Tuscany Day Trip: Siena, Cortona & Montepulciano with Wine Tasting

4.85

(122 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d barely left Florence when our guide, Marco, started telling stories about the hills outside the van window—he even pointed out a row of cypress trees that looked straight out of a postcard (or maybe a movie, I guess). First stop was Cortona. The old stone streets really do twist and climb just like in “Under the Tuscan Sun”—I got lost twice and ended up buying a tiny jar of honey from a woman who smiled but didn’t say much. The air smelled like coffee and something sweet baking. I tried to say “grazie” with the right accent; she laughed anyway.

After Cortona, we rolled into this little farm where Cinta Senese pigs were snuffling around under olive trees. I’m not usually into farm tours but honestly—fresh bruschetta with tomatoes still warm from the sun? That’s something I still think about. We sat outside for lunch, tasting their own wine (stronger than I expected) while Marco explained how these hills show up in movies like “The English Patient.” There was this quiet moment when everyone just looked at the view instead of talking. It felt good.

Montepulciano came next—a walled town that looks almost too perfect from a distance. We had time to wander before meeting at an underground cellar for a proper wine tasting (the Nobile di Montepulciano is as earthy as they say). Someone in our group tried to find the spot from “Twilight,” but I was more interested in the cheese samples. The drive through Val d’Orcia after that was all golden fields and those skinny trees you see on postcards—at some point, I stopped taking photos because it felt better to just watch.

Siena was our last stop. By then my legs were tired but walking into Piazza del Campo as the sun slid down behind the rooftops made me forget it for a minute. Marco led us through backstreets full of chatter and laundry lines before letting us loose for an hour—enough time for an espresso and some people-watching by Palazzo Pubblico. The ride back to Florence was quiet, except for someone quietly humming an old Italian song near the window.