The Best of Umbria and Tuscany

by Tour provider https://vangoghtours

Region

Umbria and Tuscany

Duration

8 days

Guided Status

Self-Guided

Difficulty

Moderate to Challenging

D-Score™

N/A - Unknown

Overview

The Best of Umbria and Tuscany tour is an 8-day/7-night self-guided cycling tour with a moderate to challenging level of difficulty. It offers the opportunity to bike through softly colored, undulating landscapes, sample high-quality wines, and explore impressive medieval towns like Assisi, Spello, Cortona, Montepulciano, Buonconvento, Pienza, and Siena. The tour highlights include visits to the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, charming hilltop villages, century-old farms and churches, and the distinctive Crete Senesi hills. Daily itinerary includes arrival in Assisi with time to visit artistic highlights like the Basilica of San Francesco. Day 2 involves cycling through olive groves to Spello and Bevagna, exploring Umbria's wine region. Day 3 leads to Deruta, famous for ceramics, and Torgiano, known for its wines, before reaching Borgo Mandoleto near Solomeo. Day 4 takes cyclists along Lake Trasimeno to Cortona, the setting for 'Under the Tuscan Sun.' Day 5 explores the wine country of Montepulciano. Day 6 visits Pienza, a Renaissance town, and the medieval village of Monticchiello, with a detour to Bagno Vignoni before reaching Buonconvento. Day 7 involves cycling through the Crete Senesi to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore and finally to Siena. Day 8 is for departure from Siena. The tour includes 7 nights of double occupancy lodging in 3 or 4-star boutique hotels, a 21 or 24-speed hybrid bicycle, daily breakfast, GPX files, luggage transportation (max 44 lbs/20 KG per person), and all taxes and gratuities for hotel and restaurant portions. Optional bike upgrades include Wilier GTR Road Bike (€100) and Electric Bike (€120). Children's bikes, seats, trailers, and tag-alongs are also available. Accommodations are typically in 3 or 4-star boutique hotels such as Hotel San Michele in Cortona, Agriturismo Corte del Poggio in Poggio delle Corti, Hotel Chiusarelli in Siena, Fattoria Pieve a Salti in Buonconvento, L’Agnolo in Montepulciano, and Country House Tre Esse in Assisi. These accommodations are known for their quality, location, and characteristic charm.

Daily Ride Schedule

Day 1: Arrival in Assisi.

Arrival in Assisi.

Day 2: Assisi – Spello - Cannara – Assisi

50 km 502 m

N/A

Assisi – Spello - Cannara – Assisi

Day 3: Assisi – Borgo Mandoleto Solomeo

50 km 424 m

N/A

Assisi – Borgo Mandoleto Solomeo

Day 4: Solomeo – Lake Trasimeno – Cortona

50 km 749 m

N/A

Solomeo – Lake Trasimeno – Cortona

Day 5: Cortona – Montepulciano

45 km 519 m

N/A

Cortona – Montepulciano

Day 6: Montepulciano – Buonconvento

45 km 1007 m

N/A

Montepulciano – Buonconvento

Day 7: Buonconvento - Siena

50 km 756 m

N/A

Buonconvento - Siena

Day 8: Tour Ends

Tour Ends

Accommodation & Services

Accommodation

Hotel

What's Included

Catering services

Accommodation arrangements

Bike rental

About the Umbria and Tuscany

Read the Tuscany cycling guide

EUR 1470

per person

Go to Provider

Why Choose This Tour?

Biking through softly colored, undulating landscapes.
Sampling the highest quality, DOCG rated wines of Bevana.
Gazing over a gorgeous lake from your hotel behind the 3,000 year old walls of Cortona.
Wandering the lovely cloister of the picturesque Monte Oliveto Maggorio.
Enjoying the famous cuisines of the Tuscan tradition.
Visiting impressive towns like Assisi, Spello, Cortona, Montepulciano, Buonconvento, Pienza, and Siena.
Discovering exquisite hilltop villages scattered over Tuscany’s and Umbria’s green hills.
Seeing century-old farms and churches, especially the unforgettable Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi.
Experiencing sweeping views over the unspoiled landscape, a patchwork of wild flower fields, olive groves, and vineyards.
Admiring the distinctive and beautiful barren, geometrical cypress-crested mounds of the Italian Crete Senesi hills.
Visiting the Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi, with its beautiful frescoes by famous artists.
Cycling through beautiful olive groves along a ridge with delightful views to the small town of Spello.
Visiting Bevagna, going through the most famous wine area of Umbria, the Montefalco Sagrantino 'Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita' (DOCG).
Stopping in Deruta, world-famous for its beautiful ceramics.
Visiting Torgiano, home of Umbria’s finest wines produced by the Lungarotti family, and its wine museum.
Gliding by Lake Trasimeno, whose shores shelter migratory birds.
Taking a boat to Isola Maggiore, where old ladies still weave traditional lace.
Cycling to Cortona, the setting for Frances Mayes’ best seller 'Under the Tuscan Sun,' with its 3,000-year-old walls.
Cycling in Tuscany through the wine country of Montepulciano, one of Tuscany's highest hilltop towns known for its Vino Nobile wines.
Visiting the perfect Renaissance town of Pienza, an architectural jewel famous for its pecorino cheese.
Riding to Monticchiello, a tiny walled village in the middle of the incredible Crete Senesi landscape.
Making a short detour to the ancient spa of Bagno Vignoni and soaking feet in warm sulfurous waters.
Visiting the Benedictine monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, one of the best known Benedictine monasteries in Tuscany.
Experiencing Siena, one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, with its dazzling Cathedral, Palazzo Pubblico, and Piazza del Campo.