Experiences in Tuscany: the short answer
If you have just one free day and you're staying in Florence, book a half-day wine tasting in Chianti: from €38.25 on the platforms, nobody has to drive, and you're back in time for dinner. If you have two days, add a cooking class in town or on a farm. If you're travelling in the south of the region, the experience not to skip is a soak in the thermal baths, free in the open-air pools or with sunbed and bathrobe in the spa parks. And if there's something to celebrate, a hot-air balloon flight at dawn is the biggest expense but also the sharpest memory.
The other experiences depend on the season, the weather or who you're travelling with. That's why we've sorted them by type of traveller first and by theme second.
Which activity in Tuscany for whom
| If you are… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| On your first visit, short on time | a wine tasting in Chianti | half a day from Florence, transport included |
| A wine lover | Brunello from Siena or a small group | less coach, more cellar |
| A couple marking an occasion | a balloon flight | an hour in the air at dawn over Chianti, Siena or the Val d'Orcia |
| A foodie, or travelling with children | a cooking class | pasta, tiramisù or pizza and gelato, even in 2 hours |
| Travelling in autumn | truffles and new olive oil | a short season, experiences you won't find elsewhere |
| Active, with a driving licence | Vespa or e-bike | the Chianti hills without a coach |
| Tired after the cities | thermal baths | from free to €90, depending on how much comfort you want |
| Out for some shopping | outlets | luxury at The Mall, mid-range at Barberino |
| With children, in the rain | caves, parks and the aquarium | indoors or underground, low official prices |
| An art lover | exhibitions | Palazzo Strozzi and Palazzo Blu, especially in autumn |
The ten experiences at a glance
Wine tours and tastings
The most common format is a half day in Chianti from Florence visiting two wineries, 5–6 hours, from €38.25 on GetYourGuide and from €45 on Tiqets. Small groups start from €89; a private tour with a driver generally costs €300–600 or more per person and only makes sense if there are four or more of you. For Brunello di Montalcino, it's better to start from Siena. A tasting booked directly with a winery generally costs €20–60 for 3–4 wines. You must be 18 to taste. Everything is on the pages about wine tours and Chianti.
Hot-air balloon flight
Flights take off only at dawn, with about an hour in the air and two and a half to three hours in all. In a shared basket you pay from €269 in Chianti, the most convenient area from Florence, up to €350 in the Val d'Orcia. The weather can cancel the flight, even the evening before, so book it for the first days of your trip: if it's called off, you have time to reschedule. Age, weight and health limits are on the page about the balloon flight.
Cooking classes
A pasta class in central Florence starts from €18 for two hours. A day on a farm with transfer, lunch and wine costs €99 to €180. In the hill towns, from Montepulciano to Pienza, classes run from €80 to €145 and make sense if you're staying in the area. Watch the cancellation terms: some options are non-refundable. See cooking classes.
Truffle hunting
A walk of one to three hours in the woods behind the truffle hunter and their dogs, followed by a tasting or lunch. By law, white truffles can only be hunted from 10 September to 31 December; in summer the hunt is for the scorzone (summer black truffle), and in May gathering stops altogether. Prices start from €90 per person, or from €275 with a transfer from Florence. No serious operator guarantees a find. See truffle hunting.
Olive oil and olive mills
The visit worth making is to a frantoio while it's working, between mid-October and November, when the new oil comes out green and peppery. It generally costs €20–60 with a tasting, €80–150 with lunch or a transfer. For the rest of the year a tasting is still instructive, but the mill is idle. See olive oil in Tuscany.
Vespa, bike and horse
The Vespa in Chianti starts from €114.75 on the platforms and requires a full car licence (category B) and a minimum age of 18. An e-bike is the compromise for the climbs, generally €100–180 with a tasting. In Lucca, renting a bike for the walls is all you need, from €20 a day. On horseback you can ride from €69 for an hour, and in the Maremma with the butteri, the local cowboys. Anyone under 21 or who has held their licence for less than three years must ride with zero alcohol. See bike, Vespa and horse riding.
