Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For those seeking a gentler ride, the
Etruscan Coast
and
south of Livorno
along the
scenic wine and oil road are favourites; ask at Livorno tourist office for the
Costa degli
Etruschi: Cycling Itineraries
booklet detailing 20 cycling routes.
If bringing your own bike from home, check with your airline whether there's a fee and
how much, if any, disassembling and packing it requires. Bikes can be transported by train
in Italy, either with you or to arrive within a couple of days.
BEST ONE-DAY BIKE TOURS
Florence and Siena are hubs for hooking up with a cycling guide. One-day tours (23km) only need to
be booked a day or two in advance. Everything is supplied, including bike, helmet, route map, water
bottle and quite often lunch and/or wine tasting.
In Florence try Florence by Bike (
Click here
) if you're wanting the bike and itinerary but no guide;
and FiesoleBike (
Click here
) to pedal from Fiesole to Florence at sunset.
Practicalities
For those not willing or able to haul their bikes from home, there are plenty of places in
Tuscany to rent a pair of wheels and buy the colour-coordinated lycra. Book through
EcoRent
(
www.ecorent.net
)
, or upon arrival at bike-rental outlets in Florence, Pisa, Lucca, Si-
ena and other towns. Many hotels and
agriturismi
(farm stay accommodation) also organ-
ise bike rental.
While most historic town and city centres are closed to cars, cyclists are free to enter at
will. But the real joy is once you head out into Tuscany's green belt of wild-flower mead-
ows, sage-scented hedgerows and kilometre after kilometre of traffic-free road.
Horse-Riding
The rhythmic crunch of hooves as you saunter serenely on horseback through chestnut
and cork oak wood, past fields of bright yellow sunflowers and wild red poppies, and
between vines, is hypnotically calming, aromatic - and oh-so-Tuscan.
Riding is big region-wide, with plenty of
agriturismi
having horses for guests to ride.
Several farms, especially in southern Tuscany's
Parco Regionale della Maremma
, spe-
cialise in equestrian holidays and offer treks of one or several days. Combining the intim-
acy of
agriturismi
and meals around a shared table with the formality of a riding school,
these equestrian farms are the most atmospheric way of experiencing Tuscany on horse-
