Hike/ long walk in Tuscany?

Do your plans include the Cinque Terre? The trail runs between 5 small villages and the parts of the trail are along the coastline--the views are fantastic! It's about a 2.5 hour train trip from Florence--too far for a day trip. Possibly you could adapt your plans to spend at least 2 nights there.

I don't know if there are any well-marked trails between cities near Florence...

Here's some further info:

Slow Travel Italy-Hiking and Walking

The Lonely Planet "Walking in Italy" book includes some multi-day wlaks in Tuscany, around Chianti, medieval hill towns, and the Apuane Alps. You might take a look at that for ideas.

Check out this web site about Greve:

http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/hiking-localities/hiking-trails-eng.htm

I wanted to do the hike to Panzano, but we ended up spending a day biking instead. You could take the bus from Florence to Greve (about an hour, catch it at the bus station next to the train station) Enjoy Greve, then hike. (I think you could even take a bus back to Greve from Panzano.) I can't vouch for the hike, but I can tell you the area is wonderful. We stayed in an agritourismo in Greve and walked in the vineyards every day. The views were picture postcard worthy!! If you are there on a Saturday morning, there is an morning market. I believe Panzano has an open market on Sunday. The town of Montefioralle is great. It is an up hill walk, but you could look into taking the bus to Panzano and then hiking back to Greve. Then you can see Montefioralle and walk down hill to Greve. Have a great trip.

Trying to hike in that part of Italy is a pain in the tail since you're often confined to road shoulders on roads used by both the tour and regional buses. Circular hikes are also problematic.

This is a book by a guy named Jeff Taylor: "50 Hikes In & Around Tuscany: Hiking the Mountains, Forests, Coast & Historic Sites of Wild Tuscany & Beyond"

Italy is not my favorite hiking area, but this guy knows his stuff. I did four or five of the more strenuous ones last spring plus a couple of easy ones just because I wanted to see what was at the end of the trail. It's one of the better guides I own.

Have no idea what it cost since it was a gift with the corner nipped off, but it's paperback so can't be much.

Biking sounds like a great idea also, we are just looking for a way to see the countryside besides from a bus window. Any biking in tuscany tips are also appreciated! We are going to the Cinque Terre also.

I know of 3 great biking companies that do trips out of FLorence. I have used the first, the other 2 get great reviews on Trip Advisor.

http://www.tuscany-biketours.com/

This is the one we did. However, their web site is being reworked. There is an e-mail address you could contact. Great trip. Pick you up in FLorence, take you out to a castle where they make wine and olive oil. Tour, tasting, then you are fitted for your bike. The ride is great...one big hill towards the end, but they will haul you and your bike up it if you don't want to ride. (About 5 of us our of 16 rode up on our trip) Includes lunch. 60 euros in 2008.

http://www.ibiketuscany.com/

Gets great reviews, but quite a bit more expensive. I think the tour is a smaller group though. (either that or the group is smaller because it is more expensive.)

http://www.bicycletuscany.com/

I don't know anything about this one other than it gets good reviews.

I am partial to the first one since we did it and had such a good experience. The last trip report on Trip advisor was for March 22, 2010, so they are still going strong. They let us keep our water bottles and every time I ride here at home, I am reminded about that great day. Have Fun!!!

Biking seems to becoming more interesting to you. My husband and I have been on 7 bike trips in Italy, and plan to go back next year for another.

I can highly recommend Cicloposse. Here is a link to their day trips: http://www.cicloposse.com/guideddaytrips.php

They do week long trips as well. We have used them 2x on trips so far. Normally we do self-guided trips, we don't really enjoy large groups (like we had on our first guided tour in Italy with an American based bike tour company) Giuliana at Cicloposse is great! you might contact her via email if you have questions.

Biking for us is the best way to see Italy...Slow travel, quiet roads. A day trip that is guided for you sounds prefect if this is the first trip for you to Italy. A guide and some things to do off the bike make the experience so much more fun! Ciao!

hi Mike, if you're still thinking of walking, I'd recommend Walk About Tuscany, run by Gianni who's based in Siena. He offers a number of itineraries/ trails. I'm sure he can tailor something for your interests. I did a half-day walk with him and really enjoyed it.

Mike, I forgot about this: Do you know of the Via Francigena? It's the old pilgrims' route of the 11th century that ran from Canterbury, England all the way to Rome, winding down the 'boot' through Tuscany. The Italians have revived the route and put up signposts along the trails. One trail runs from Siena and passes a few towns such as Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. I haven't done it myself but it sounds really interesting.

This page provides some useful info on biking guidebooks for Chianti http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/bicycling/bicycling-eng.htm The area is incredibly popular with local cyclists, especially the route all the way from Florence to Siena. However, there are also many backroads with little traffic and great scenery. If you're in Florence with your bike, it will usually fit in the baggage compartment of a SITA bus so you can go out into the country to start your ride and avoid the traffic in the environs of Florence.