Tuscany

Tuscany is the rare place where I’ll ask you to subtract from the itinerary rather than add to it. The pleasure here isn’t in covering ground; it’s in the long lunch, the hour when the light goes amber across the hills, and the drive you take twice because it was that good the first time.

I drove the Val d’Orcia with my mother on a second trip to Italy, and we had barely thirty-six hours. It’s still one of my favourite stretches of road anywhere. That’s the magic of this region: it rewards you almost immediately, and then it keeps on rewarding you for as long as you’re willing to stay.

So here’s my Rolodex, the whole thing: where I’d base you, what’s genuinely worth the drive, where to eat, and the handful of bookings you’ll want to make months ahead.