Signpost Guide Tuscany and Umbria; Your Guide to Great Drives

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9780762706907
• ISBN10: 0762706902
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Thomas Cook Publishing

Summary

People who travel by car have the best opportunities to explore beyond typical tourist destinations, but driving in an unfamiliar region can be a daunting prospect. New Signpost Guides provide practical information to guide motorists through unfamiliar routes, signs, traffic laws, and parking. Hundreds of attractions are described in detail, together with recommendations for shopping, dining, and accommodations.

Each Signpost Guide features:
-- Full-color, detailed area maps, supported by driving directions and route plans
-- Helpful and practical tips, including average driving times and distances
-- Individual chapters on major cities that supply information essential to getting around without a car
-- Unique ratings system to help travelers sample the very best of each region

Table of Contents

About Signpost Guides	8	(2)
Tuscany and Umbria at a glance	10	(2)
Introduction	12	(2)
Travel facts	14	(10)
Driver's guide	24	(6)
Getting to Tuscany and Umbria	30	(2)
Setting the scene	32	(8)
Highlights	40	(2)
Florence	42	(14)
Birthplace of the Renaissance and city of Michelangelo
Val di Pesa, Val d'Elsa and San Gimignano	56	(10)
Walled hill-towns bristling with medieval towers
Chianti Classico	66	(10)
The region that produces the robust Chianti wines
Siena	76	(12)
Florence's traditional rival, city of Gothic art and fine architecture
The Crete	88	(8)
Tuscany's clay desert
The Crete and Val d'Orcia	96	(12)
Castles and churches lining the Grand Tour route to Rome
Lucca	108	(10)
Pretty city of marble-clad churches and excellent restaurants
Garfagnana	118	(10)
Wild peaks and marble quarries white as snow
Lucca to Florence	128	(10)
Spa towns, flower markets and birthplace of the Merchant of Prato
Pisa	138	(10)
City of the world-famous Leaning Tower
The Etruscan Riviera	148	(8)
Warm seas and sandy beaches backed by umbrella pines
Volterra and the Colline Metallifere	156	(10)
City of the ancient Etruscans and of alabaster carving
Maremma	166	(8)
Flourishing seaside towns and coastal resorts
Maremma: Monti dell' Uccellina to Pitigliano	174	(10)
Summertime destinations of Tuscany's hedonistic youth
Florence to Arezzo via Casentino	184	(10)
Dense forests and castle-clad hills in Tuscany's borderland
Upper Tiber Valley	194	(8)
Introducing the charms of Umbria
Perugia	202	(10)
Umbria's capital, and a lively city of students and art
Lake Trasimeno	212	(8)
The Tranquil lake that witnessed Hannibal's defeat of the Romans
Gubbio and the Umbrian Apennines	220	(8)
The Characterful and proudly independent towns of the north
Assisi	228	(10)
City of St Francis, of flowers and frescos by Giotto
Assisi to Todi	238	(8)
Hilltowns fringing the dried-up lake of the Spoleto Vale
Nera Valley and Spoleto	246	(12)
Home to the annual Festival dei Due Mondi
Nera Valley and Monti Sibillini	258	(10)
Mountain meadows, wildflowers and Italy's finest hams
Middle Tiber and Nera Valley	268	(8)
Ancient cities ringed by walls of massive stones
Orvieto	276	(6)
Unique frescos and a polychrome exterior
Language	282	(1)
Index	283	(4)
Feedback form	287