Day Trips from Orentano

In the heart of Tuscany

Orentano's best-kept secret is its position. The village sits close to the geographic heart of northern Tuscany, which means you can base yourself here — in a quiet place with real village life, honest prices and free parking — and reach a different world every day: a Renaissance city, a hilltop truffle town, Leonardo's birthplace, the Leaning Tower, a sandy beach. Everything below is one small trip away by car, and you'll be back for dinner.

San Miniato ~25 min by car Hilltop white-truffle town halfway between Pisa and Florence. Plan this trip Lucca ~30 min by car Renaissance city walls you can cycle all the way around. Plan this trip Vinci ~35 min by car Leonardo da Vinci's birthplace among the olive groves. Plan this trip Pisa ~40 min by car The Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli. Plan this trip The coast ~45 min by car Sandy Tyrrhenian beaches from Tirrenia up to Viareggio. Plan this trip San Gimignano ~50 min by car The medieval Manhattan — fourteen towers over the vineyards. Plan this trip Florence ~1 h by car The Duomo, the Uffizi and the heart of the Renaissance. Plan this trip Volterra ~1 h by car Etruscan walls, alabaster workshops and a windswept hilltop. Plan this trip Siena ~1 h 15 by car The Campo, the striped Duomo and Italy's most beautiful square. Plan this trip Cinque Terre ~1 h 40 by car Five villages stacked over the Ligurian sea. Plan this trip

Photos: LigaDue, JoJan, Mongolo1984, Mstyslav Chernov, Marco Ponsi, jeffwarder, Mmullie, Janericloebe, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Timothy A. Gonsa · Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Coming back tired and happy? See where to eat in the village tonight, or check what’s on while you’re here. Practical travel info is in the getting-here guide.