FLORENCE AREA: GATEWAY TO PARADISE
For millions of tourists around the world, Florence is their one-stop destination in Italy, but the area around Florence is no less worth a visit, because it allows you to take in the sights and sounds of the stunning Tuscan countryside. So when you are next in Florence, and have had your fill of one of Italy’s most beautiful cities, take a trip around the Florence area, to such gorgeous destinations as Pisa, Arezzo, Lucca, San Gimignano, Lucignano, Fiesole, and Siena, connected to Florence by bus service. Or you can hire a motorbike or bicycle and set off on a personal exploration.
In fact, some of the hotels in the Florence area, as we have listed, provide their guests with complimentary bicycles. Or you could hire motorbikes and bicycles from several points in the city, such as at railway stations. Whatever you do, a journey of exploration in the Florence area is sure to be a rewarding experience. For starters, you could go to the Piazzale Michelangelo, on the side of the Arno and in front of the national library. This is particularly recommended at nighttimes, because you can then see the glittering lights of Florence.
Outside of Florence proper, the terrain is usually hilly or even mountainous, and the best destinations are to be found in the Chianti area, a region of truly stupendous natural beauty, which offers the added incentive of perfect weather and lots of sunshine in season. Setting out for Fiesole, which lies in the northern part of the valley in which Florence is located, you can see several Renaissance villas where famous people lived. Fiesole boasts the ruins of an Etruscan temple, a theatre, and Roman thermal baths. Also in the northern region are towns such as Sesto Fiorentino, once again of Etruscan origin, Campi Bisenzio, in the middle of a valley, which has remains of ancient medieval fortifications. On the way back to Florence, stop at the Medicean villas in Castello and Pietraia, and the Villa Corsini.
In the southern part of the valley are Bagno a Ripoli, Antella, built around the parish church of Santa Maria, Monteriolo, and Impruneta, famous for its fair. From Impruneta you go to Tavarnuzze and on the way to Galluzzo, visit the magnificent Certosa di Val d’Ema.
Then there is the Valdisieve, the closest mountain range to Florence, dazzling in its greenery and purity. Within the range are parts of the Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, the Riserva Biogenetica of Vallombrosa and the Foresta di Sant’Antonio with beeches and chestnut trees.
There are numerous other attractions that we have been unable to name owing to lack of space, but you must have got the idea. So check out our list of accommodations in the Florence area and plan your trip right away!
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