easy hikes and city walks in Italy
In terms of drama, scale and majestic beauty, few areas in Europe can rival the Italian Dolomites For us, one way of rating the quality of our hikes is simply to count the number of pictures that we have brought home. On some of our hikes in the past, we have made no more than…
In the footsteps of the impressionist master at the Riviera resort of Bordighera, follow the Monet. The French painter Claude Monet spent one winter – the early part of 1884 – in the Italian town of Bordighera, having been introduced to this part of the Riviera by his friend Renoir the year before. Monet was…
I don’t know to what extent we have become experts in Tuscan art and landscapes (there is simply too much of either to see and to experience). Our recent trip has certainly improved our expertise in one specific area: Italian food, more particularly Tuscan dishes. How We Enjoyed Eating in Tuscany We now know that…
Once the Pilgrim’s Progress has led him to Siena, the Pilgrim may be excused for thinking that it will not get much better than this For nearly a thousand years, the 2 km stretch of the Via Francigena that cuts through the city of Siena has been the highlight of the trail. Imagine: most of…
The half-stage to Monteriggioni delivers a good lesson in authenticity –and the key to unlocking the treasures of the Via Francigena If you have neither the time for a full trip down the Via Francigena from Canterbury to Rome (a journey of 2000 km that features 80 stages and crossings of both the Channel and…
San Gimignano, the New York of the Middle Ages Truly great hiking trails are a mix of four elements, and the Via Francigena – stretching for nearly 2000 km from Canterbury to Rome – has them all. Firstly and secondly, the Francigena Way features beautiful landscapes and variety: the combination that defines any “good” hiking…
Columns and cupolas in search of nervous excitement Montecatini prides itself, with a certain justification, on its reputation as a “city of the arts”. The Montecatini Contemporary Art Museum is well stocked and the proud owner of a large-scale work by Joan Mirò, and for as long as anybody can remember, artists have always loved the resort….
Tuscany is where two of Europe’s foremost cultural routes cross, one an ancient pilgrim’s path to Rome and the other a network of spa towns across the continent. Such a crossing may be a great starting point, but eventually, you have to decide which way you are going – or, at the very least, which…
Tuscany: Home to the Cultural Routes of Europe Now don’t get me wrong: I have absolutely nothing against the grand majestic landscapes of our planet, the Grand Canyon and Utah’s Monument Valley, or the barren rocks and icey cliffs of the high mountains, and I am as much in awe of the “the graceful indifference…
Walks in the Italian Riviera Taggia and Arma – a tale of two towns Another “two Italian towns for the price of one” walk, but one with a difference. You may remember: last year, we invited you to accompany us on a walk from Porto Maurizio to Oneglia, the two sister towns that together make…