Tuscan Gardens

What sort of weather can I expect?

Answer: Meteorological records for the area, taken over a period of more than 10 years, are represented in the Weather Chart
provided with each itinerary. Early May is generally clear and warm, though there may be some lingering Spring showers.

What sort of walking can I expect?

Our support vehicles allow you the flexibility to walk 'as much or as little as you like', with drop-offs and pick-ups appropriate to the given day's itinerary. The Tour Leader will tell you each evening about the following day's walking options.

This is an 8-day trip, comprised of garden visits, sightseeing and gentle walks.

The fitness level of this trip is Grade 1 .

Please make sure that your footwear provides sufficient ankle support. We recommend you also bring lighter shoes for sightseeing.

The area we visit is the central part of Tuscany – a
landscape characterised by medieval hilltop villages and scattered cypress trees, undulating vineyards and olive groves. Its gently rolling hills are disarmingly familiar as the classical backdrop of Renaissance art and its charm is a changelessness, which merges medieval and modern worlds.

Some of our walks are weather sensitive. If it is not possible to do a walk due to inclement weather, an alternative will be organised. Any such decision is at the discretion of the Tour Leader.

What if I don’t want to walk?

You don’t have to! You can either get a lift with the Tour Manager to the lunch location or the next hotel, or we can suggest options
to allow you to walk for part of the day. If the itinerary does not involve a hotel change on a given day, you can simply stay in the town and explore, and join (or not join) the group for lunch. The Tour Leader will discuss the next day’s options with the group every
evening.

Where do I meet the group?

The destination airports for this walking holiday in Tuscany are Pisa and Florence. There will be a set meeting time at each airport for the transfer to the first hotel and a set time for the return transfer to the airport at the end of the trip. 

Please check transfer times with the Reservations Team before booking your flights if you would like to take advantage of the transfers. Your flight should arrive at at least 1 hour before the meeting time, to allow sufficient time to pass through customs and collect your luggage.

Please ensure that you inform us of your arrival time at the airport, whether arriving by air or otherwise. If by air, please advise us of your flight number.

The Tour Leader or Tour Manager will meet the group in the arrivals area at the designated time. They will be wearing green polo shirts bearing the ATG logo. The minibus transfer to Lucca will depart shortly thereafter. 

If you arrive late and find that the group has left (there is no sign of them in the arrivals hall or our minibuses with the ATG logo outside the terminal building), please check for a message at the information desk and make your own way to the first hotel, letting the ATG office know you’re on your way. The ATG office number is +44 1865 315 678 or outside office hours please call the emergency number which is +44 1865 315 600.

Meeting at the first hotel

You are of course welcome to meet the group at the first hotel:

Hotel Ilaria 

Via del Fosso 26 - 55100 Lucca historical centre
Tel +39 (0) 583 47615 

If you are meeting the group at the first hotel, our Tour Consultants will contact you upon their arrival.

Please indicate your intention during the booking procedure.

What should I bring?

Bring whatever clothes and footwear you find most comfortable for everyday wear, and a change or two for the evenings – smart/casual.
Most trips tend to include some quite distinguished hotels and restaurants, for which you may wish to ‘dress up’. For walking we recommend lightweight walking boots with firm ankle support (make sure you wear them in before the trip!), a small daypack for your
lightweight waterproof clothing, camera, fleece etc. An increasing number of people bring telescopic walking poles. For a comprehensive packing list click here:what to bring

What sort of food can I expect?

On our escorted Tuscany walking tours all meals are included.

Breakfast

Most of the hotels we use offer a buffet-style breakfast with a range of both hot and cold choices. 4- and 5-star hotels almost always offer ‘cooked’ breakfast. Occasionally, in more remote areas, or in some 2 or 3-star hotels, breakfast can be a decidedly more ‘contenental’ affair – e.g bread, croissant, juice, coffee. If a breakfast needs ‘topping up’ to meet the needs of those with a
full morning of walking ahead, the Tour Manager will ensure this happens.

ATG Picnic lunches

ATG picnic lunches in Europe are renowned! ‘Happening upon’ an ATG picnic in an idyllic location punctuates each day’s walk. Picnics are colourful, varied and nutritious. Buffet-style, there is a choice of meats, cheeses, salads and fruits. Many salads are ‘exclusive’ to ATG and some of these original recipes are in the ATG ‘Table of Moveable Feasts’.

After being greeted with mineral water, followed by wine and an abundant lunch of local organic produce and specialities, there’s usually time for a siesta! Where there is a particularly spectacular and remote picnic spot we may occasionally carry
packed lunches. Outside Europe the location of lunches may vary, from picnics to meals in restaurants or private houses.

