Florence & Tuscany

Four nights in Tuscany, three of them driving, and a route that gets out of Florence quickly and into the hills where the roads are better. The car is delivered to the hotel, and the loop takes in Chianti, the Val d’Orcia and the hill towns west of Siena before bringing you back.

The first drive is the Strada Chiantigiana, the SR222, which runs the ridge between Florence and Siena through Greve, Castellina and Radda and is still used by the Mille Miglia. Antinori’s winery is cut into the hillside along the way, and Badia a Coltibuono sits above it. The second day loops the Val d’Orcia between Montepulciano and Montalcino, country that looks like every photograph of Tuscany because it is the one they were taken in. The last takes in Monteriggioni, San Gimignano and Certaldo before the Chiantigiana carries you back to the city.

Florence is spent at the Villa Cora, a palazzo above the Boboli gardens, with two nights at a country house in the hills in between. A wine tasting and a lunch appear in the itinerary rather than the inclusions, so they are worth confirming when you enquire.

A Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet and a Lamborghini Huracán EVO Spyder are the cars named, both of which belong on a ridge road with the roof down. You drive alone with the route and support on call, and the season runs May to October. It suits anyone who likes the idea of Tuscany but not the idea of a coach, and who would rather spend the afternoon finding a hill town than queueing for the Uffizi.