Things to do in Tuscany: cities, hill towns and wine

• Chianti9 experiencesThings to do in Chianti: drive the Chiantigiana, taste Black Rooster wine, eat at Cecchini's butcher in Panzano and see Ghirlandaio's Last Supper at Passignano.
• Florence13 experiencesThings to do in Florence: climb Giotto's bell tower, hear vespers at San Miniato, eat lampredotto at the market and take bus 7 up to Fiesole's Roman theatre.
• Pisa9 experiencesThings to do in Pisa beyond the tower: hear the Baptistery echo, walk the medieval walls above Piazza dei Miracoli and see Roman ships found under the city.
• Siena9 experiencesThings to do in Siena: see the cathedral's marble floor uncovered, climb the Torre del Mangia on a same-day ticket and walk the fountains of the 17 contrade.
• Val d'Orcia9 experiencesThings to do in the Val d'Orcia: Pope Pius II's town of Pienza, the hot spring square of Bagno Vignoni, the Vitaleta chapel and Montepulciano's old cellars.

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Walk or cycle the full circuit of Lucca's walls

Lucca

About an hour on foot, less by bikeFree

A 4.2-kilometre tree-lined promenade on top of Renaissance walls, free to walk in 45 minutes or ride as a gentle loop.

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Check dates and pricesBike hire with a route map around the walls

Climb San Gimignano's Torre Grossa above the other towers

San Gimignano

1 to 2 hoursNo booking needed

The tallest of the 14 surviving medieval towers, about 54 metres, and the one you can climb.

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Check dates and pricesTwo-day pass: Torre Grossa, civic museums and Duomo

Bathe in the free hot pools of the Cascate del Mulino

Saturnia, Maremma

2 to 3 hours in the waterFree

Sulphurous water at 37.5 °C pouring over natural limestone pools beside an old mill, free and open all year.

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Check dates and pricesDay trip by car from Florence to the hot springs

Eat gelato at Dondoli on San Gimignano's Piazza della Cisterna

San Gimignano, Tuscany

Half a day for the townNo booking needed

Saffron and Vernaccia gelato eaten on the steps by the old well, in a town that keeps 14 of its medieval tower houses.

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Tours in Tuscany

• Which places to pick

  For a first trip, base yourself in Florence for three days, give Siena a night, and add one countryside area: Chianti if you have little time, since it starts half an hour south of Florence, or the Val d'Orcia if you can spend two or three nights in the south. Pisa fits in half a day, best combined with Lucca on the same railway line.

• How to combine them

  Florence, Pisa and Lucca are linked by regional trains, and Florence and Siena by trains and coaches, so the cities work without a car. Chianti, the Val d'Orcia and Saturnia do not: buses between the villages are rare, so rent a car for those days or join a tour. Pick up the car on your way out of Florence rather than inside it, because the historic centres of Florence, Siena and Pisa are limited traffic zones (ZTL) watched by cameras.

• When to go

  Spring and autumn suit both the cities and the hills. September and October bring the grape harvest, and the countryside is at its most photographed in May and June, when the wheat is green. July and August are hot and crowded in the cities, and Siena's Palio falls on 2 July and 16 August. Some hill-town museums close for weeks in winter, so check before a January trip.

• Campania3 experiences
• Lazio3 experiences
• Liguria4 experiences
• Lombardy3 experiences
• Sicily3 experiences
• Trentino-Alto Adige4 experiences