Dinner

Dinner is usually at about 8.00pm. We tend to eat in the best and most interesting restaurants available, which serve traditional local dishes as well as regional classics and excellent regional wines. To ensure that we enjoy the best that the area has to offer, the Tour Manager, with his/her specialist knowledge and experience, will have worked closely with the chef in advance, selecting the most interesting
and characteristic menu possible. This not only ensures that we eat far better than people who ‘come in off the street’, but enables us to enjoy a very wide range of local specialities during
the trip, and also to cater imaginatively for those with special dietary needs.

At the start of dinner each evening, it is ATG ‘style’ to
tell you about the menus and wines for that evening. If there’s anything different that you would prefer, you have only to ask.

 What sort of food in this area?

Tuscan food is simple, using good local ingredients to complement the excellent robust wines of the region. It is seasonal food, usually prepared with home-grown ingredients. Although the Tuscans are called ‘bean eaters’ (mangiafagioli) the main staple of their diet, apart from pasta, is bread which is traditionally unsalted to complement the salted prosciutto, salami and strong sheep’s cheeses.

Whilst it is a traditional cuisine, it is not a poor one and meat and game feature strongly, preferably cooked on an open fire. The Tuscans are less interested in the presentation of the food than in the excellence of the ingredients, and even the most elegant restaurants serve rustic terracotta bowls of rich vegetable and bean soups.

The Tuscans also have a sweet tooth producing a variety of rich spicy cakes full of candied fruit and nuts, and delicious light biscuits.

The meals produced at Pieve a Castello will be a variety of dishes, learnt from local people, using very traditional methods and seasonal ingredients, rarely produced outside a family kitchen, along with more well known classic Italian
dishes.

And wines?

During the course of the trip we shall be walking past the vineyards that produce some of the most renowned wines of Tuscany and, naturally, we shall be tasting these wines. Possibly the most notable Tuscan wine-growing area is Chianti, which
occupies a large area of hills to the south and east of Florence. Known originally in England as ‘Florence Red’, the wine gained renown in the nineteenth century, when Barone Ricasoli (Italy’s
second prime minister) developed the grape composition found in today’s wines. Both Chianti Classico and Chianti Colli Senesi come from a small, strictly delineated area, two of the seven regions within Chianti. Alongside the more ‘serious’ Chianti Riserva are produced other, less expensive ‘quaffing’ Chiantis made to be drunk within a year or so of production – an excellent accompaniment to local dishes. We will also try a further selection of local wines including Vernaccia, a rare white wine of
Tuscany for which San Gimignano is famous, and the delicious local dessert wine Vin Santo.

We aim to match the wines to the style of the cuisine provided. Local wines are provided with the picnic lunch, but you will
probably find that in view of the walking you will appreciate the water more than the wine and therefore the better wines will be served in the evening.

Walking to eat

One of the greatest pleasures of travelling is enjoying a range of different regional cuisines. Part of the ATG experience is discovering the diversity of local ingredients and culinary traditions of the particular methods of cooking, and styles of restaurant. ATG trips include a wide range of different restaurants, with some of the finest and most famous in the world. Each has been carefully selected. Others are more traditional, providing excellent local cuisine, using recipes that have often become established ‘classics’ of regional cooking.

Which is better? It is thrilling to eat at great restaurants
– each course a revelation of sensation, aroma, texture, taste, colour and decorative design, with a superb selection of wines to match. It is also a delight to find a small restaurant specialising
in authentic local cuisine using fresh, organically grown local produce, and accompanied by the best regional wines. At ATG, whose founder/MD ‘travels to eat’ – food matters!

What if I have a dietary restriction or food allergy?

When you book, let us know about any restrictions. This will give the Tour Manager the opportunity to shop and prepare menus
accordingly prior to your trip. At the start of the trip the Tour Manager will meet with you to discuss in more detail your requirements.

Do the hotels have WIFI, hair dryers, laundry service?

The Ilaria has WIFI and hair dryers but not laundry service. At Pieve: All rooms have hair dryers. There is WIFI but it is patchy, however there are two computers with good internet connection available for guests to use. Your laundry can be
done by a local lavanderia while you are staying at Pieve, though these tend to offer serviced washes with drying and ironing, and are quite expensive.

How much should I budget for items not included?

On escorted trips everything is included (per the published itinerary) apart from travel to/from the destination airport, items of a personal nature, snacks and drinks outside of the set meals.

What if I want to extend my trip?

We are delighted to book extensions for you at either end of your trip. We only book hotels with which we have an established relationship and where we can ensure a high level of service and enjoyment. If you would like an extension booking please indicate this during the booking process and we will contact you with pricing information.

Where can I find general FAQs?

For FAQs relating to the Company and general trip questions, click here