A Taste of Tuscany – Culinary

If you are a “foodie” this tour is for you! Give in to your appetite while your experience this special Tuscan culinary tour !

You’ll have planned walks so you’ll miss none of the historic or scenic high points and arranged visits to private and hotel kitchens for tips on how to create the classics of the Tuscan menu. You’ll have tastings of wine and olive oil plus visit cheese makers and bakers. Experience firsthand how Italians cook and eat at home. (And just think how much more your friends will enjoy your snapshots when you serve them with that crostata di ricotta you whipped up for dessert.) New Year’s Eve in Tuscany! Toast the New Year in the city of Renaissance. You’ll end the year with a festive celebration dinner in Florence…followed by an open-air classical concert in Piazza della Signoria, the city’s most famous square. This unforgettable journey includes three nights in Cortona and three nights in Florence

DAYS 1-3 – FLORENCE
Meet in Florence (3 nights). From your luxurious convent-turned-hotel, explore the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and the rest of the city’s Renaissance splendors on foot. You’ll also pay a morning visit to San Lorenzo, the Florentines’ mind-boggling main market.

Out in the Mugello Valley, a walk includes a visit with a cheese-making shepherd followed by a cooking instruction and dinner in a friend’s farmhouse kitchen. You’ll also top off a stroll in Chianti’s vineyards with a little cooking in a country home…then visit the hilltop village of San Gimignano with its skyline of medieval towers.

DAYS 4-7 – CORTONA
Passing through fields of sunflowers, we drive to Siena where superb sightseeing is matched with pasta-rolling tips in the noble home of another of our culinary acquaintances. Ending the day in Cortona (3 nights), explore its Etruscan stone walls and wander the village streets depicted in Frances Mayes’ book Under the Tuscan Sun. After breakfast overlooking Lake Trasimeno, walk to Montepulciano’s oldest winery and taste the locally pressed olive oil. On your final full day, visit Catherine de Medici’s favorite Roman bath and walk the olive groves near Montalcino before a festive farewell dinner.

What’s Included:

Starting Point: Florence — 2:30 PM – lobby of first hotel / Ending Point: Cortona — 9:00 AM – lobby of last hotel

Tour Dates/Rates:
September 22 – 28, 2019  / October 20 – 16, 2019 / Dec 27, 2019 – Jan 2, 2010
$5,095 per person double / Single + $795

Contact us for a detailed itinerary or other destinations for walking, cultural, family and multi-sport!

You Might Also Enjoy These Trips for 2019:
Amalfi Culinary – 6 days/5 nights:  September, October

Bon Appetit in  Provence – Culinary – 6 days/5 nights:  October

Tuscany & the Cinque Terre – Culture + Walking – 6 days/5 nights:  July, September, October

Venice, Florence & Rome – Family – 7 days/6 nights: April,  July, December

Italian Lake Retreats – Culture  + Walking – 7 days/6 nights: July, September, October

Amalfi Coast & Capri – Culture + Walking – 6 days/5 nights:  September, October, December

Sicily – Culture + Walking – 7 days/6 nights: September, October

 PLUS  book by  Sep30th for any trip in 2019 and receive a $75 Visa Gift Card compliments of us! Mention tour code: JC-75

Contact us for trip details or more information on these small group tours!