Archive for 'Tourist Attractions'

Florence is always increasing the number of fully-accessible museums and attractions, ways to avoid architectural impediments, themed sensory tours, helpful elements in public transport, places to park, and more. They are working to make it a more accessible destination for all and it is a great place to choose if you or someone in your group have particular requirements but don't want to miss out on a wonderful holiday or have to stress out overly about the details. Just find a vacation rental in Florence and continue to read our guide to the helpful initiatives making Florence more accessible for all...

5. Special Tours, Exhibits, Attractions & More

The Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Vecchio, Gallery of Modern Art, Palazzo Davanzati, Marino Marini Museum, Galileo Museum, Museum of Natural History, and Botanical Gardens all offer special tours and ways of exploring their attractions for those with special requirements or needs and there are also many guides that offer special tours and personalised routes through the institutions. Very few museums are inaccessible and those that are are only this way due to unalterable historical features of the buildings in which they are housed. Most attractions also have sections of their websites dedicated to accessibility but this PDF offers a good guide to the main ones that tourists might be interested in visiting.

The landscape of Tuscany is always beautiful but each season boasts particular charms; the impossible technicolour of lush green lawns, sprinkled flowers, and blue skies of Summer, the golden tones and heavy vines of Autumn, the stark appeal and fogs of Winter, and, of course, the stunning fields of colourful blooms in Spring. Tuscany is especially lovely under a blanket of flowers so why not go ahead and find a vacation rental in Tuscany and explore the rolling hills and sleepy villages under a spell of blooms from the beginning of Spring right through Summer? If you are planning a trip over the coming months, these are the areas and flowers that you should keep an eye out for as you wander the region....

1. Foreste Casentinesi National Park

This national park is always a natural beauty and incredible nature reserve but it is even more amazing during Spring when the snowy white narcissus anemone, purple saxifrage, and red bilberry all start to sprout up among the maple and spruce trees like a rainbow-coloured blanket.

Italy is home to some incredible churches, to be sure, and if you're in Tuscany, in particular, you will find lots of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque gems. However, more modern beauties are less commonly found. Among them the Church of San Giovanni Battista or the Chiesa dell’Autostrada del Sole in Limite, in the municipality of Campi Bisenzio. Although formally named after John the Baptist, the latter name is a nickname meaning “The Motorway of the Sun Church” and was given due to the building's unusual location between the Autostrada del Sole and the A11 Firenze-Mare Highway, which was actually chosen to remember labourers who lost their lives while building the motorway. While it is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, those interested in design and architecture will find it intriguing. If you're an architecture nerd that has found a luxury villa in Florence, be sure to check this unusual gem out for yourself.

If you are very attached to your four-legged best friend and can't bear to part with them, if you're planning on bringing them with you on holiday and want to do activities where they don't have to be left out, or if you simply like dogs a whole bunch and you're booking a trip to Tuscany, then you need to take note of one particular destination: the Dog Beach of San Vincenzo, in Livorno. This dog-friendly cove is a wonderful stretch of soft sand, lapped by clear waters that is made all the more beautiful for all the cute critters wandering around. Dog-lovers who have found a vacation rental in Livorno, keep it in mind: it is a must!

Tuscany's Coast boasts lovely beaches, pretty views, incredibly well-preserved nature reserves, delicious eateries, wonderful fortresses and architectural gems, and seaside towns that range from sleepy little villages to major resorts with active an nightlife and plenty to see and do. However, compared to the bigger and more famous cities inland, there are comparatively few of the traditional attractions that one associates with Tuscany, like palaces and museums. Yet, the institutions of this kind that are littered sporadically throughout the area are rather special.

Take Livorno, for example. If you have found a vacation rental in Livorno, you will find that this charming seaside town only offers one public art gallery. However, it is well worth a visit and filled with wonderful pieces in a rather extraordinary setting.