Tuscany's hidden gems: San Gimignano, Volterra, St Galgano Abbey
Description
Fall for the charm of 3 hidden treasures of Tuscany: discover San Gimignano, Volterra and San Galgano Abbey. Relax on our fully-fitted GT Coach and enjoy the drive to the most authentic area of Tuscany, with its medieval towns and postcard landscapes. The journey begins in San Gimignano, the so-called “Manhattan of the Middle Ages” due to the high ancient towers that stand out along the city center. Wander through its cobblestone streets and let the stunning views of the surrounding hills amaze you. The second stop is the scenic Volterra in all its medieval charm. Perched on top of a hill, from Volterra you will enjoy a breathtaking view that will leave you in awe. Your final stop is the mysterious San Galgano Abbey, just about one hour drive from Volterra. Of the 13th Century Cistercian abbey only the walls remain: it is empty and roofless, above it only the sky. Prepare to travel with your imagination as you step inside and let the grandeur of the gothic architecture inspire you.
Tour Options
Itinerary
This tour is indeed a tour which will suit everyone, from those who adore Tuscany’s diverse landscapes and its remarkable works of art, to its illustrious history and legendary tales. It is certainly a tour which the entire family will love. There is no time to waste when exploring the stunning Tuscany hills! Meet your tour guide at Piazzale Montelungo Bus Terminal early in the morning. Piazzale Montelungo is located 5-10 minutes walking distance from the Santa Maria Novella train station. Hop on the comfortable coach bus, choose your seat, and relax before departing on your journey! The drive to San Gimignano will take about one hour. During the journey, your guide will entertain you with plenty of interesting information about San Gimignano!
Your journey to discover Tuscany's hidden gems will start with San Gimignano, known as the "town of towers," because of its fascinating medieval towers still perfectly intact. The drive will take about an hour, and you will see the stunning "medieval skyscrapers" from a distance as your bus pulls into the historic town. Your guide will lead you past an incredible panoramic viewpoint of the Tuscan hills, then through the ancient city doors. You will have an hour to independently explore the town - walk the picturesque alleyways, visit the Duomo, or climb the tallest tower!
During your free time, do not miss to explore Piazza della Cisterna with its triangular shape with a slight natural slope and the nearby Piazza del Duomo. The pavement is brick and the piazza is surrounded by houses and medieval towers. There are presently 5 towers onto the square or very near it and the bases of other five are visible on the facade of the various palaces.
During your free time in San Gimignano, don't miss the opportunity to stop by one of the most famous Gelato Shops in Italy, the award winner "Gelateria Dondoli"! Let yourself be enchanted by the flavours and colours of their delicious home made ice creams and recharge the batteries for the rest of the day!
Sit back and relax, the journey by bus from San Gimignano to San Galgano Abbey will last approximately 1 hour. You will literally cross the heart of Tuscany, and you will admire the most pristine landscape made of cypresses, vineyards and rolling hills
The last stop of your Tuscan tale will be Volterra, a walled mountaintop town characterized by a Medieval and Etruscan charm. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods.
Your tour leader will take you to the heart of Volterra, that is to say the suggestive Piazza dei Priori, the main square of the city and a fine example of medieval Tuscan town squares.
Your Tuscany's hidden gems quest will continue in the direction of the sublime St Galgano Abbey, a majestic roofless Gothic style building, built in the 13th-century. church still stand. This stunning former Cistercian Monastery is immersed in the most pristine Tuscan landscapes, amongs cypresses and olive groves.
It's time to leave this fascinating corner of paradise in the heart of Tuscany to reach the last stop of this search for hidden treasures. The trip by bus to Volterra will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes!
The return journey to Florence will take about 2 hours, just sit back and relax, while your tour leader takes care of you.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please, note that the given order of the visits may change
- Comfortable shoes are recommended
Reviews(10)
Unforgettable trip… the most informative guide and plenty of free time in each stop. Highly recommended!!!!
Lucia and Jon Lucca were our guide and driver, respectively. They were both fantastic! Especially Lucia for her great guiding information on the bus ride and some at each stop, and Jon Lucca for getting us a great view of San Gimignano and deftly handling the super curvy route to each location. We really liked having a smaller group, but could definitely see many people enjoying this trip! And it made sense to take a small bus with this group size, but would be good to be alerted ahead of time if possible so we will know it changed from a large bus with a toilette to a small one without. The views and cities were incredible! The Abbey and Church were also really cool! Only recommendation would be to spend a little less time at the Abbey location so more time can be spent at Volterra and San Gimignamo. It would also be nice to include something in each city, like the church that has a charge or something but not necessary, still overall a pretty good value for easy and a great experience. Oh! And the gelato recommendation in San Gimignamo is the best we've had yet in all of Italy! Overall the whole trip was fantastic! We would highly recommend it!!
Great tour with Lucy and Jean-Luke. Informative with plenty of free time to explore each stop. The abbey was breath taking! Our 6 year old joined us and he did great and enjoyed it as well.
Wonderful day. We went to San Galgano, Volterra and San Gimignano. The guide John was super attentive, passing indications of the best places to visit and the best restaurants. The driver Osvaldo careful and attentive.
It was great by all means. Particularly our polyglot guide John deserves a special mention thanks to his clear explanations, kind accompany and presentable presence. Highly recommended!
Fantastic experience. Both towns, Volterra and San Gimignano, as well as the abbey, are beautiful and worth visiting. But what made our experience really stand out today was our guide. Christian, was very knowledgeable, polite and helpful. He went out of his way to make our day an incredible one.
Vladimiro and Roberto made our day a fantastic experience. We started on time and from the start Roberto gave us a lot of information about the organization and how was the plan for the drive, and the visit to the three cities. Roberto knows a lot about the places, about the history and about the region. He makes the drive really easy and he gives advices on what to ser, what to do, what to drink and what/where to eat. Vladimiro made us feel safe the whole time. Thank you for an amazing experience!
Our driver Vlad was an excellent driver and we felt completely safe with him. Our Guide Roberto was knowledgeable and friendly. .lWe were a small group of 12 and we’re together for nearly 11 hours as we travelled around SAN GIMIGNANO, VOLTERRA AND SAN GALGANO MYSTERIOUS ABBEY. The highlight of this tour was that we missed most of the crowds. I highly recommend this tour and would do it again. Thanks again Roberto & Vlad.
Thank you Catrina, we're really happy to hear that you enjoyed our tour and our staff :)
We signed up and expected to go in a big coach bus. Instead it was just the four of us and another couple in a private MB van - much better than expected! Placido was our driver and guide. He was knowledgeable about the culture and history and catered to our wishes. He brought us to places and showed us things we would otherwise not have seen - an Etruscan tomb, the Etruscan walls and gates around Volterra. For lunch, he asked whether we wanted to visit a winery, which we did in between visiting Volterra and San Gimignano. Highly recommended!
