11 June 2026
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Summer is when Tuscany’s food culture comes into focus. The hilltop markets fill with the best of the local harvest, the wine estates open their cellars to visitors and the region’s newest MICHELIN-Starred kitchens hit their stride.
Across Val d’Orcia’s rolling hills, the Renaissance symmetry of Pienza, the cellar-sprinkled streets of Montepulciano and Montalcino’s Brunello country, Tuscany reveals itself less as a single destination than as a region of food towns to explore. Further west, Lucca offers a more urban rhythm of trattorie and wine bars, Montaione anchors the inland countryside between Florence and Pisa, while the Apuan-backed coast of Versilia brings seafood, modern dining and sea air into the mix.
Together, these seven destinations offer exceptional places to eat and drink, stylish places to stay and more than enough reason to look beyond the well-worn road to Florence or Siena. And don’t forget to end every meal as the Tuscans do, with a small glass of amber-hued vin santo, the region’s ancient dessert wine made from dried grapes aged slowly in small barrels, with a handful of almond cantucci to dip.
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1. Val d’Orcia’s Hot Springs and Thermal Waters
The Val d’Orcia is best known for its cypress-lined roads and golden-hour photographs that look almost too beautiful to be real. But Bagno Vignoni, a tiny medieval village built around a sunken thermal pool that has been steaming since antiquity (used, legend has it, by Saint Catherine of Siena and Lorenzo de’ Medici), earns a detour. The village itself might be small but it deserves a proper wander. For a quick pit stop, La Bottega di Cacio is the spot: Pull up a chair in the sun, order a glass from the local wine list and let the kitchen weigh out a plate of oil-drenched vegetables, local cheeses and cured meats. For cocktails before or after dinner, Il Barrino is the place to be.The MICHELIN Guide-Selected Hotel La Posta is one of Tuscany’s best-kept secrets, and the reason to stay rather than simply pass through. The property looks directly over the Rocca d’Orcia castle, and its ancient thermal pools and spa are among the most atmospheric in the region. La Rocca, the hotel restaurant, looks out over the UNESCO-listed valley and it feels like a step back in time, where crepes are prepared tableside for dessert. Bar Verde keeps a record player going at the counter and there are board games set up post-dinner to encourage guests to ditch the phones.
A few minutes’ drive away in San Quirico d’Orcia, MICHELIN-Selected Taverna da Ciacco is the meal to book: honest, produce-driven Tuscan cooking rooted in whatever is growing within a few miles. A non-negotiable is the handmade pici (a Tuscan pasta staple) with tomatoes, olives and spicy anchovies.
2. Pienza Is for Pecorino: Tuscany’s Cheese Capital
Come for the architecture, stay for the cheese. Pecorino di Pienza, made from the milk of sheep grazing on Val d’Orcia’s wild herbs and grasses, comes in everything from soft, milky-fresh wheels to deeply aged varieties. The shops along the corso sell the full spectrum. A top shop is Marusco e Maria, selling pecorino since 1974, with their own wheels aged in a cave on the lower floor of the shop. Book a tasting on their website before you go.
For gelato, Buongusto Gelateria is the destination: Owner Nicola Sgarbi is a chef-turned-gelato maker with two other locations now open in Montepulciano and San Quirico, and a devoted following that stretches well beyond the Val d’Orcia. Start with the fior di latte, the purest measure of what genuine artisanal gelato can be, then order whatever is seasonal.
MICHELIN-Selected La Bandita Townhouse is the rare in-village stay that puts you directly inside the UNESCO-listed medieval fabric of Pienza. This former 15th-century nunnery on an old cobblestone lane has exposed stone walls and wood-beam ceilings that somehow ended up dressed in stark white decor and clean lines. The aesthetic is closer to a hip hotel in Milan than rural Tuscany, and it works completely. Breakfast is at the tucked-away Townhouse Caffè; if you linger for lunch or dinner, the chalkboard specials change daily and the burger is not to be missed.
Just outside the walls, One-MICHELIN-Key Casa Newton is the more unexpected stay. The crimson-hued villa has been reimagined with midcentury modern flair: rooms with exposed beams, colorful patterned wallpaper and original artwork by contemporary Italian artists, plus a stone-lined pool deck shaded by bubblegum-pink parasols and a bar where the aperitivi stretch pleasantly into the evening. The on-site winery, Fabbrica Pienza, makes natural and minimal-intervention wines that have nothing to do with the Tuscan mainstream. Ask for the Popnat, their naturally sparkling Sangiovese pét-nat, and consider it the best possible introduction to what the estate is doing.
A short drive away, Podere Il Casale is one of the most beloved farm visits in Tuscany for good reason. This organic hilltop estate, 10 minutes from Pienza, produces some of the finest pecorino in the Val d’Orcia — made from the milk of their own sheep, aged on-site and available to taste and buy directly from the source. The restaurant serves farm-grown ingredients, and the experiences — including cheese tastings and demonstrations, pizza making and truffle hunting — are next-level.
