Cycling Tours in italy

*  Swimming pools at 4 out of 5 hotels

*  Great art cities of Perugia and Siena; a wealth of antiquarian sites

*  Varied hotels, including a C17 villa and an olive oil farm

*  Enchanting Lake Trasimeno; scenery from “The English Patient”

*  Exquisite Tuscan cuisine; fantastic local wines

If you have 10 days to spend in Tuscany, then we think this holiday has it all - mediaeval villages, hilltop towns, Renaissance churches and Roman remains. Taking in the lush, verdant plains of the Val di Chiana on the shore of Lake Trasimeno, and the gently rolling ochre-coloured hills and vineyards of the Val d’Orcia, you mostly follow small traffic- free strade bianchethrough two of Italy’s most beautiful and culturally rich regions: Tuscany and Umbria. There’s Hannibal’s battlefield by the shores of Trasimeno, the idealised Renaissance Pienza, and hilltop Montalcino and Montepulciano with their mediaeval fortresses. Hidden gems include sleepy Castelmuzio in the heart of the Creti Senesi, and the Medicis’ thermal baths at Bagno Vignoni. The art treasures of Siena and Perugia are easily reached on “free” days by bus or train.

This is serious wine country, too. Vino Nobile di Montepulcianoand Brunello di Montalcino  come from here, as well as the less well-known Chianti Colli Senesiand Colli del Trasimeno.