I have been staying in Tuscany on and off since 2019. It has so much to offer, such as fashion, food, arts and beauty. Tuscany is a perfect off-season destination. Not for winter sun, clearly though balmy days are possible for its choice of indoor and outdoor options and the chance to see some of Europe’s otherwise busiest cultural attractions at their quietest. I have lived in Tuscany, Italy near Lucca during the winter and it is stunning. I stayed in a huge villa.
This is a Villa just outside of Lucca, you can rent it any time of the year.
What To See In Florence
Florence is the key destination, a city that is hot and crowded with queues for pretty much everything in high season. In January, by contrast, you can walk straight into the great churches of Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella and probably only wait a few minutes, if that, to see Michelangelo’s David and the major galleries of the Uffizi, Bargello and Palazzo Pitti. No masks are needed now. It was dead quiet to see Michelangelo’s statue. Outside of Arezzo, I also went and visited his birth home.
Below is Palazzo Pitti, it is truly a work of art.
Pisa’s Palazzo Blu has the region’s major art exhibition, devoted to the macchiaioli (macchiaiolipisa.it; until Feb 26), a group of impressionist-like Italian painters; with Henry Moore in Florence (museonovecento.it; to March 31) the main show in that particular city.
Below is one of the famous artworks in Ufizzi. Masks are no longer needed.
You can climb the tower next to the Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella. Well worth it.
Average Florence temperatures in January are 2C-10C and average winter rainfall is a touch more than that of London: around three inches. Uffizi is stunning and if you have the time go more than once. You can buy a family ticket for a year for only 100 euros. I went here every day for 28 days, I can’t ever learn there is so much to take in.
Siena, Pisa, Lucca Arezzo
The same goes for Tuscany’s other peerless cities of art, notably Siena, Pisa, Lucca and Arezzo, where quieter streets and attractions are matched by restaurants that may have cleared their outdoor tables but will have fires lit inside and menus filled with porcini, warming soups and other seasonal specialities.
Beyond the towns and cities, the beauty of Tuscany’s countryside is undiminished by winter’s chill. It may be damper and mistier, certainly, but that is all to the good if you are settled into a cosy rural hideaway in Chianti or elsewhere, with the options of walks, cooking classes, truffle hunts, wine tasting and more in glorious setting.
Lucca
Pisa Is A Must
Pisa that leaning tower of Pisa is a must-climb and see. Soak it all up and have breakfast right in front of it.
Siena Is The Famous Hills
Siena and its surroundings like Arezzo are just divine. If magical rolling hills and Cyprus trees are what you are seeking then rent a Ferrari Roma and go explore in style.
Conclusion
If you want to understand the rich culture of Italy. Then Tuscany is a brilliant introduction to what I deem the most amazing culture in the world for fashion, food, and arts.
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