Company providing bike tours in Italy

Walking tour:

Enchanting Tuscany - self guided

This Tuscany hiking tour starts in Montepulciano and goes to Pienza and finishes in Montalcino, where along the way you will visit the villages and scenery that have made Tuscany famous. You can enjoy very charming 3/4 star accommodations and devour your choice of divine mediterranean cuisine. The hilly terrain makes this tour somewhat challenging!

Itinerary:
Day one Montepulciano & vino nobile.
Arrival in Montepulciano by train and bus This splendid little town – whose artistic and architectural heritage led it to be called the Pearl of the Cinquecento – has preserved its beauty intact. Going up the steep streets of its outlying districts you will  discover beautiful palazzos and churches imbued with the unparalleled art of foremost Renaissance architects. Lodging hotel marzocco

Day two Pienza and Monticchiello
Total distance 9 miles / 14 km - 5/6 hours walking Medium difficulty Montepulciano to Monticchiello distance 8 km +  Monticchiello to Pienza 6 km
Start from your hotel in  Montepulciano, your four-and-a-half-mile walk sets out immediately on quiet dirt roads with sweeping views across the soft undulating hills, all the way to the enchanting hill town of Monticchiello. Almost no signs of the 20th century have made their way past the walls of this medieval village, where you can have a light lunch at a tiny restaurant overlooking the valley or a picnic lunch. After you 'll climb the ramparts for a bird's-eye view of the route Panoramica to Pienza. This four-mile stretch crosses vineyards, farmland and the grazing pastures of the sheep whose milk makes one of the most famous products from this area: pecorino cheese. Get in your hotel on main street Chiostro or la Valle
  
Day  three San Quirico and Bagno Vignoni
Total distance 10 miles / 16 km – 5/6 hours walking medium difficulty Pienza to San quirico distance  10 km  + San quirico to Bagno vignoni 6 km
Departure from Pienza, the walk to San Quirico D'Orcia pass through the little church Madonna di vita Lete, a known postcard  of the area.  Get to the town: a pristine hilltown whose nearly deserted streets are paved with terra cotta. Before taking off please have a quick visit to the formal gardens called Orti Leonini. The  walk follows a broad dirt road that weaves in and out of farmlands, wheat fields and live oak woods. Our destination is Bagno Vignoni, a tiny village that exists solely because of its thermal hot springs, famed since Roman times.   Just imagine: the main town square is a thermal swimming pool! Once arrive at hotel you can either take a swim in the 51-degree Celsius waters of the bathing establishment, or just dip your feet in the natural hot water which emerges from the ground and flows down the hill. Hotel le terme or locanda del loggiato 

Day four: castello ripa d’orcia and Montalcino
Total distance 11 miles /18 km  6/ 7 hours walking medium difficulty Bagno Vignoni to Ripa d’orcia castle 5 km + Ripa d’orcia to Montalcino 13 km The walk today is longer but not too diffult: you will come soon at Ripa d'Orcia, an architectural complex which has survived virtually unchanged to the present day and offers visitors the magical atmosphere of the past times surrounded by an unspoilt nature. After  you will walk along the brunello vineyards. The famed wine town of Montalcino is your destination. Visit the fortress to see a breathtaking view of the entire valley you've just biked, then reward yourself with dinner at our favourite wine cellar. Hotel Dei Capitani or il Giglio

Day five optional Sant’Antimo Abbey
7.5 miles/12 km   3/4 hours walking Medium difficulty
optional walk : start from Montalcino, and follow a little dirt road that winds through the hills to the minuscule medieval hamlet of Villa a Tolli. Passing through a wooded valley we are suddenly treated to one of the most memorable sights in Italy: the Abbey of Sant'Antimo. Legend has it that Charlemagne himself founded the first church on this site in the year 781. The travertine marble of which it is built is one of the finest conductors of sound, which gives a mystical quality to the Gregorian Chants performed by the handful of monks who live here. Transfer back by van  to  be reserved.


Difficulty : easy to moderate
Price : Price euro 840 p/person in double accommodation
Inclusions:
4 nights accommodation
4 breakfast
3 transfer baggage to next hotel
All route notes and maps
Duration:4 nights/4 days
Dates:Any date between 15th March to end of October
Notes: This is a self-guided touring and offers total freedom of dates - you can choose whatever dates you wish. We can accommodate small parties of 2 persons up to large groups.