Tuscany is a region that has always been synonymous with excellent culinary traditions, first choice products and conviviality.
Are you planning a visit to the city of the leaning tower and want to know where to find the nicest and most interesting places to taste the local specialties? Pisa has in common with all the other cities of the region natural and artistic beauties, but it is also able to offer tasty and unmissable traditional dishes.

The food specialties

Typical Pisan specialties include some dishes shared with the rest of the Tuscan cities, in particular the appetizers made up of classic croutons, regional cured meats and cheeses: goodies to start what will surely be a meal with all the trimmings! We continue with the first courses: the pisano-style bordatino (a soup made with beans, black cabbage and yellow flour, typically winter), chickpea soup and the famous tomato soup, not forgetting spaghetti with clams and pappardelle with rabbit sauce. The second courses, on the other hand, include both meat (in particular game) and fish: eels on the knee (fried eels cooked in tomato stew), cod with leeks, stockfish with potatoes, pheasant, hare, fallow deer or wild boar and the classics little beans with bird.

The pisan wines

Usually when you talk about Tuscany, the most celebrated Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Bolgheri come to mind. Actually, on this tour I wanted to learn about the different facets of the territory and of Pisan wines. And they are many: from the Tyrrhenian coast of Riparbella to the upper Val Cecina, from the Pisan Hills to Terricciola, up to the Etruscan Volterra. Among vineyards in areas still untouched, at altitudes ranging from 250 to 400 meters above sea level. Here the water mass of the Tyrrhenian Sea mitigates excess heat allowing an optimal maturation of the grapes.

Extra virgin olive oil of Monti Pisani

It is known that olive oil is a fat containing triglycerides (98-99%), of considerable interest as they control important biochemical mechanisms, and other compounds of considerable importance for conservation purposes. Among these: Vitamin E, Sterols, Polyphenols, Chlorophyll.
Tuscan Monti Igp Olive Oil “Monti Pisani” is one of the best, is an oil obtained from olives of the varieties Frantoio, Leccino, Moraiolo, hand-picked and cold pressed. The freshly pressed oil is more or less intense green in function of the degree of maturity of the olives, has a spicy taste, with a certain degree of bitterness; over the months, it tends to yellow, while retaining a fruity smell and taste.

Choose our Food & Wine walking tour, we will let you discover and taste the typical dishes and the best Tuscan specialties, walking in the historical center of Pisa.

Home Best Day Tours in Tuscany

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Regional trains are connecting the five countries every 40/50 minutes. Journey time between one country and another: 5/10 minutes or so. Remember to validate the trains tickets. You can also rent a car but getting around by car is particularly problematic due to the narrow streets and the lack of parking.
To take the boat you have to join the harbor of La Spezia and then change boat in Portovenere or go to one of the village by car or train, the boat runs during the high season season from April to October.

The Best way to Cinque terre

Rather, we suggest to visit this beautiful place with a organized tour where everything is included boat or train and the only thing youhave to do is just Enjoy!

With a very comfortable Minivan you will arrive in Manarola; this is a fraction of Riomaggiore, so it is really small. Its peculiarity is to look like a crib of colorful houses, and even climbing up a few paths not too difficult to capture these colorful houses from above. Certainly particular is the setting up of great figures that reproduce the Via Crucis in the terraces dedicated to the cultivation of olive trees.

The Beautiful Riomaggiore

The next stop will be Riomaggiore which is the easternmost of the Cinque Terre, the first village you come from La Spezia.The houses, painted with the typical Ligurian colors, follow the outline of the tower-houses, developed in height on three or four floors, linked one to the other in parallel rows. Access to the houses is possible as well as from the main entrance, from the back to the height of the upper floors.In Riomaggiore the Via dell’Amore begins, up to Manarola, a very suggestive pedestrian street, where you can admire beautiful landscapes, amid the sound of waves crashing on the rocks and the salty air.