3. Montepulciano, the Heart of Vino Nobile Country
Montepulciano sits on a long ridge above the Val di Chiana, its main street climbing steeply past Renaissance palazzi and wine cellars stocked with Vino Nobile, the Sangiovese-based DOCG that is one of Tuscany’s most underrated red wines.
One-MICHELIN-Key Lupaia is the reason many people stay longer than planned. Set on a hilltop in a prime location between Montepulciano and Pienza, an ancient farmhouse dating to 1622 is now 12 rooms arranged like a tiny village on a thousand-year-old estate. It is one of the most quietly exceptional small hotels in Tuscany.
Their MICHELIN-Selected restaurant (also named Lupaia), with its open kitchen and nightly changing menu, draws from the organic garden and local suppliers. The wine list goes well beyond the obvious names, exploring the surrounding territory with curiosity. Guests not overnighting can dine if there’s availability, but note it’s one of the more sought-after reservations in the area. The Vigna suite, with its tiled bathrooms and claw-foot tub looking out toward Montepulciano, is among the most romantic rooms in the region. Mornings smell of rosemary and flowers, the pool is for post-adventure afternoons and at dusk the Lupaia negroni is a nightly ritual to get used to.
For dinner beyond the property, Inspector-approved Indigeno at Salcheto Organic Winery is one of the least expected pleasures in the area. At this 13th-century farmhouse, where guests eat at large communal tables carved from Amiata oak or on the summer terrace, the cooking is simple. Start with the bread, made in-house with a mother starter, then move to bread gnocchi with a cream of fava beans and bitter herbs, or a roasted Vignarola goose leg. Stay for a wine tasting afterwards.
For a couple of Vino Nobile producers worth visiting while in the area, Avignonesi and Poliziano are the two great anchors of the denomination, each offering tastings and estate visits.
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4. Montalcino and Brunello’s New Wave
Montalcino has spent decades being serious. The home of Brunello — one of Italy’s most age-worthy red wines, made entirely from Sangiovese Grosso and released only after years of mandatory aging — the hilltop town has always attracted collectors and connoisseurs. That culture is still very much here but there’s a whole new Montalcino world to discover.
The place to begin is Enoteca di Piazza, the wine shop on the main square where the famous names like Biondi-Santi, the estate that essentially invented modern Brunello, sit alongside lesser-known and cooler labels like Le Potazzine, Podere Le Ripi, Gorelli and Le Prata. If time allows, Podere Le Ripi is a must-visit to sample the biodynamic wines in their element at one of Tuscany’s most beautiful wineries.
Three-MICHELIN-Key Castiglion del Bosco, A Rosewood Hotel is the grandest base in the region: a 5,000-acre estate in the UNESCO-listed Val d’Orcia founded and restored by Massimo and Chiara Ferragamo in 2003 and one of the most complete addresses in Tuscany. The medieval borgo has been transformed into a five-star hotel with its own Brunello di Montalcino winery, producing the single-cru Campo del Drago among its labels, as well as Italy’s only private golf club. At the table, the Two-MICHELIN-Starred Campo del Drago restaurant is one of the best places to eat in Tuscany. Led by Tuscan-born Chef Matteo Temperini, here the cooking matches the setting. Osteria La Canonica keeps things trattoria-grounded for everything else.
For something more traditional, Bib Gourmand Taverna del Grappolo Blu inside the town walls is affordable, honest and the kind of place locals actually eat. Whatever you do, order the homemade pici with meat ragù: This is one of the best places to try this dish.
And then there is Vineria Aperta, the open-air wine bar just outside Montalcino that has become one of the most talked-about spots in the region. Set up like a beach club with rainbow-colored sun loungers and parasols, you’d never think to take their wine list so seriously. And the food menu is great, should you get lost here for hours like most people do.
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5. Montaione: The Tuscan Borgo Experience
Montaione is not the kind of place most Tuscany itineraries include, which is exactly why Two-MICHELIN-Key Castelfalfi has become one of the region’s most complete destinations. Spread across 2,700 acres of olive groves, vineyards and farmland, this is a full medieval borgo, a former hamlet reimagined as a luxury hotel with enough on-site eating and drinking to make leaving feel entirely optional. The 16,000-square-foot spa is anchored by heated indoor and outdoor pools overlooking the Tuscan hills, with treatments from RAKxa Wellness Spa (the prestigious Bangkok-based brand that made its European debut right here at Castelfalfi) blending ancient Eastern therapies with modern practice.
Dining spans six restaurants and bars, including a locally sourced restaurant; a trattoria and pizzeria where you’ll find some of Tuscany’s best pizza; a meat locker stocked with bistecca alla fiorentina (the iconic thick-cut Chianina T-bone grilled over embers) and cinghiale (wild boar) tomahawk; and a new Lebanese restaurant inside the medieval castle with sweeping cinematic views. At Bar Ecru, the cocktail list is reason enough to extend aperitivo hour into hours. The Martian Coffee riffs on the espresso martini with pandan liquor and pistachio-infused vodka; a barrel-aged Negroni is prepared tableside; and Spring in Tuscany (rosemary-infused gin, impossibly seasonal) has become a permanent fixture. Save at least an hour for breakfast, eat outside and don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.
