Traditional Florentine steak with baked potatoes and rosemary

An In-Depth Tour of Tuscan Gourmet Cuisine

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Customizable Itinerary

This is a sample itinerary to inspire a personalized trip designed with your travel specialist

Countries Visited

Italy

Places Visited

Florence, Mount Amiata, Siena, Arezzo...

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Suggested Duration

8 Days

In Tuscany, eating is more than sustenance. You do not eat to live,  but you truly live to eat. Home cooks understand the reason for pairing types of pastas with different types of sauce. A local butcher is happy to share home recipes. Chefs cook with their hearts, basing their recipes on traditional flavors with modern twists. Your custom tailored tour of Tuscan Gourmet Cuisine leads you through seven Tuscan destinations known for specific types of cuisine, ensuring your immersion into the...

Customizable Itinerary

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Trip Highlights

  • Revel in the exquisite flavors of a Bistecca Fiorentina, prepared by an award-winning chef, and served at a chef’s table, providing a true dining experience
  • Discover the nature of saffron along its journey from planting to cultivation on a farm outside of Florence
  • Enjoy the semi-sweet flavors of fresh chestnut powder in a castle overlooking the Tuscan valley
  • Journey into a rustic, tiny alpine town in northern Tuscany to sample the treasured flavors of the ancient grain known as spelt
  • Delight in a tour and fresh tasting of a pecorino cheese farmed on the volcanic soil in southern Tuscany
  • Indulge in the rich and bold cuisine of Siena, embodied in a single dish highlighting the prized Cinta Senese breed of pig

Detailed Description

The cuisine of Italy has always been your favorite, filled with hardy sauces, succulent pasta, and earthy mushrooms. Your 8-day Tuscan Gourmet Cuisine tour will take away what you thought you knew about Italian cuisine, and show you the heart, soul, and passion of Tuscany in each and every dish you taste.

Your culinary tour begins with your arrival at Florence International Airport. Your private transfer meets you at baggage claim and escorts you into the preserved Renaissance city. The remainder of the day is yours to explore the splendid streets and historic churches before embracing your first meal at a restaurant situated in an antique cellar.

After breakfast, your guide meets you in the lobby and leads you through the hills between Florence and San Gimignano. A long patch of purple flowers interrupts the emerald countryside. Your guide leads you through the saffron farm, explaining the history and cultivation process of the spice. After your private Tuscany tour, you delight in a multi-course meal highlighting saffron in every dish.

The following day, you make your way to the city of Carrara, known for its famous ancient quarry.  Explore the city and its fabulous sites, including the School of Fine Arts, before making your way to Malgrate Castle where you can taste the local delicacy of chestnut flour at its most pure. Continue northbound into the Apuan Alps, finding the Garfagnana Valley. In the small town of Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, you can immerse yourself in the sweet flavors of the locals along with the farming practices of spelt, an ancient cousin of wheat.

Journey south to the medieval town of Siena for an introduction to the celebrated and preserved breed of pig known as Cinta Senese. After an excursion through the city, you will dine on the local cuisine highlighting a special dish with the Cinta Senese at the forefront. Outside of Siena, you spend the day in Arezzo, touring through the local farms and butcheries known for the white steer. The volcanic soil around Mount Amiata produces some of the most flavorful cheese in Tuscany, including the precious Pecorino Toscano. Relish the landscape, the small town of Castel del Piano, and the bold, decadent flavors of Tuscan lamb stew. On your final day in Siena, your private transfer escorts you back to Florence for your flight home. 

Starting Price

$2,859 per person (excluding international flights)

Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.

What's Included

  • Accommodations
  • In-country transportation
  • Some or all activities and tours
  • Expert trip planning
  • 24x7 support during your trip

Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.

Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service

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