Tuscany
This route takes you to famous cities in the heart of Italy such as Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. It also takes you to Volterra, (where the Volturi originated) a walled mountaintop town which dates to before the 7th century BC and has substantial structures from the Medieval, Etruscan, and Roman periods. All of the riding in this area is on small roads with little traffic or on small agricultural roads.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, traditions, history,artists and cultural influence. This is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and was the home to many influential persons in the history of art and science, and contains well-known museums such as the Uffizi and the Pitti Palace. Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and Brunello di Montalcino. Tuscan has a strong cultural identity and is sometimes considered "a nation within a nation".
Guides, Maps and Other Information
An Italian national bicycle network that covers routes with far-reaching links for cycling, a cross-regional dimension or connecting with neighboring countries.
Italy Cycling Guide "An independent resource for cycle touring in Italy." This is one of best resources for finding routes throughout Italy.
Bikeline Had a guide that covers this section of Italy.
Visit Tuscany Official SiteA good site for planning your visit and determining what areas and cities to visit.
Bicycle Touring in Tuscany, David Cleveland
Italy by Bike. Published by the Touring Club of Italy. Also, other helpful guides by the Touring Club of Italy can be found at this link.
See the Maps and Guides page for more mapping information.
Map information
There are many cycling apps with maps available for iphone and android. A couple of the better offline apps are listed here.
Can be used to follow this route (and other routes) Click here for a KML file that can be loaded into the app. Place the file in the maps.me bookmarks folder (MapsWithMe/bookmarks on your phone or tablet) or alternately, email/text it to your device and open the file with maps.me. Total Commander works great for managing and opening files.
Guru Maps has the ability to show map types other than OpenStreetMap, in particular it will display OpenCycleMap. KML files can be imported by "opening" the file with Guru. To import the KML file place the file in a folder or email/text it to your device, press and hold and open with the app. The route will appear in "collections." A user manual is available.
A Google Map link to the route is here. Tuscany Cycle Route.
What it is Like
This is a ride through history from village to village in the heart of Italy. Each of the village stops is worth a tour by itself. Leave plenty of time to visit the markets, Roman ruins and museums as you go to each of the hill top fortresses. The place to start is in Florence or possibly Pisa which has good train connections. Riding in and out of Pisa can be difficult though because of the truck traffic. A Saturday or Sunday may be the best time to visit Pisa.
Any of the villages can be visited around the central loop that is shown on the map. The roads are quite and sites interesting so make up your own route.
- Ride Quality
Almost all paved. Some portions of the ride can be done on packed gravel to avoid traffic and tourist buses going in and out of the cities.
Greve in Chianti on market day, south of Florence.
- Elevation Change
Most of the route is hilly but not extreme. Villages are ancient hill top fortresses so its up to the villages but you get to ride down in the morning after your stay. Magnificent views from the top always compensate for the hardships of getting there.
Near Colle di Val d'Elsa. The towns are former hilltop fortresses to of course are up hill to enter but the way is a pleasant ride.
- Best Season
Spring and Fall. Winters are cold and summers are too hot.
Siena is one of the highlights of this area. Expect to spend considerable time there to see all of the sights
Riding up to San Gimignano on a gravel road. A little slower than the paved route but quiet and shaded.
The ride into Pisa is made difficult because of the amount of truck traffic on the roads. The route is fairly level though, and Pisa is a transportation hub allowing travel by train or air to other destinations. Volterra to Pisa is an ambitious one day ride.