Family Holidays: Tuscany family holidays and breaks

Take the Family holiday rating 4 stars out of 5

Why

Italy can boast many attractions, but none maybe as seductive as Tuscany, especially for the British visitor. For long a major tourist destination, Tuscany has managed to retain its air of detached beauty and life continues here, much as it did when the first tourists arrived. Tuscany is the picture of Italy most people hold in their heads – lines of thin cypress trees, red, Renaissance hill top towns and fields of olives. The cities are all famous for culture and art: Siena, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, all beautiful, all full of art galleries, wonderful historic architecture, famous festivals, great regional food and beautiful people. It has always been too good to be true. There are of course too many tourists, if you can go out of season, then this is to be recommended, but don’t worry too much, if the crowds in the cities get too much for you, just leave for the country and the enchanting hill-top villages such as San Gimignano or Montepulciano. If you find the crowds have followed you here also, decamp for the islands – Elba and Capraia for some beach life and possibly, seclusion.

The Leaning Tower and the Cathedral, Pisa

Top left: Gorgeously typical tuscan farmhouse
Top middle: Outdoor grocery stand, Siena
Top right: Lake Massaciuccoli

Bottom left: Town of San Gimignano
Bottom right: The Leaning Tower and the Cathedral, Pisa

When

Harvest time is the best time to visit Tuscany, with many lively festivals celebrating everything from truffles to chestnuts. You can revel in the overflowing availability of fabulous autumnal produce, well into November, at the region's restaurants, street markets and shops.

For January and February, there’s a little known Italian ski resort at Abetone in the Appennines, and a few other places on the edges of the Garfagnana to visit for the hardier families amongst you, and the Viareggio Carnevale in Viareggio (45 minutes drive from Florence), which is an amazing procession of spectacular floats and a free licence to bosh strangers or each other with soft rubber truncheons and foam weapons! Inland in the mountains the winter lingers on until March/April.

May and June are beautiful months, with snow lingering picturesquely on the peaks, and the lush meadows thick with wild-flowers – perfect for picnicking. July and August are hot and crowded on the coast, but blissfully refreshing for strolling in the mountains, and autumn offers many fabulous clear days of sunshine, whilst the wooded slopes are a riot of colour.

How

Pisa, (Galileo Galilei), is the main international airport for Tuscany, with Florence as an alternative. Flights from London to Pisa take just over 2 hours. British Airways operate daily flights from Gatwick, as do an increasing number of budget airlines, from main and regional airports including, Easyjet, or Ryanair (with daily flights from Stanstead), or Thomsonfly. Search for great flight deals with partners Expedia. If you are travelling to Southern Tuscany you may consider flying to Rome. Trains are generally reliable, but finding a seat may be a different story at peak times, or when a mass of charter flights arrive at the same time. Once you have purchased your train tickets, you MUST validate them in a special yellow machine on the platform before boarding the train, or risk getting a fine! Hire cars can be pre-booked prior to your trip and collected from the airport, or there are regular bus services to Pisa, or taxis are available.

Do

Again where do we start?

Any trip to Tuscany should include a trip to Florence, once the heart of the Renaissance; it is still a beautiful city with an unrivalled collection of churches, galleries and buildings. It has its drawbacks for children though; too many people, too many touts, too much unrelieved history. Take it easy with them, a trip down the Arno, an extended gelato stop, a play around the statue of David; Florence can be a very intimidating city for those small of foot.

San Gimignano is one of the most enticing of all the Tuscan hilltop towns. It evokes the spirit of medieval life more than any other site. You approach it through a valley of olive trees and streams and its skyline of medieval towers is thrilling. It’s been beautifully preserved, is quietly spectacular and there are lots of lovely churches and galleries to wander around. There are also many great places to stay. The drawback is that you won’t be the only person there and it does spoil it, it’s such a dignified place. We heartily recommend coming out of season.

For a change of scene, try visiting Elba, a beautiful island of white beaches and clear water. It’s not the place it was; package tourism has well and truly found this little island, but if you stay away from the resorts and maybe travel inland a bit, you’ll find yourself some peace from the crowds. A great place to go island hopping from as well.

Eat

Where do we start?
Eating is an art form in Tuscany, as in much of the rest of Italy, but nowhere else has such wonderful raw materials: its olive oil, meat, vegetables, beans and fish are second to none and out of these basic ingredients a whole host of internationally famous dishes have been created. The risotto is fabulous served with fresh vegetables or cuttlefish ink, ravioli stuffed with ricotta in a tomato sauce, tomato based hearty fish soups, boar sausages and ham, - the list is endless and don’t forget delicious fruit, cheeses and wines. Oh and the coffee is good too. Why not take the family on a tuscan Gastronomic Family Adventure with partners Sapori e Saperi Adventures, where you can learn as a family all about food from growing to cooking to eating, and everything else in between, for ages from 5 years and up.

Cost

Cities and well-known areas are generally expensive although good bargains can be found. The countryside is much cheaper both for accommodation and restaurants. Lucca and the Garfagnana areas are very good value as Tuscany goes. They are unspoilt and not overrun by tourists even at high season. The Garfagnana, being mountainous, is refreshingly cool even at the height of summer. And the sea isn’t too far away. Great for parents with school age children who have to holiday in July and August.