San Gimignano needs no introduction and always earns a stop for Vernaccia di San Gimignano, Tuscany’s only white DOCG and the first Italian wine to receive the Denomination of Controlled Origin designation, later elevated to DOCG. Skim wine lists and bottle shops for Panizzi, Cappella Sant’Andrea, Casa Lucii and Podere le Volute. Here, One-MICHELIN-Starred Linfa is one of the most exciting recent arrivals in this part of Tuscany. Chef Giovanni Cerroni’s kitchen offers two tasting menus: Mimesi, a seven-course journey through the restaurant’s greatest hits, and A Mano Libera, the more free-ranging expression of Cerroni’s kitchen skills. At lunch, the three-course Pranzo Paradiso menu offers an excellent-value introduction to one of the region’s most talked-about kitchens.
Da Pode, meanwhile, is perfect for Sunday lunch: a kitchen where recipes are passed down through four generations, boasting fresh pasta made in-house daily, top-quality meats and an apple pie with custard at the finish that is as good as it sounds.
6. Lucca, the Opera City and White Truffle Capital
Lucca is one of the most underrated cities in Tuscany, with intact Renaissance walls. It is also the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini, the composer whose operas (Tosca, La Bohème, Turandot) defined a century of lyric theater and whose childhood home on Via di Poggio remains a top site to visit. For a glass or two inside the walls, Vinarkia della Pavona on Via Fillungo is the place to go, with a natural and biodynamic wine list and a perfect garden patio. For serious cocktails, Magellano is Lucca’s go-to for craft cocktails at a vintage-tinged bar where classics and innovative sips are executed perfectly.The best base is just outside the walls at MICHELIN-recommended Albergo Villa Marta, a lovingly restored 19th-century hunting lodge at the foot of Monti Pisani, three miles from Lucca’s historic center. Fifteen rooms, each with its own character, wooden beams, ceiling frescoes and carefully chosen furnishings, are set within a spacious Renaissance garden.
One of the best places to eat in the region is One-MICHELIN-Starred Butterfly, a short drive outside Lucca in the village of Marlia. A 19th-century farmhouse with a garden, it opens its glass-enclosed veranda fully onto the lawn in summer. Father-son chef duo Fabrizio and Andrea Girasoli have run the kitchen together with settled confidence since 2008. Order the Tyrrhenian scampi grilled on blazing lava stone with liquid Catalana sauce, baby radish and green mango, and do not leave without the cocoa cigar filled with foie gras, apple and hazelnut, a dish created as a tribute to Puccini that the maestro himself would likely have found impossible to resist.
Twenty minutes east, San Miniato is the white truffle capital of Tuscany. From mid-September through December the prized Tuber magnatum appears on menus across the area — ordered as a supplement and shaved tableside until you say to stop.
7. Seafood in Style on the Versilian Coast
The stretch of Tuscan coast north of Viareggio has always attracted Italians and travelers seeking peak summer destinations. Behind the beach clubs, the Apuan Alps give one of the best beach backdrops in all of Italy. It’s also home to the lardo di Colonnata delicacy — pork back-fat layered with rosemary, garlic and sea salt, sealed in marble basins and aged in the cool mountain air. It was a breakfast staple of Michelangelo, who spent time in these same hills.One-MICHELIN-Key Pensione America is the classic stay: a discreet adults-only boutique hotel with 17 rooms, brought to life with genuine care by the Maestrelli family. Nautical-themed interiors, Santa Maria Novella products and a pool ringed by lawns and shaded verandas deliver a contemporary take on the long Italian summer. Book a suite and take breakfast in-room on the private terrace overlooking the well-manicured pool. Two minutes away, the hotel’s own Bagno Assunta beach club has rows of hand-made wooden cabanas painted green and blue. Here you can slurp up spaghetti alle arselle, Forte dei Marmi’s answer to spaghetti alle vongole, made not with standard clams but with arselle, tiny wedge shell clams native to these waters.
Collect the hotel’s stylish bikes for an afternoon on the promenade, and stop at Caffè Principe, Forte dei Marmi’s social hub since the 1930s, now owned by the Prada Group and operated by Marchesi 1824, still very much itself and still the right place for a gelato and a coffee (or a spritz). The Magic Forte dei Marmi is a more personality-driven alternative with seven refined suites that feel more like an artist’s abode than a hotel.
Dinner should be at One-MICHELIN-Starred Sciabola inside the elegant St. Mauritius hotel, where Chef Alessandro Ferrarini’s colorful, impeccably sourced cooking is as Mediterranean as the coastline outside. The anchovy butter ravioli with bread and raisins is the dish to start with; the sea bass with cherry tomatoes, olives and capers is the one to finish on.
Hero Image: The Three-MICHELIN-Key Castiglion del Bosco, a Rosewood Hotel, is one of the best place to stay in Tuscany. © Castiglion del Bosco, a Rosewood Hotel
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