Charming Vernazza

After is the turn of Vernazza that was founded around the year one thousand. This town is considered the most charming of the five villages and it’s the favorite place for weddings. Followed by steep and narrow streets that descend towards the main road that ends in a small square located in front of the marina, Vernazza is punctuated by defensive constructions, tower-houses, the Tower and the Doria castle, symbol of the economic importance it had in antiquity and protected by the Genoese against the Saracens and the barbarian invasions.

Relaxing Monterosso

The last town to visit is Monterosso this is the westernmost village of the Cinque Terre and is divided into two parts; Monterosso Fegina the most modern part where the railway station is located and Monterosso Vecchio, the medieval village. Close to hills cultivated with vines and olives, Monterosso has beautiful beaches, sheer cliffs and crystal clear waters. Monterosso Vecchio is dominated by the remains of the obertengo castle overlooking the sea, the typical tower-houses crossed by narrow carruggi.
The beach of Monterosso Fegina is the largest of the Cinque Terre and therefore the country has a purely tourist vocation. Monterosso has the greatest hotel accommodation in the Cinque Terre and the Riviera del Risante spezzino.
The carruggi of the old town are very beautiful.

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What is Chianti wine

Chianti wine is appreciated all over the world and is produced in a part of the most scenic and magical region of Italy, Tuscany. The wine takes its name from the homonymous area, which covers about seventy thousand hectares. The area rich in water and lush hills allows the vines to thrive and reach the levels of excellence envied around the world. Chianti wines are made up of vines such as Sangiovese, Trebbiano, Malvasia Bianca, Canaiolo, Sauvignon and Merlot. Among the most important labels of Chianti present in wine shops we find Ruffino, Antinori, Barone Ricasoli and Castello di Fonterutoli. The last recognition received by this wine is dated 1984 and comes from DOCG, the renowned controlled and guaranteed denomination. Continuing with our virtual tasting we try to discover the origins and the main characteristics that denote this precious wine.

Where is Chianti wine

Between Florence and Siena lies the oldest area of Chianti Classico, which includes the villages of Castellina in Chianti, Gaiole, Greve, Radda and in part those of Barberino Val d’Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Poggibonsi, San Casciano in Val di Pesa and Tavarnelle Val di Pesa. Rich in castles, villas, fortresses and towers, but also in country houses, farmhouses and farms, it was love at first sight for the Etruscans and then for the Romans, becoming in the Middle Ages the territory most sought after by the great landowners and then by nobles of the Renaissance.
As for winemaking, it takes place in a limited area that includes the provinces of Florence, Arezzo, Pistoia, Prato, Siena and Pisa. Depending on the production areas, characterized by a warm summer climate and a hilly terrain, some elements may vary giving rise to high-quality wines with a strong and slightly tannic taste. To verify that all the rules of the DOCG protocol are followed, the Consorzio del Chianti classico will take care of it.

Chianti is the most favorite

Today it is one of the most popular destinations for foreigners who like to spend their holidays immersed in this wonderful agricultural landscape renamed “Chiantishire”, never monotonous and steeped in history. If you pass from this area stop for a short stop in Castellina in Chianti, the center of this territory, characterized by a beautiful fortress located right in the central square of the historic area, adorned with a beautiful crenellated tower from the fourteenth century and surrounded by Renaissance buildings and very precious religious.

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The national park of Cinque terre

The first thing that strikes you in the Cinque Terre is the landscape: the mountain that is thrown into the sea, the villages perched on the rocky coast, the dry stone walls, the shrines, the woods. But it is a landscape that must also be read and interpreted. A “living” landscape has been defined. With all due respect to naturalist-purists, it is a landscape in society, between nature and man. Nature has played its part, but man has shaped it and preserved it. Without man, the Cinque Terre would not only not be the Cinque Terre, but would literally crumble within a few decades. In part they are already collapsing, or rather slipping and crashing, just where man has abandoned them. As demonstrated by the disastrous flood of 2011.

A world heritage Site

The Cinque Terre since 1997 are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the National Park was established as an institution in 1999. It is small (about 4,000 hectares), densely inhabited (4,500 people) but above all “visited” (someone could say “invaded”) from two and a half million tourists a year. UNESCO organization, includes in its list, the most important, artistic, architectural and beautiful sites of the world. Italy has the majority sites of the rest of the world.

