Ciao tutti!

This is a travel report about my journeys around mainly Tuscany with loads of pictures!

Pro tip: If you are an Italy fan and would like to enjoy its beauty in visual formats, I recommend you start following my friend Carlotta @car_lotta on Instagram for amazing stories and pics + place recommendations!

One of my many favourite parts of this journey have been our road trips with Carlotta. As a photographer, she likes to drive around new and known areas to discover the most interesting and aesthetic spots of her home country. When she invited me to come along, I didn’t hesitate - by now we’ve spent many days on the road together. Our road trip days are filled with nice chats (in Italian – yes, I now speak it!), breath-taking views, spontaneous stops and photoshoots, unique restaurants, village and city visits, ice creams and pizza slices on our way home in the late evenings. 

For anyone planning a visit to Italy, I can recommend to stay in Tuscany, in for example one of the many “Agriturismo” farmhouse accommodations (hotel, BB or apartments) and to cruise around by car. Alternatively, a city stay can be interesting and romantic, but without a car you might miss out on some of the best views and gems Tuscany offers. For the hiking enthusiast; this is paradise.

In the southern part of Tuscany, we visited Montepulciano, Pienza, Castigliano d’Orcia area, Bagno Vignoni and the hot spring in Bagni San Filippo. Montepulciano was nice, but I totally fell in love with the less known town Pienza – it’s famous for its Pecorino cheese, the Piccolomoni palace and a balcony overlooking the Val d’Orcia area – this is where we witnessed the most amazing sunset on another day and visit. Pienza is rather small, but lively and so, so pretty. I think this is a lovely spot to stay at for a few nights.

In Castigliano d’Orcia we found a great restaurant, Locanda in Tuscany, which is also a luxury country resort. The cuisine is local and absolutely delicious, with very reasonable prices (we paid 30 € / person for starters, a main course, dessert and a glass of wine). This place is so picturesque and is the perfect day trip destination from anywhere close by! Val d’Orcia has idyllic scenery and landscapes – as far as the eye reaches.

Moltepulciano, Locanda in Tuscany in Castigliano d’Orcia and Pienza feat. Cass

Bagno Vignoni is a small and interesting town, with a big pool right in the middle of it. This area is known for its hot springs and could be the perfect spot for anyone looking for a place to relax and get pampered with wellness and spa, but certainly also worth a day trip, when in the area.

The Bagni San Filippo hot spring was quite an exotic place and I am happy to have witnessed this with my own eyes. I myself didn’t bathe, but just gaping at the impressive white concretions and waterfalls was wonderful. This place is very packed during the summer days, but we enjoyed the sunset here and liked this special place a lot!

Bagno Vignoni (famous for its hot springs and spas) and Bagni San Filippo

When driving around the southern areas of Tuscany, you will find numerous cool places simply by spotting them from the car window – which is almost the best part of road tripping, really. For example, at the oasis of Burano lake, we found the “spazio amato” light installation and lovely nature resort, close to Locanda in Tuscany we discovered this amazing Cypress tree road that is just spot-on Tuscany and in San Quirco d’Orcia we found the mysterious chapel Vitaleta (Capella Madonna di Vitaleta) on a scenic hill. Close to Pienza we also came across this lovely organic farm with a restaurant and shop – high on top of a hill with spectacular views and their local farm-produced food (we got ambushed by a thunderstorm here, which was adventurous!).

Italian beauty from our random stops and discoveries 

In the region of Umbria, we explored another gem of a city, Orvieto, which is a middle-sized city perched on a rock cliff. This city is another one of my recommendations to stay at, as it’s very atmospheric and pretty, which such flabbergasting views, wonderful little shops and great local wine! Surprisingly, I found one of my favourite churches here – the duomo di Orvieto. I think my top four favourite churches would consist of: St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the duomos of Siena and Orvieto, and the cathedral in Verona. Florence’s cathedral is beautiful, too, but the insides of Siena’s and Orvieto’s cathedrals were more memorable and impressive to me.

One cool place in the region of Lazio is Civita di Bagnoregio – la citta che muore (the dying city). This is a ghost town of about only 10 permanent residents; because of the gradual destruction of the town centre, the size of the place is slowly reducing. The town is located on the top of a hill made out of a layer of tufa (soft volcanic stone typical in central Italy, formulated after several volcanic eruptions thousand years ago). Before multiple earthquakes and landslides pushing the inhabitants to abandon the town, Civita di Bagnoregio used to be an active centre. From far away the ghost town looks like it’s floating on air – it is connected to the surrounding countryside by a long bridge suspended in the air, which can be crossed by foot. We only marvelled at the town from afar and visiting it is definitely on my next adventures list. This fascinating place is a super recommendation to all Italy explorers out there!

"The dying city” Civita di Bagnoregio and Orvieto’s cathedral and street views

When Carlotta came over to San Casciano in Val di Pesa (the place where I have been staying for quite a while this summer in Tuscany), we explored Florence and near-by towns Greve in Chianti, Panzano, Castellina in Chianti and the winery Antinori nel Chianti Classico in Bargino. Apart from my all-time favorite city Florence, of course, these are all small places, but really nice for skimming through to witness the authentic Italy – one of the best parts is driving between these towns as breath-taking landscape views are a given also in this part of Tuscany. 

You will find nice and affordable restaurants, bars and gelaterias everywhere with an addition of friendly locals and plenty of wineries and olive oil shops. We witnessed a leatherworker engrossed in his work, visited the famous Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery, spoke with locals to get the best tips and enjoyed delicious dinners at San Casciano - our day in Florence made me remember my big love for this beautiful city! Also in the Tuscan region closer to Florence I recommend to cruise around by car to catch the nicest places, but travel without a car is not impossible (even though the timetables may be...). For example from San Casciano you can reach Florence easily by tram (the stop is a 20 min drive away from our accomodation - super easy commute), or by bus directly from the village. 

Greve, Panzano and Antinori nel Chianti Classico winery, Florence including Cass and Carlotta in photography mode (the only picture angle you’ll get of her)

As mentioned several times before, Tuscany has stolen my heart and I will be back to continue my explorations here, with 100 % certainty! I couldn’t be happier to have come across this region and to have had the chance to really discover its beauty in peace. I’m also very grateful for having met such a wonderful exploration buddy, Carlotta. Tuscany is an area in Italy so worth visiting and I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed with it – especially if you’re ready to move around and seek for what it is you are looking for. 

Much love! 

Bacio! 💋 Cass