps (Amalfi, the Cinque Terre) or greater elevation gain/loss (the Dolomites)].

4 — HIKE: Classical hiking with rough terrain, sustained hills, and more mileage. These hikes are on a mix of rough terrain, sometimes involving steep stretches and difficult footing. TOURS: some of our hikes in Sardinia, some of the days in the Cinque Terre, some of the variants of our Dolomites tours.

5 – CHALLENGING: Longer days, challenging climbs, rocky terrain. We don’t do a lot of seriously challenging tours but we do have a Dolomites trip where we hike from hut to hut, so that’s probably the closest we get to a 5.

Info on prices

The price indicated is for a minimum of 6 people and our basic itinerary based on double occupancy (a “single supplement” covers hotel prices only, we apply no extra fees). Departures with fewer people or with upgraded hotels will have a higher price. We can organize private departures for any number of people but prices vary depending on number of participants. Please contact us for details!