Northwestern Tuscany
When a break from traditional meat-heavy Tuscan beckons, reserve a table on the pocket-sized piazza terrace at this Barga newbie. Chef Riccardo Orsucci turns his hand to tasty seafood and fish dishes in the kitchen, while son Stefano greets guests with style and panache front of house.
The lunchtime menu comprising a pasta primo such as spaghetti with prawns and courgettes, fritto misto di mare (mixed fish, battered and fried), water, wine and coffee is an outright bargain at €15.
24.64 MILES
One of Italy's signature sights, the Torre Pendente truly lives up to its name, leaning a startling 3.9 degrees off the vertical. The 58m-high tower,…
24.61 MILES
Pisa's magnificent duomo was begun in 1064 and consecrated in 1118. Its striking tiered exterior, with green-and-cream marble cladding, gives onto a…
16.13 MILES
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
24.63 MILES
Pisa's unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist…
15.71 MILES
Lucca’s monumental mura (wall) was built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries and remains in almost perfect condition. It superseded two…
23.63 MILES
The bishops' palace, wedged next to the cathedral, provides a fascinating tour of Pistoia's urban history, ranging from touchable scale models of…
15.79 MILES
Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…
23.64 MILES
This cathedral with beautiful Pisan-Romanesque facade safeguards a lunette of the Madonna and Child between two angels by Andrea della Robbia. Its other…
0.05 MILES
It's a stiff hike up to Barga's imposing cathedral, completed in 1595 and proffering fantastic views from its hilltop position.
2. Chiesa Abbaziale dei Santi Pietro e Paolo
4.39 MILES
Castelnuovo's small duomo (cathedral) was rebuilt in the 15th century on the ruins of an 11th-century Romanesque church. Its baroque interior safeguards a…
6.91 MILES
This cave, 9km west of the SS445 along a very narrow road, showcases a world of underground abysses, lakes and caverns. April to October, choose between…
8 MILES
Visit this lovely ethnographic museum, in San Pellegrino's former hospital, to learn just how little traditional mountain life has changed over the…
12.11 MILES
Neoclassical Villa Grabau, 11km north of Lucca in San Pancrazio, sits among a vast parkland with sweeping traditional English- and Italian-styled gardens,…
12.22 MILES
In San Pancrazio, 11km north of Lucca, the gardens of Villa Oliva surrounding a 15th-century country residence designed by Lucchesi architect Matteo…
12.7 MILES
Elisa Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister and short-lived ruler of Tuscany, once lived in handsome Villa Reale, 7km north of Lucca in Marlia. The house isn't…
8. Orto Botanico delle Alpi Apuane 'Pietro Pellegrini'
13.87 MILES
This delightful botanical garden in Pian della Fioba is ideal for discovering alpine flora. Opening hours can be variable; check the day's opening hours…