Eastern Tuscany - Florence and Tuscany - page 502

( 0575 52 98 44; www.anticacantina.com ; Via Lapucci 2; meals €39; noon-2.30pm & 8-11pm Tue-
Sun, closed Jan) Come to 'The Old Cantina' for an old-fashioned dining experience under an
atmospheric vaulted ceiling. The menu offers no surprises, but should have something to
please most palates. It's on a steep side street off Via Cesare Battisti in Poppi Alta.
Information
The tourist office ( 0575 52 05 11; [e-mail] ; Via Roma 203, Ponte a Poppi;
9am-1pm & 3-6pm Mon-Thu, 9am-1pm Fri) is in the ugly modern Unione dei Comuni Montani
del Casentino building at the eastern edge of town, near the turn-off to Camaldoli.
Getting There & Away
Etruria Mobilità ( Click here ) buses travel between Florence and Bibbiena, stopping in
Poppi en route (€5, two hours, six daily). Unfortunately, local services within the
Casentino are few and far between.
From Florence, take the SR67 and SR69 (Via Aretina) and veer onto the SS70 (Passo
della Consuma). To Arezzo, take the SR70 and SS71.
Frequent Trasporto Ferroviario Toscano (TFT; www.trasportoferroviariotoscano.it ) trains link Poppi
with Arezzo (€3.40, one hour), Bibbiena (€1.40, 10 minutes) and Stia (€1.40, 15 minutes).
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
PRATOVECCHIO
Most visitors zoom through this unremarkable town on their drive between Stia and Poppi, but it's
well worth a pitstop around mealtimes. In the evening, tables at La Tana degli Orsi ( 0575 58 33
77; Via Roma 1; meals €38; 7.30-10.30pm Thu-Mon) are hotly contested, so book ahead if you're
keen to savour the traditional Casentino dishes that its chef creates with love and local produce. At
lunch or aperitivo , the more modern Toscana Twist ( 0575 58 21 20; Via della Libertà 3; pastry &
coffee €4, lunch €20; 6am-7.30pm Tue-Thu, to 11pm Fri, to 9pm Sat) is the destination of choice.
Toscana Twist doesn't accept credit cards.
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