What is there to see and do?
Luckily Podere San Martino is within a reasonable driving distance of many wonderful tourist attractions and "must-see" places to visit, whether they are places nearby or Florence, Chianti, the mountains or even the beach.
Nearby
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Montevettolini is the nearest village and is just 1km down the hill. While it doesn’t offer much, it is a beautiful medieval village with a wonderful view over the valley, and very quiet just to stroll around or through the quiet streets.
Monsummano Terme
is just 10 minutes drive down the hill and
is the first town one comes to before Montecatini.
It, like Montecatini is a spa town and has a number
of restaurants to eat out in and is pretty to drive
through. Also being the nearest town this is where
you can come to for supermarkets, chemist etc. From
Monsummano one can go and visit the marshes, which
are a conservation area dating back to the Medici
times and are well-known amongst conservationists as
many species live there and yet are species from
northern Europe who have created their own habitat
there. Not to mention
Slitti, the world famous chocolate-maker, who
have their own bar there with a mouth-watering
selection of chocolates, coffees and teas, not to
mention a chocolate fountain.
Montecatini Terme
is just 15 minutes drive away and is the
nearest big town, together with
Pistoia which is the same distance away, going
the other way down the hill! Montecatini is famous
for its spas and its "Liberty-style" architecture.
One can either just walk around the spas admiring
the beautiful architecture and well kept gardens,
listening to the orchestra which plays daily, or one
can drink the salty water which is known for its
qualities in curing digestive disorders. Furthermore
almost all the spas offer beauty treatments, from
mud packs using the spa’s own mud to thermal
swimming pools, massages and more. The town also
offers a wide range of designer boutiques and
fashion outlets, restaurants, bars to sit out
drinking a cappuccino in the morning or aperitivo in
the evening, a cool park to walk around in the
summer and a wide range of restaurants.
Montecatini Alto
is a favourite and is situated on the hilltop
above Montecatini Terme. One can either take the
cable car up and back down or walk back down or
drive. It is a delightful medieval village, and was
the original "Montecatini" before the marshes below
were drained in Roman times. There are many bars and
restaurants and is highly recommended for lunch or
dinner; and it's pretty just to walk around. There
are some delightful shops to look at too if you want
to take something back with you.
Pistoia is also
only 15 minutes drive away, and a charming drive
over the hilltop down through the woods. It is the
largest town in the province, giving its name to the
province and was voted Italian Cultural Capital of
the year in 2017. It is one of Jane's favourites -
as while it is a big town it looks lovely with its
old fashioned buildings and the centre is pedestrian
only which makes a change! There is a pretty fruit
and vegetable market daily and also the once a week
market on Wednesday which is fun to stroll around
and definitely part of the Italian culture! It is a
great place to eat out in the evening too with lots
of fantastic restaurants in the pedestrian area.
There is also a zoo in Pistoia which provides a fun
day out for all the family.
A little further away
Collodi
is only about 30 minutes away and offers a
fun park for children to walk around, which is very
much designed for children, based on Pinocchio - as
its author came from here. There is also a pretty
villa,Villa Garzoni
which one can visit and has a beautiful park.
Vinci
is about 20 minutes drive away and is of
course the birthplace of
Leonardo da Vinci and is a good-looking village
to visit, or one can wander around the various
museums and see Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings and
inventions. An excellent lunch can be had at
IL Nicchio sitting under their vine canopied
dining area! Excellent also at dinner time is
La Torretta, however this restaurant must be
booked in advance! Also a must be to visit when the
sunflowers are in flower for the sunflower maze.
Lucca
is about 40 minutes drive away and is another
favourite; the centre is also pedestrian only making
for a relaxed day. If you can’t be bothered to walk
you can hire a bike: either electric or pedal-power!
The town has many beautiful churches to look in at,
the famous round square to walk through and the
walls that you can walk on or pedal round, and many
excellent restaurants and shops.
Montecarlo.
If you look very carefully, you can see the
central tower in Montecarlo from PSM (if you've
installed our
screen saver, you can see it to the right of the
glass of wine photograph!) It's a lovely
little town with excellent views, narrow cobbled
streets, and great resturants.
Pisa
is about 50 minutes drive away. In some ways
it is similar to Florence with the river Arno
running through it before it flows out into the sea.
