From Siena you can plan some wonderful weekends as many places are within an hour and a half's distance from Siena using public transport or some travel agency from Siena. Here a list of suggested place to be seen in Tuscany. Don't forget to give a look also to our suggested excursions just in country around Siena.

FLORENCE

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FLORENCE, capital of the region of Tuscany, has a population of around half a million inhabitants, spreads on the banks of the Arno, between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, almost in the middle of the Italian peninsula. It is a city which bustles with industry and craft, commerce and culture, art and science. Being on the main national railway lines, it is easily accessible from most important places both in Italy and abroad.

Founded by the Romans in the first century B.C., Florence began its rebirth after the decadence of the barbaric ages, in the Carolingian period, and reached its highest pinnacles of civilization between the 11th and 15th centuries, as a free city, balancing the authority of the Emperors with that of the Popes, overcoming the unfortunate internal dispute between Guelfs and Ghibellines. In the 15th century, it came under the rule of the Medici family, who later became the Grand Dukes of Tuscany. This in fact was the period when the city was at the height of its glory in art and culture, in politics and economic power. The Grand Duchy of the Medicis was succeeded, in the 18th century, by that of the House of Lorraine, when in 1860 Tuscany became part of the Kingdom of Italy of which Florence was the capital from 1865 to 1871. In this century, the city has once more taken up its role as an important centre for culture and the arts.

Learn more about the city of Florence, about its history and its cultural life and past with AboutFlorence.com, your tourist guide to Florence. Here you'll really find also all kind of touristic information about the city of Florence.

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LUCCA

Lucca, is a small city still surrounded by its original defensive walls; one of Europe's finest and most beautiful circuits of defensive walls came to being as Lucca lies near the sea and is protected on three sides by mountains, hence allowing access to Italy's second largest agricultural plain to be controlled.

In the center of town an ancient Roman racetrack has evolved into the main market square, right next to the cathedral. A visit to the Palazzo Ducale, where Maria Luisa of Borbone and Elisa Bonaparte lived (rumors say that Napoleon slept here too) is well worth it.

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AREZZO

In AREZZO you will see traces of different civilizations and traditions: the Etruscans, the roman and the medieval. Petrarca, Piero della Francesca, Luca Signorelli, Giorgio Vasari were all born here. In Arezzo you can see Piero della Francesca's famous fresco cycle depicting the Legend of the Cross. These are the frescoes that Juliette Binoche gets to look at while dangling from a rope in the movie "The English Patient."

A visit to this part of the region allows you to discover, besides the artistic, architecture and religious beauty, the little medieval villages located in this area. If you hire a car you can follow the wine route: for about 200 km through various wine growing areas: Chianti DOCG, Chianti Colli Aretini DOCG, Colli Etruria Centrale DOC, Valdichiana DOC and Cortona DOC as well as Vin Santo. You will see vineyards, olive groves, tobacco plantations, chestnut trees and for.

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PISA

During the Roman époque PISA was a prosperous sea- town, however, the barbaric invasion left the city in ruins and only when the citadel became a free town did it acquire, with the passing of time, more political and economical independence. The XI and XII centuries were a time of splendor; in this period, the city had primary importance inside the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean Sea thanks to its maritime business and the conquering of Sardinia, Corsica, and several Balearic Isles. In the major tourist attraction in Pisa is of course the leaning Tower along with the Baptistery and the Camposanto, all of them built between the XI and the XII century.

For more information visit About Pisa, a travel guide about the city of Pisa.

ELBA island

Immersed in the crystalline waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, Elba Island in Italy is the ideal place to spend unforgettable holidays. Rich in history, art and tradition, the Island is a little peace of Paradise for all those who want to live in touch with an unpolluted nature and practice snorkeling, trekking, diving, archaeological walks and many other outdoor sports.