Thermal baths
Two very different worlds. The open-air pools, such as the Cascate del Mulino at Saturnia and Bagni San Filippo, are free and have no facilities. The spa parks cost from about €15 to €90: Rapolano is the cheapest, and the Terme di Saturnia start from €26 in the afternoon. Montecatini is the only spa town easy to reach by train from Florence. At Bagno Vignoni the pool in the square is for looking at, nothing more. See thermal baths.
Outlets
There are three: The Mall Firenze for luxury, with a direct bus from Florence; Barberino Outlet, with more than 130 mid-range shops and a shuttle from Santa Maria Novella; and the Valdichiana Designer Village on the A1. VAT refunds are only available to people resident outside the EU. See outlets.
Caves, parks and the aquarium
The answer for rainy days and for children. The Grotta del Vento costs from €10 for one hour to €25 for three; the Antro del Corchia €18 with a guide; the Livorno aquarium €14 online and €17 at the ticket office. Almost everywhere, the official ticket costs the same or less than the resellers' one, with one exception explained on the page about caves and parks.
Exhibitions
The venues matter more than the dates: Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, from €15 for a fixed date, and Palazzo Blu in Pisa, €16, put on the exhibitions that justify a trip. Santa Maria della Scala in Siena and the Museo del Tessuto in Prato are smaller and you usually don't need to book. The season's programme is on the page about exhibitions.
Three experiences to book now
If you want a safe bet starting from Florence, these are the three simplest options: a half-day wine tasting in Chianti, a pasta class in town and a day on a Vespa through the hills. Partner prices change and we check them regularly.
Florence: Chianti Vespa Tour with Wine & E-Car Option
(1,033 reviews) from €114.75
Book on GetYourGuideBefore you pay, check three things on the listing: where the meeting point is, whether transport is included and how late you can cancel.
Experiences through the seasons
| Period | What works best |
|---|---|
| March–May | e-bike and Vespa, balloon flights, tastings; Cantine Aperte (open wineries) on the last weekend of May |
| June–August | the free hot springs in the morning or evening, cooking classes, cool caves; bikes only in the early hours |
| September–October | grape harvest, tastings, L'Eroica at Gaiole on the first weekend of October |
| October–December | new olive oil, white truffles, the San Miniato truffle fair in November, the big autumn exhibitions |
| January–February | thermal baths, exhibitions, outlets during the sales |
In summer the heat is a bigger problem than the rain: book outdoor experiences for the morning. In autumn the days get shorter and afternoon tours finish after dark.
How to book without surprises
Official site or platform? For museums, caves, thermal baths and exhibitions the official site is almost always the cheapest, and we say so on every page. For tours with transport, tastings and classes, platforms such as Tiqets and GetYourGuide add reviews to compare and, often, free cancellation up to 24 hours before. On Tiqets, admission tickets are usually non-refundable: read the listing.
The operator matters. The same Vespa or e-bike tour may be sold by several platforms and run by different operators. In our reviews of tour operators you'll find out who is behind them, for example Tuscany Bike Tours, Florencetown or Tuscany Ballooning, along with their cancellation rules.
The weather. Balloon flights and outdoor tours depend on the weather. The balloon is cancelled for wind or rain; many Vespa and bike tours, on the other hand, go ahead regardless. Ask beforehand what happens if it rains.
Mistakes to avoid
- Driving after a tasting. The limit is 0.5 g/l, but it drops to zero for drivers under 21 and in the first three years after passing your test. Choose a tour with a driver, or spit.
- Leaving the balloon flight for your last day. If the flight is cancelled, you have no margin to reschedule.
- Looking for white truffles in summer. From June the hunt is for the scorzone, the summer black truffle; white truffles only from 10 September, and the best period runs from October to December.
- Bathing at Bagno Vignoni. Swimming in the pool in the square is forbidden.
- Assuming you can do everything without a car. The free hot springs in the south and many farms can only be reached by car or with a transfer.