Places to visit in Tuscany in wintertime
Synonymous with olive groves, vineyards and orange orchids drenched in warm sunshine, you could be forgiven in believing Tuscany is primarily a ‘summer’ destination. Despite the popular opinion that Tuscany, like many European destinations, should be spared for the summer, visiting a Tuscan city in the winter can be a revelation.
Winters are usually cold in Tuscany, and being a mountainous region, its beautiful jagged peaks are normally cased in snow during the winter months. Although Tuscan winters can be cold, they are also blessed with plenty of sunshine, and snow drenched mountains set against a cloudless blue sky, never fails to evoke exhilarating feelings of elation.
Because Tuscany is preferred as a summer destination, its cities’ and towns’ beautiful cobbled streets are free of the ubiquitous tour coaches and the amount of tourists visiting Tuscany during the winter is a fraction compared to more popular times of the year. Consequently the region’s many romantic restaurants are rarely fully booked, visiting its many interesting museums is much more relaxed and it’s historically and culturally inspiring cities are free from crowds.
Visitors come to Tuscany for many reasons. Sampling fine Tuscan wine and dining on delicious authentic Tuscan cuisine are just two. But discovering and exploring the region’s fine art that has been described as being possibly the “greatest repository of art in the world,” is high on the agenda for many tourists of Tuscany. From influences of the Romans to the Renaissance, Tuscany boasts some of the most extraordinary architecture, paintings and sculptures in the world.
Being the most important holiday of the year in Tuscany, Christmas is a particularly atmospheric and colourful time to visit the region. Every city, village and town is meticulously decorated with blinking lights lining the churches, shops and streets. One especially exceptional Christmas event in Tuscany is “Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt”, a German-style Christmas market held in the Piazza Santa Croce on December 16. Other particularly visually stunning Christmas markets is the Montepulciano market held between December 15 until January 6, and the Christmas market in Greve in Chianti, held from December 14 until December 22.
In short, Tuscany’s bright, sunny, ‘fresh’ days, lack of crowds, world-class art and sensational Christmas markets, means this time of the year is an especially colourful, beautiful and atmospheric time to visit the central province of Italy – A true winter wonderland!