Good Thursday morning to ya! Welcome to Part Two of our road trip through Tuscany :)
This was such a bittersweet day! It was our last day in Italy before taking a train to Rome that evening and getting on an early flight back home the next day.
On our first day, we didn’t get started until after lunch, but our second day began early.
I’ve got a map below that shows the driving routes we took through Tuscany, plus a few other routes that were suggested as the “Most Scenic Drives in Tuscany.” If you like, you can follow along on the map to get an idea of where we were for these photos, if you’re looking to plan a trip. :)
We started by taking the Red route from Siena, down the Orange route, then met up with the Yellow route and continued south.
In the morning we stopped for a walk in Montisi — a beautiful village.
We continued south on the Yellow route and had lunch in Pienza.
I absolutely loved the charm and history of the hilltowns we visited. They were surrounded by tall, protective walls. Entry to the town was through a gate. The main road wound its way up to the top of the hill with shops, stores, and restaurants along the way. At the top were beautiful views, or a castle, or a church. Or all three.
After lunch, we took the Blue loop around the San Quirico d’Orcia region.
This was a beautiful area. I think the Red and Blue routes were my two favorites.
House on a hill.
Field of flowers.
Little building.
A couple.
It was a beautiful spring day, and I was wearing capris and flip flops here, but I kind of wished I’d worn long pants with socks and shoes for these photos. In some places the grass was really tall! :)
Wide open spaces.
So much color!
Tuscany sheep.
Wavy hills.
Storm rolling in.
A patchwork vineyard.
Afternoon.
Tuscan mountains.
Purple mountains?
Our last photo in Tuscany.
View Tuscany in a larger map
Here’s a map of the routes we drove along on our two-day itinerary in Tuscany.
Day 1: From Siena: Red and Pink routes. Lunch in Asciano, dinner in Montepulciano. (Photos here)
Day 2: From Siena: Red, Orange, Yellow, routes. Stop in Montisi. Lunch in Pienza. Blue loop. Green, Yellow, and Red route back to Siena. Stopped for pastries at Pasticceria Peccati Di Gola. This was one of my favorite stops of our entire trip! A must-stop if you are a big fan of all things sweets and pastries like me. :)
Thanks so much for looking you guys! Have a great weekend! :)
I never get tired of watching landscapes of Toscana – but your pictures go one mile beyond, they are simply breath-taking. I could imagine printing out each of them, to decorate a house!
I never get tired of watching landscapes of Toscana – but your pictures go one mile beyond, I could imagine printing out each of them, to decorate a house!
Loved your photos- we visit Tuscany every few years and as an artist I have a great time capturing the wonderful landscapes. One trip I walked through the fields to the “little building” which is a very iconic Tuscan building featured in lots of post cards. I really love the wheatfields!!( – here’s a painting from this years trip lindywhittonstudio.com/2016/07/18/the-italian-paintings). we always stay near Radicofani and the loop from there to Pienza and back through San Quirico is stunning. Thanks fro sharing your photos.
Hi Amanda!
We’re planning a trip to Italy in the beginning of June. Our itinerary is packed including: Fly into Florence & explore, take a day trip to Venice via Train, drive from Florence to Siena (exploring along the way), a day trip to Cinque Terre from Siena, Drive southern Tuscany from Siena to Orvieto & hop an evening train to Rome, a day in Rome & then 3 days on the Amalfi Coast before flying back out of Naples.
Your pictures were amazing and your map is the exact part of Tuscany that I want to see. A couple of questions for you:
1. Do you recommend where you stayed at in Tuscany and if so, where was it? :)
2. You mentioned that on your Tuscany Day 2 drive, you did the drive and then returned to Siena to take the train to Rome? What time was your train to Rome? Wondering if we shoud do this rather than just driving to Orvieto.
3. How long would you say you were driving on Day 2? Again…just trying to see this amazing countryside that you took pictures of all in enough time to get to Rome by 6pm.
Thanks!!
Angel
Hi Amanda, I have been waiting for this day to come… When we take our dream trip to Italy. we will be following your Tuscany itinerary. thank you for sharing this info with us!!! It’s nice to ‘know’ people who have been and what they liked.
Question: Do you recommend any other good dining with Tuscany? I trust your foodie pallette and would be to know where to go! I for sure will try the Patisserre. thanks!
Hi Amanda,
Fabulous pics. We are planning a trip to Tuscany and would love to take the route suggested by you. Can you please give an idea how much was the drive time approximately for both the days?
Thanks and ton!
Kuntal
Absolutely enjoyed seeing allthe Pics! it was also wonderful to “NOT” see any billboards to mar the view! thanks for sharing! :}
Amanda,
I miss Miley and Howey. Where do they go while you are traveling so much??
Thanks so much for the Tuscany pics – loved it! I don’t travel as much but thanks to you, in a way I do! Thanks for sharing!
Amazing photos, making me want to visit Tuscany!
I second Ruthie’s comment! I would love to see how you enhanced your photos through editing. Love your blog and your photos, yours is the only blog I follow, its just too addicting.
