Tuscany

Tuscany is amazing and one of my favourite places. We stay in a friend’s cottage (Ca'de Boni) which is a home from home and yet has access to the lively village community of Pergo with bars and restaurants and is close to the historic town of Cortona.

The area is really well connected with good roads and trains and within an hour you have access to the very best of Tuscany sightseeing: Cortona, Siena, Arrezzo, Trasimeno, Montepulciano. Florence (1 hour) and Rome (1.5 hours) can be reached by train.

Nearby LAGO TRASIMENO is the fourth largest lake in Italy and it takes only 20 minutes by car: door to beach. The best swimming spot is Castiglione del Lago, where you can take a picnic under the many shady spots under the trees.

It is also possible to take boat trips on the lake to the very pretty Isola Maggiore. There are lovely walks around the lake and some good fish restaurants for a leisurely lunch.

Cortona has changed dramatically over the years and is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Italy. It overflows with galleries, historic churches and the world famous Etruscan Museum. Cortona is the place to go searching for treasures like art, pottery, jewellery, shoes, leather bags, designer label clothing but also unique hand crafted clothes - individually tailored.

Montepulciano is a renowned wine area and there are plenty of vineyards to tour and cellars where you can taste the wines.

Camucia is the next village along from Pergo that has a market every Thursday morning and is a must visit. We purchase all our fresh veg and fish for our BBQ’s which is such good value and super fresh. My husband’s favourite thing to buy is ‘Porchetta’ from several vendors at the market and is very popular with the locals too.

Getting around is so easy and the scenery is stunning, we could go back year after year!