Is Tuscany a good place?

Yes, la Toscane is a good place if you want to combine art cities, countryside and seaside, but it is not easy to visit by improvising everything from a single base. Florence, Siena and Pisa each have a different atmosphere; between the cities, you will find hills, villages and agricultural landscapes. However, some small towns are impractical without a car: trains connect several cities, but rural buses can be rare or infrequent.

To give you an idea of scale, Florence and Siena are about 72 km apart ; allow around 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30 by car, depending on traffic. The Maremma, in the south, is another stop: distances get longer and a car helps a lot to reach beaches, parks and villages. Spring and September-October are often more pleasant for visiting cities and walking. In July-August, it can be very hot, well-known sites are crowded and accommodation, especially on the coast, is often more expensive. If you are mainly looking for peace and quiet or a car-free holiday, choose your base and dates carefully: Tuscany can then be less simple than its image suggests.