Identity card
Currency the euro.
Area code : + 39.
Formalities National identity card or passport. Best season: Tuscan summers can be very hot. Spring is best, when the countryside is at its most beautiful, or autumn, when the grape harvest, hunting and truffles are at their peak.
Group size All sizes.
How to get there
Air France serves Florence from terminal 2F at Paris CDG with up to six flights a day during the winter season. Tel: +33 (0) 8 92 70 26 54 Internet: www.airfrance.fr
For more information
Italian National Tourist Office
23, rue de la Paix, 75002 Paris. Tel: +33 (0)1 42 66 03 96. Email: infoitalie.paris@enit.it. Internet site: www.enit.it or www.italia.it
Turismo de la Città Metropolitana di Firenze
Via A. Manzoni 16, 50121 Firenze. Tel: +39 0552761411.
IAT - Tourist information
Via Cavour 1 r, 50129 Florence. Tel: +39 055290832/3 - Email: firenzeturismo@cittametropolitana.f.it Internet: www.firenzeturismo.it
Siena Tourist Office
Piazza Duomo 1, Santa Maria della Scala, 53100 Siena - Tel: +39 0577 280551 Email: siena@terresiena.it Internet : www.terresiena.it
San Gimignano Tourist Office
Piazza del Duomo 1, 53037 San Gimignano (Siena) - Tel: +39 0577 940008 Email: info@sangimignano.com Internet : www.sangimignano.com
Florence and Tuscany Tours by Florapromotuscany (Travel Agency and Tour Operator)
Via Condotta 12, 50122 Florence. Tel: +39 055 210301 or +39 349 3164677 (port.) - Email: info@ florenceandtuscanytours.com - Internet: www.florenceandtuscanytours.com
Hotels
Florence
Il Salviatino
On the hills above Florence, in Fiesole, this patrician villa overlooks a listed park. From its terrace, between the treetops, you can see the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral. The 45 rooms and suites have been furnished with particular care - leather headboards and armchairs, refined bathroom linen - thanks to the skills of local craftsmen. Each room has been adapted to the particular features of the building or garden. One, for example, has a vaulted ceiling painted with nineteenth-century frescoes and a Roman bathtub, while others share lounges in the former greenhouses. You can also meet in the large library. Chef Carmine Calo serves Tuscan cuisine revisited and, in season, vegetables and fruit from the park.
Via del Salviatino, 21, Fiesole (Florence). Tel. +39 055 9041111 Email: info@salviatino.com Internet : www.salviatino.com
Hotel Portrait
The windows of this private hotel belonging to the Ferragamo group have the privilege of overlooking the Ponte Vecchio. The 32 suites and four rooms in this establishment, founded by the famous shoemaker to the stars, are decorated in a very Italian style by Michele Bönan. With elegance and boldness, it mixes contemporary design with vintage fifties touches, all in shades of white, grey and black, enhanced by a collection of old photos of celebrities. At Caffè d'Elloro, you can dine on Tuscan and more generally Italian flavours in a refined atmosphere. The Ferragamo group has five other establishments in the Tuscan capital.
Lungarno degli Acciaiuoli 4. Florence. Tel: +39 055 2726 8000 - Email: portraitfrenze@lungarnocollection.com Internet: www.lungarnocollection.com
Hotel Plaza Lucchesi
On the banks of the Arno, its 87 rooms and 10 suites, some with terraces, overlook either the Palazzo Vecchio and the Duomo rising above the tiles, or the hills above the river. Panoramic views can be enjoyed from the rooftop terrace, where the bar and small swimming pool bring together lovers of sunshine and 'spritz', the typical cocktail made with Prosecco and bitter. This is the most popular area of the hotel, which also has a number of very traditional, quieter lounges. The restaurant serves international cuisine. There are also two meeting rooms.
Lungarno della Zecca Vecchia, 38. Florence - Tel: +39 055 26236 Email: lucchesi@toforence.it Internet : www.hotelplazalucchesi.it
Siena
Palazzo Leopoldo
A hotel with 33 rooms and suites spread over three buildings in the village of Radia in Chianti. The main building is an old nineteenth-century villa with a small lounge extending onto a terrace. Breakfast is served in an 18th-century kitchen, where cooking classes and wine tastings are organised. There is a restaurant, Perla Del Palazzo, serving Tuscan dishes, and a wine bar, Caffè San Niccolo. Indoor swimming pool and small meeting room in a cellar for around 40 people.
Via Roma, 33, Radda in Chianti (Siena). Tel: +39 0577 735605 Email: info@palazzoleopoldo.it Internet : www.palazzoleopoldo.it
Borgo San Felice
This Relais & Châteaux member hotel has taken over an entire former medieval hamlet - its palace, outbuildings, chapel and wine cellars. The 53 elegantly decorated rooms and suites are spread throughout the various houses. The hotel offers the Poggio Rosso gourmet restaurant, where chef Francesco Bracali concocts top-flight Tuscan cuisine, and La Terrazza di San Felice, for more traditional dishes. Bar, swimming pool and spa. Three meeting rooms for 20 to 150 people. Possibility of tasting the estate's wines.
Località San Felice. 53019 Castelnuovo Berardenga (Siena) - Tel: +39 0577 3964 - Email: info@borgosanfelice.it Internet: www.borgosanfelice.it
Practical guides
Tuscany, Umbria (2015), Le Routard, Hachette Tourisme. Tuscany (2014), Lonely Planet.
