Rick Steves - Rick Steves Florence & Tuscany

Tuscan hill town

Brunelleschis dome of the Duomo, Florence

Rick Steves

FLORENCE & TUSCANY

Welcome to Rick Steves Europe

Travel is intensified livingmaximum thrills per minute and one of the last great sources of legal adventure. Travel is freedom. Its recess, and we need it.

I discovered a passion for European travel as a teen and have been sharing it ever sincethrough my tours, public television and radio shows, and travel guidebooks. Over the years, Ive taught thousands of travelers how to best enjoy Europes blockbuster sightsand experience Back Door discoveries that most tourists miss.

Written with my talented co-author, Gene Openshaw, this book offers you a balanced mix of Florences rich cultural heritage and the romantic charm of Tuscanys time-passed villages. And its selectiverather than listing dozens of hill towns, I recommend only the best ones. My self-guided museum tours and city walks give insight into the regions vibrant history and todays living, breathing culture.

I advocate traveling simply and smartly. Take advantage of my money- and time-saving tips on sightseeing, transportation, and more. Try local, characteristic alternatives to expensive hotels and restaurants. In many ways, spending more money only builds a thicker wall between you and what you traveled so far to see.

We visit Italy to experience itto become temporary locals. Thoughtful travel engages us with the world, as we learn to appreciate other cultures and new ways to measure quality of life.

Judging from the positive feedback I receive from readers, this book will help you enjoy a fun, affordable, and rewarding vacationwhether its your first trip or your 10th.

Buon viaggio! Happy travels!

Florence is Europes cultural capital. As the home of the Renaissance and the birthplace of the modern world, Florence practiced the art of civilized living back when the rest of Europe was rural and crude. Democracy, science, and literature, as well as painting, sculpture, and architecture, were all championed by the proud and energetic Florentines of the 1400s.

When the Florentine poet Dante first saw the teenaged Beatrice, her beauty so inspired him that he spent the rest of his life writing poems to her. In the same way, the Renaissance opened peoples eyes to the physical beauty of the world around them, inspiring them to write, paint, sculpt, and build.

Today, Florence is geographically small and yet it boasts more artistic masterpieces per square mile than anyplace else. In a single day, you can look Michelangelos David in the eyes, fall under the seductive sway of Botticellis Birth of Venus, and climb the modern worlds first dome, which still dominates the skyline.

Of course, theres a reality here, too. As the historic center becomes increasingly filled with visitors, rents are rising and locals are fleeing to the suburbs, threatening to make Florence a kind of Renaissance theme park. Sure, Florence is touristy. But where else can you stroll the same pedestrian streets walked by Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Botticelli while savoring the worlds best gelato?

To round out your visit, see Florence and then escape to the Tuscan countryside. With its manicured fields, rustic farms, cypress-lined driveways, and towns clinging to nearly every hill, Tuscany is our romantic image of village Italy. Venture beyond the fringes of Florence and youll find a series of sun- and wine-soaked villages, each with its own appeal. Stretching from the Umbrian border to the Ligurian Sea, the landscape changes from pastoral (Crete Senesi) to rocky (Chianti) to mountainous (the Montagnola) to flat and brushed with sea breezes (Pisa).