Tuscany: Planning a trip, touring suggestions, sights, activities, accommodation, events and weather
Tuscany: an ideal place for a family vacation. For the independent minded traveller, a self catered vacation with fly/drive makes perfect sense. Tuscany is a very lush and beautiful part of Italy, rich in pre-history and a living monument to the Renaissance. Not to be overlooked is the vibrant modern life, art and music. If you are willing
to take a little trouble to learn some basic Italian your trip will be enhanced a thousandfold as you have an opportunity to make contact with the friendly people of the region. For families, a summer vacation can offer the excitement of hiking in the mountains, cycling, water sports along the Riviera, and simple or sophisticated food.
The Camaiore region of Tuscany is close to the sea and mountains, and a gateway to the treasures of central Tuscany.
Recommendations on what to see, where to go and what and do in and around
Western Tuscany
My listing of events, music, festivals, antiques, gardens, children's activities in the
Camaiore area (Lucca province, Tuscany )
Personal recommendations for
dining in Camaiore and surrounding towns
Where to stay
Rental details click here: Are you a family of 4/5 or two couples travelling together? Stay in this comfortable and affordable house in a hilltop village, overlooking the Versilian coast
Links to touring suggestions starting from Camaiore
Car rental
Make sure that you book your car before you travel to Italy to obtain the best rates. Europcar which we have found reliable. Also you might try
Dollaroexpress :Rental car firm in Italy, competitive rates
Staying in touch
GSM cellphones are the standard in Italy as in all Europe. It is now possible to use your US GSM cellphone while in Europe, either using your company's plan or by having an unlocked phone that can use a SIM card for the country you are visiting. Rentals from the US are prohibitive. It is possible to use a calling card from the major companies such as ATT, or independent companies such as IDT (Globalcall), which rely on a toll free access number through a public phone and charge your account. A credit card can be used for topping up. To access public phones in Italy, it is best to have a low denomination phone card available from a Tobacconist or supermarket.
Recommended reading on Italy :
Cadogan Tuscany and Umbria Cadogan guides to Tuscany - a really indepth and very readable guide book.
Traveller's History of Italy Italian Journeys - an appraisal of Italian style and manners
Within Tuscany: Reflections on a Time & Place Wonderful essays on the essence of Tuscany by the son of Stephen Spender.
English Patient Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home Italy - lovingly restoring an Italian palazzo
Italian Neighbors: Or a Lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona An Englishman's experience of life in Tuscany
Sixteen Pleasures A novel set in Florence of the '60s
Also: That Fine Italian Hand by Paul Hoffman (Owl paperback).
Discovering the hill towns of Italy: Paul Duncan,Pavilion Press. Hardback, wonderful photographs.
And a final novel:A tabernacle for the sun, Linda Proud. Allison and Busby. A novel of Florence in the times of Lorenzo de' medici.
Last updated September 2006
