Tours in Tuscany Complete Package Holidays Destination
Join us on tuscanytours.net for a guided vacation exploring the rolling green hills of Italy and the romantic cities of Tuscany. Our guided holiday Tours in Tuscany consist of half-board hotel accommodations, flights, transfers, interesting excursions, and an expert, nearby guide so that you want to think about what to pack! We will give you a car and driver so you can enjoy all the places you like in Tuscany.
-
The “riposo / pausa pranzo” (lunch break/siesta) still exists
While this is changing in the big cities and with the big stores opening with “Orario continuato”, small towns and small shops still operate with breaks in the middle of the day, usually until 1-3.30 / 4 pm. This applies to shops and stores, including clothing boutiques and hair salons, where small shop owners go home, eat with family and take breaks before returning to work. So you can’t do any shopping at this time because the store is closed!
Shops are allowed to be open for a limited number of hours each day, so closing longer during lunch (when other people are working or eating) also means they are open longer in the evening, usually until 7.30-8pm. It allows working people to get out of work and go shopping. Nowadays, Poush Pranjo is more of a profitable thing than a need to relax.
Also note that most stores are open on Saturdays, closed on Sundays and Monday mornings, and reopen on Monday afternoons after lunch.
-
Plan to eat late at dinner, but make sure you’re on time at lunchtime!
Since lunch is always around 1 pm (restaurant kitchens close around 2.30-3 pm), make sure you are on time for lunch. Otherwise, you will wander around looking for a place to eat and find only ready-made water in bars and such. Which is better if you want something, if you don’t want something more significant in a restaurant.
Dinner is usually around 8 pm on average and often goes late, with many restaurants and tartaric open until 11 pm. Most are open around 7 pm so you can’t eat earlier … unless you are open all day for tourists. We usually avoid these!
-
“Café culture” is non-existent
Wine tours in Tuscany. You will be able to see and taste the process of making wine. If you go to a coffee shop and sit for hours with a laptop to work (or just surf the web), it will be hard for you to find such a spot in Italy – although there are a few and growing. The local culture of drinking coffee (remember they are called bars) usually involves drinking your small amount of coffee at the counter (cups of coffee known as espresso outside Italy are small!) And then leaving.
Consider that going to the bar to drink coffee is a break from work, so you don’t go to a coffee shop to work!There are many stylish coffee stores in the middle of Florence, for example, with big seating regions in order to encourage you to take a seat down and take some time. But again, now no longer always for work purposes.
Many of the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence are in fact “historic cafes” that were culturally social gatherings at the time, where many writers, painters, and philosophers would hang out to talk and discuss their thoughts and work. . They haven’t “worked” there yet, though, it was for social gatherings and these meetings can affect their work, go to them and consider it the setting they’ve played in the past.
Smaller towns have smaller bars with tables for sitting and taking your time, especially as a social gathering place. But don’t expect to sit there and work again. Wi-Fi coverage is spot on, optimal, but smaller bars don’t offer it as a service. See that point above for more details.
-
English is spoken everywhere… but a few Italian phrases will go a long way
Italians are very friendly and humble people, but learning a few words in Italian will take you a long way as you travel up and down the boot. It’s easy too!
- “Ciao” can be used for hello and goodbye, but it is very informal: it is better to use “Buon Giorno” (good day) or “Buona sera” (good evening) and “arrivederci” to say goodbye.
- Grazie” is used anywhere to mention thanks and, in case you are mistakenly known as an Italian, simply say “non capisco” (I don’t understand) so that you don’t understand what else they are saying. You can add “non parlo Italiano” however I agree that it’s far understood through that point.
-
Major travel hubs are Rome, Florence, Bologna and Naples
If you travel across Italy, plan your tours in Tuscany with tuscanytours.net Rent a car with driver service. Most trains and buses will go to the big hub on their way somewhere else, so if you don’t want to go back, plan the order of your cities as much as possible, including using it as a base from where day trips can be made. In the vicinity. If you are going to the city by train, check out the main rail lines below.
-
And finally, recognize that Italy is VAST & Different, regardless of its size
You may think Italy looks small on a map and you can get around in just 7 days, but it is very different from north to south.
Italy has 20 regions and each has its own specialties even as far as food and wine go, but most of all, in its tradition. It’s amazing how many things can be the same and different.
There is so much to explore and see around the country, and each place is packed with things to see (our entire website is dedicated to Tuscany for just one reason!
So give yourself time to explore and discover each place, even wandering around and getting lost …. maybe slowly and taking more time in each place, without trying to see everything in just one week!
If some time is limited, don’t forget the use of a prepared excursion as a terrific option to see the satisfactory points of interest in Italy, because it facilitates spending time traveling. Consider this 6-day short group Tours in Tuscany which includes Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice or this 7 day Tours in Tuscany which includes Sync Terry, Florence, Venice and Rome. However, if you want to add a visit to the Colosseum in Rome, make sure to book your Colosseum tickets in advance, as well as your entry ticket to Pompeii. They save you time avoiding long lines! Avoiding lengthy traces is continually a terrific thing.