The centre of the town is lovely and of course one
mustn’t miss out on the "Piazza
dei Miracoli" with the leaning tower of Pisa and
the cathedral.
Viareggio
is again about 40 minutes away and the local
beach resort. In Italy the beach is private.
Jane will be happy to telephone for you in advance
in high season to reserve a sunshade and
chaise-longues. Alternatively one can have a walk
down the fashionable "passeggiata" and look at the
shops or go and walk around THE 'IN' beach resort of
Forte dei Marmi which is a little further up the
coast and the trendy place to be for the
international jet-set.
Florence
is about 60 minutes away and we highly
recommend going by train or bus, as driving there is
a nightmare and it is quicker and cheaper to use
public transport (you can catch a train at Pistoia,
Empoli or Montecatini Terme). A 'must' for art fans,
fashion freaks and all tourists. A truly stunning
city which has something for everyone, museums,
bars, restaurants, gardens ...
Siena
is about an hour and a half away and is
famous for the Palio horse race held in July
and August annually. A beautiful city with many
pretty tourist attractions and the unique Piazza del
Campo where the race is held. Jane recommends
combining it with San Gimignano, as they are
relatively close and both can easily be visited in a
half day.
San Gimignano
is famous for its towers, although sadly
only about 11 remain out of the famous 40. A small
town which is very pretty to walk around and full of
"touristy" shops.
Volterra
This too can be added onto a trip to Siena
or San Gimignano or both, another small medieval
town which is pretty to walk around and Jane says
that the views from here beat both Siena and San
Gimignano: the countryside is no longer that of
typical Chianti but much more diverse.
Day trips
Siena/Sant'Antimo/Montalcino Sant'Antimo is only a small town but if you drive past the church and monastery are very pretty, and if you’re lucky you can stop to listen to the monks who sing beautiful Gregorian chants. Montalcino is famous for its red wine and offers good restaurants and pretty pottery and honey in its craft shops. If you don’t mind going a bit further don’t miss San Galgano where you can see the real sword in the stone and visit a stunning abbey.
Pienza.
This is where "The English Patient" was filmed and
shows what Tuscany is all about, little
villages perched on hilltops, excellent wine, food,
views ... what else can one ask for?
Abetone
is about one and a half hours away, this is
the local ski resort. It is pretty to walk up there
in the summer and it is also well worth carrying on
to on to the
Lago
Santo, which is a pretty lake set in amongst
woods where one can burn off some of the calories
that one has eaten too many of during the holiday!
Garfagnana.
This is the area up above Lucca, again
totally different scenery and many things to visit
from the Ponte Del
Diavolo, a pretty bridge, to the
Grotta Del Vento
which are caves full of stalactites and stalagmites.
Wine
Sport
Golf – There is a great 18 hole golf course just down the hill, set in amongst the olive groves, only 10 minutes away. Montecatini Golf Club.
Horse riding – very nearby there is a riding stables where one can ride down on the plain amongst the marshes, a conservation area.
Tennis – there are quite a few clubs to choose from nearby.
Mountain Biking – If you enjoy mountain biking then why not enjoy seeing the countryside with a guided bike tour.
Shopping
There is a huge selection of great shops for all budgets and of course the many outlets and outlet villages too in the area. Of course Florence is the best with every shop you could even think of from Gucci, Armani, Prada, Hermes to Tiffany and Co. and so on without forgetting H&M, Benetton and the Disney store! If you are lucky enough you might even walk into a fashion shoot while there! Lucca is another favourite too with a great selection of boutiques and also some more unusual shops and being mainly pedestrian in the centre is a great selling point! Pistoia and Montecatini Terme also offer a good selection of boutiques and other big fashion names and are much closer to hand.
Personal shopping service. While in the land of style and fashion why not organise a personal shopping tour in Florence or an outlet tour with Cristina Ferro? She will liase with you before you come on holiday to understand exactly what you are looking for and which shops suit your needs best. Once here you can meet with her in Florence and she will take you to shopping heaven! Her website is: www.cfpersonalshopping.com. We recommend that you contact her in advance.
Designer outlets. There is a very large outlet village in Barberino, on the motorway north to Bologna about 1 hour way, otherwise there is another large outlet with many designer names south of Florence at Incisa, again about 1 hour away.