The view north from San Gimignano's fortress

Daytrips from Rignana

Take a dip in the Mediterranean or a hot spring, hike in the Apennines, see masterpieces of Renaissance architecture, sculpture and painting. You can still get back in time for dinner. Guidebooks will give you the full scoop on most of the destinations suggested below. Rough Guides* has published books and web pages with detailed information on the region of Tuscany, while Time Out* has produced an outstanding guide to Florence with a web equivalent that lists this month's events. *Links lead to web sites.

On foot or bike

If you want to see the Chianti without using the car, several neighboring villages make nice hiking or biking destinations (we have a couple mountain bikes ourselves, and it's also possible to rent more in Greve). San Donato, Panzano and Montefiorale are hill-towns with well-preserved medieval centers, decent restaurants and cafes. The Badia a Passignano is a 10th century abbey (surrounded by 18th-century turreted walls) that opens its doors for visits on Sunday afternoons.

Easy trips by car

These destinations are so close that you can see them even if you sleep all morning. An hour's drive brings you to either of two cities that preserve some of the best of, correspondingly, renaissance and medieval works: to the north, Florence; to the south, Siena. In between are a number of very pretty hill towns: San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Colle di Val d'Elsa, and Volterra (once one of the most important Etruscan cities) to the west; Radda in Chianti and Volpaia to the east. Many of these towns, and smaller ones en route, have wineries or wine shops that offer tastings. Greve, just a 15-minute drive from Rignana, is the center of the Chianti Classico Gallo Nero (the most prestigious category of Chianti wine) zone. The Monti del Chianti, rising to the east of the Greve River, offer scenic trails as well as a very fine restaurant in the Badia a Coltibuono, a Vallombrosan abbey.

Full-day trips by car

Popular destinations two hours west include Pisa (whose tower is just one of several amazing buildings arranged on a vast green field), Lucca (circled by massive walls), and the seashore between Viarreggio and Piombino. South of Siena lie a cluster of hill-towns of exceptional beauty, with particularly good food and wine: Montalcino (which produces Italy's most expensive red, the Brunello), Pienza (with Dawn's favorite church), and Montepulciano (more wine). In this direction, too, are three hot springs where one can bathe: Bagno Vignoni, Petriolo, and Bagni San Filippo. The last is our favorite because of its above-body-temperature, highly mineral waters, but is closed for remodelling until March and is slightly farther away.

With a little commitment and an early start, it would also be possible to do a hike in the marble cliffs of the Alpi Apuane above Carrara, the Garfagnana Valley above Lucca, or the Apennines north and east of Florence. It would also be possible to drive or take the train to Bologna, a beautiful city known for its miles of pedestrian porticos, visionary city planning, and rich cuisine.

Heavy-duty daytrips (better as overnights)

Although these areas are 2 1/2 to 3 hours distant, they are worth the effort (especially if you can stay overnight). The area of southern Tuscany known as the Maremma includes some of central Italy's best beaches (especially around the Monte Argentario peninsula and the island of Giglio), a coastal national park, the fashionable hot springs at Saturnia, and a cluster of towns on volcanic promontories that were a center of Etruscan civilization: Sovana, Sorano, and Pitigliano. Among the many possible Umbrian destinations worth considering are Orvieto, a small city on a tall volcanic plateau with a Duomo that rivals Florence's and Siena's; and Perugia and Assisi. Finally, northwest of Tuscany's border are the Ligurian seaside villages of the Cinque Terre and, beyond them, Portofino.