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Top 5 tips for 4 days in Siena, Tuscany
Although Siena is only the 12th largest city in Tuscany, with a population of just over 50,000, it is one of the most famous and visited. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, containing buildings dating as far back as the 13th and 14th centuries. Having already shared my tips about places to eat, today I am sharing my top 5 tips for 3-4 days in Siena. 1. Museums & Churches Ticketed One of the main sights in Siena is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, simply known as Duomo. The entry ticket costs 8 euros and it also gives you access to the Libreria…
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9 places for sweets, coffee and dinner in Siena
As I’ve mentioned in my previous posts, I recently travelled to Tuscany. As well as Florence, I also visited Siena, Lucca and San Gimignano. Although Siena is only the 12th largest city in Tuscany, with a population of just over 50,000, it is one of the most famous and visited. Its historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, containing buildings dating as far back as the 13th and 14th centuries. Today, however, I am sharing my tips for 9 places for sweets, coffee and dinner in Siena. Pasticceria Nannini Conca d’Oro Established by Guido Nannini in 1910, the Pasticceria-café of the same name has almost become synonymous with Siena.…
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A day trip to Lucca, Tuscany
As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently travelled to Tuscany. Although I had been to Florence several times before, I had never previously ventured out of the Tuscan capital. As well as Firenze (as it’s called in Italian), I also visited Siena, San Gimignano and Lucca. Also known as “Città d’arte” (City of Art), the latter is famous for its intact Renaissance-era city walls which encircle the old town. Nowadays, Lucca has a population of about 89,000 and is the 7th most populous city in Tuscany. How to get to Lucca Lucca is easy to reach from Florence by train. The journey takes about an hour and a…
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A day trip to San Gimignano, Tuscany
I recently travelled to Tuscany. Although I had been to Florence several times before, I had never previously ventured out of the Tuscan capital. This time, I also visited Siena, Lucca, and San Gimignano, as well as Firenze (as it’s called in Italian). The latter is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena. In fact, it was during my stay in Siena that I visited San Gimignano. Famous for its medieval architecture and home to 8,000 residents, San Gimignano is a popular destination for many tourists, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I stayed there for about 4 hours before I returned to Siena.…
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A short stay in Milan
I recently wrote about my skiing holiday in Madonna di Campiglio, a village and ski resort in Northern Italy. I combined my holiday with a few days in Trento and Milan. Trento, the gateway to Madonna di Campiglio, is an hour and a half by train from Verona, and two hours and a half from Milan, the second-largest city in Italy and capital of Lombardy. Since I’d been to Verona before, and considering that there are far fewer international flights to Verona than to Milan, I decided to fly to Milan and spent the night there. The following day, I took the train to Trento, where I spend another night.…
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Skiing in Madonna di Campiglio, Trentino
I recently went on a skiing holiday in Madonna di Campiglio, a village and ski resort in Trentino, in Northern Italy. This was my second skiing holiday in Italy. I had previously gone skiing in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a town and ski resort in Veneto, due to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics (together with Milan). Trentino is renowned for its mountains, such as the Dolomites, which are part of the Alps. It is one of the two autonomous provinces of Italy. The other one is the neighbouring South Tyrol, officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol (South Tyrol), an autonomous region…
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Italian cuisine: books and TV shows
As much as I love travelling to Italy, I love Italian cuisine. A tote bag that I bought in Rome says it all: ‘spritz, carbonara, tiramisu & amore’. Well… perhaps not all. There’s also pizza, gelato, panettone, pannacotta, coffee (un caffe shakerato per favore), wine, vitello tonnato (my new favourite), cacio e pepe, maritozzi, canolli… Just don’t let me get started… My love, as well as my knowledge of Italian cuisine, has grown not only through travelling and eating out, but also thanks to books and TV shows I’ve come across in the last few years. Italian cuisine: Fatto in casa da Benedetta Rossi It was when I visited Verona…
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Where to eat and drink in Rome
When I recently visited Rome, I spent most of my mornings following in Robert Langdon’s footsteps and visiting notable churches around the city. In the afternoon, I slowed down. I would first have a coffee, then a light lunch (followed by yet another coffee), whereas in the evening I had an aperitivo (a pre-meal drink) followed by dinner and gelato to end the day on a high note. Here are my recommendations about where to eat and drink in Rome: Breakfast Although I mostly had breakfast at the hotel where I stayed, I also had to try the maritozzi (cream-filled buns that Romans have for breakfast). The Pasticceria Regoli (on Via…
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Angels and Demons and Churches of Rome
I first visited Rome in 2003, a few months after the release of Madonna’s ‘American Life’. In ‘Nothing Fails’, the album’s third single, she’d sing ‘I’m not religious/But I feel so moved/Makes me wanna pray’. Back then, this lyric resonated with me, albeit only in part. Still a teenager, I wasn’t particularly interested in churches, so I headed to the Colosseum instead of the many churches of Rome I visited this year. I’m still not religious, though. In the words of Madonna, ‘I’d like to express my extreme point of view/I’m not Christian and I’m not a Jew’. During the last 19 years, however, a lot has changed. On a…
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9 Italian TV series to watch
I started watching Italian TV series last year, amidst the third (and longest) lockdown. In fact, I published the post ‘6 French and Italian crime series to watch’ in April 2021, a few days after we came out of lockdown. Since then, not only have I watched more Italian TV series, but I’ve also been fortunate to visit Italy. A few months ago, I went on a 10-day trip to Southern Italy. After landing in Bari, the capital and the largest city of Puglia, I visited the inland towns of Alberobello and Locorotondo, as well as the seaside Monopoli and Polignano a Mare. I then visited Matera, a city located…