I’ve been to Montisi! It’s lovely!
Thank you Amanda!
Awesome pictures!! Thanks for sharing!
You are so lucky to be able to go to such beautiful places!
Gorgeous photos! Would you share what you do to each photo in post-processing? Maybe share a before and after, straight-out-of-camera shot with a processed shot? I would love to learn a little bit about how you get the colors so vibrant and saturated.
Gorgeous photos!
Again, BEAUTIFUL! Thanks.
Hi Amanda! First let me say that your photos are amazing! Italy is my most favorite country but I have never been to Tuscany and your photos make me want to go there! A friend of mine recommended your blog to me today and I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. I am traveling to Ireland this summer. I have a Nikon D90 and have an 18-270mm telephoto and a macro lens, both of which I am planning on taking with me. I was considering buying a fisheye lens but my friend suggested I buy a wide-angle instead. Is it worth the $700, do you think, to buy the 10-22? Will I not get mostly the same picture with my 18-270? Would you consider a fisheye instead? If you have any thoughts on the subject, I would appreciate it! Regardless, I have become a follower after looking at your site! Thank you!
Welcome Paty!! :) I don’t have a fisheye lens, but I love my 10-22. I take it with me everywhere, it’s probably my second most-used lens, after the 24-70mm f/2.8. :) Have so much fun in Ireland this summer!!
The shades of green are awesome in these shots
wow, everything is just so gorgeous!
OMG! It’s hard to believe something so beautiful exists! Must put it on my bucket list along with Spain!
WOW. all I can muster to type about the beauty of your images. And you’re killing me here….making my heart beat faster in anticipation of my trip there in Sept. I may take that EXACT same route while there. Did you use road maps purchased there or did you have GPS in your car? And how did you know where you wanted to go …backroads….did someone lead you in that direction? See? I have one million and one questions!!!!
We bought Italian maps for our Garmin GPS before we left, and they worked great while we were there! I found the routes on DiscoverTuscany.com suggested as “The Most Scenic Drives in Tuscany.” Hope this helps! Have fun in September! :)
Italy should be thanking (and paying) you! These pictures are beautiful.
so jealous! I love it, thanks for sharing your amazing pictures
Beautiful !! Thanks for sharing !! Love being able to see the settings of the camera! Thanks…
Wow, the mountains picture! I wish you had the GPS coordinates for that one. All of these are absolutely amazing. And to Sharman’s comment above, we said the same thing when we were in Tuscany. How can the people that live in that area go on vacation and be impressed? It’s like it ruins you. Everywhere we’ve gone since then we say, “Ehh… it’s no Tuscany.” I’m sad that this is the last of the Italy pictures! I was having fun living vicariously through you.
I just added the GPS coordinates for the mountains photo just for you! :) I knew they were along the Red route, so I just used Google Maps’ Street View to find them. Unless you were talking about the purple mountains, in which case, I know they were on the Red Route, but I couldn’t find exactly where. But the Red route is a short little drive, so they wouldn’t be hard to find. :) Hope this helps! :)
We were on that road and I didn’t notice themI think that means I HAVE to go back. I mean, you went to the trouble of finding me the coordinates (thanks a bunch!) so anything less would be unacceptable. :) And I have to try Pasticceria Peccati Di Gola!
Thanks again! Oh, I dragged my husband in here as I have with all your Italy pictures and at first he groaned and then after seeing the first two, said that you should make your full-sized photos available for download so that we could decorate our living room. I told him that that’d never happen, but have you thought about selling them? :)
Fantastic pictures. I love the storm picture. And “The Couple” made me smile, really cute. The whole landscape is gorgeous and I’m sure you couldn’t take your eyes off everything you saw.
Absolutely gorgeous pictures!! Could you imagine waking up to those views every morning?! God’s country for sure!! That is definitely on my bucket list!! Thanks so much!
I have loved all these trip posts! One day I will visit. :) You have some awesome photos!!
I need a digital photography course!!! You’re pics are truly beautiful! Good eye!
Thank you so much for sharing your photos of Italy. The shots that you took are gorgeous.
Unbelievably beautiful!!
wow! beautiful photos! i wish i had some of your talent! you’re awesome! :-)
Beautiful pictures of country – thank you so much for sharing!
I think Tuscany just moved way up on my ‘to see’ list. Stunning pics Amanda!
I don’t comment often, but I have to say how much I am enjoying your photography. It’s beyond amazing. What a beautiful opportunity and amazing memories to cherish forever. I LOVE clicking on the pictures to see your settings. Thank you for all the work you put into sharing them.
Your photos are absolutely gorgeous! Are you going to have some of them printed up for your house? Would love to see a post on what you do with your fav pieces!
Amazing photos. Feel like I am in the museum staring at the paintings!
Nika
Luv the photos of your trip! I will be visiting the same areas in 2014! saving money so
I can enjoy Italy for 2 weeks. Any other tips you can e-mail me.