Where is Cinque terre

Cinque Terre are in the west part of the Liguria region in the Riviera di Levante, is a place rich in old traditions and authentic flavors inside a very nice nature. Cinque Terre are composed by five villages on the coast between Punta Mesco and Punta Montenegro about 10 kilometers north west of the town of La Spezia. The park is composed by these five villages: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso al Mare.

Come to cinque terre

What tourism do in the Cinque Terre? On the beauty of the five tourist resorts there is not much to add and then just consult a Guide to know everything. The advice, perhaps obvious, is this: the sea is fine, but you have to go “inside” this landscape, or better … “above”! The park is equipped to provide guides (paper but especially HUMAN) and itineraries that we tried to tell even in the videos of this web series. It will also be tiring, but then … they are unique satisfactions!
The way to go is not so easy, that’s why we suggest to take a day tour to visit this beautiful place!

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Arezzo

Visiting Arezzo is a bit like traveling back in time, among monuments, churches and museums, which bring back to the past. It was a thriving Etruscan city, and today it certainly deserves to be visited because of its great historical heritage. Here are the places of the city not to be missed:

• Piazza Grande with the Loggia del Vasari
• The Basilica of San Francesco and its amazing Cappella Bacci.
• The Museum of Medieval Art
• The Romanesque church of Santa Maria della Pieve

Montepulciano

Located on a limestone ridge about 600 meters high, Montepulciano is a small town in southern Tuscany. It is rich in elegant Renaissance palaces, ancient churches, squares and hidden corners. From the village you can admire incredible views of the fantastic Val d’Orcia and Val di Chiana. Famous wine among the best in Tuscany.

Val d’Orcia

Val d’Orcia is a picturesque region that includes several wonderful villages and villages.
The whole area is protected as a natural park, and has numerous castles and farmhouses dating back to medieval and Renaissance times. Precisely in this portion of territory is the village of Pienza, one of the “ideal cities” of the Renaissance.

Elba island

Who would not want to remain in exile on the island of Elba for a while? The disarming quiet, the suggestive panorama and of course the mythical beaches make this place unique. The beaches are over 150, including Marina di Campo, Procchio and Fetovia.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano is a small medieval village dating back to the 8th century. It is perhaps the most famous of the small towns of Tuscany, known above all for its 14 towers that overlook picturesque olive groves and vineyards. Travelers who want to imagine how Tuscany was in the Middle Ages must absolutely visit San Gimignano.

Lucca

Nicknamed the “city of 100 churches”, Lucca is famous for its perfectly preserved walls. This 4 km walkway overlooking the city is a great starting point for a tour of Lucca. Among the things to see we remember:

• The Roman Amphitheater
• The Guinigi Tower
• The Cathedral of San Martino
• The church of San Michele.

Chianti

The iconic vineyards and olive trees of Tuscany are scattered throughout the Chianti area, located a few kilometers from Florence. Characterized by lovely country lanes perfect for a tour by car or bicycle, the whole area is considered a real paradise for lovers of food and good wine.

Pisa

Located along the Arno River in the north-western region of Tuscany, the city of Pisa presents several testimonies of the glories of the past.
It is known for its famous Leaning Tower of Piazza dei Miracoli, the most beautiful square in Italy. But in reality there are a lot of other attractions that enhance the value of the city, such as the San Matteo Museum and the beautiful Church of the Spina.

Siena

The city is perhaps less considered than in Pisa and Florence, but in reality presents an equally important charm. It is known all over the world for the Palio, held every year on July 2nd and August 16th. The heart of the city is Piazza del Campo, with its unmistakable shell shape, from which you can admire the Torre del Mangia. Do not miss the beautiful Cathedral.

Florence

A historic, magical and fascinating city … among the best in all of Italy. No adjective can adequately describe Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance. It is often described as an open-air museum, a magnificent mix of art and architectural treasures, boasting wonderful sights such as Piazza della Signoria, the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery.

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