Explore the Villages of Tuscany
Discover charming hill towns, hidden hamlets and beautiful places you’ve probably never heard of.
The village map
Explore Tuscany, One Village at a Time
Ever spotted a tiny village perched on a Tuscan hillside and wondered what’s up there?
Here’s your chance to find out.
Explore 273 towns and 5,149 villages and hamlets across Tuscany, with nearly all of them plotted on our interactive map.
Zoom into the hills, discover places you’ve never heard of, explore nearby villages and take a virtual wander using Street View where available.
Every dot is somewhere waiting to be discovered. The burgundy pins mark places I’ve photographed, explored or written about.
You don’t even need to book a flight. Just pick a place and see where it takes you.
Discover a village
Ideas for Your Next Adventure
A few of the villages I’ve written about, all in my own photos. Pick one and start wandering.
AramoProvince of PistoiaAramo: a tiny castle village on a crag above the Val di Torbola, with San Frediano at the top, flowery lanes and a walk to San Quirico.View guide 
FibbiallaProvince of PistoiaFibbialla is one of the smallest of the Dieci Castella above Pescia.View guide 
MedicinaProvince of PistoiaMedicina in the Svizzera Pesciatina: a tiny castle village above Pescia with a thousand years of history, flowery lanes, a reopened circolo and…View guide 
PietrabuonaProvince of PistoiaPietrabuona above Pescia: the first of the ten castles, its ruined Rocca, the paper museum at Le Carte mill, where to eat like a local and where…View guide 
PontitoProvince of PistoiaPontito above Pescia: the fan-shaped castle village at about 750 metres, its steps and church, Lazzaro Papi and Franco Magnani, walks and where to…View guide 
San QuiricoProvince of PistoiaSan Quirico above Pescia: one of the loveliest of the ten castles, with lanes that tunnel under the houses, a rooftop circolo and great walks.View guide 
SoranaProvince of PistoiaSorana above Pescia beyond the famous beans: its old rocca, the Paradiso quarter built for Lignana’s refugees, the church, the paper mills and…View guide 
VellanoProvince of PistoiaVellano above Pescia: the old capital of the ten castles, its pieve, the pietra serena quarry and miners’ museum, the October chestnut sagra and…View guide
Villages near Lucca: 13 I love 8 small villages you’ve never heard of All village stories →
- Explore the villagesOver 5,000 villages and hamlets on my map. Have a nosy.
- Food & festasSagre, recipes and village life. Mostly the food.
- Plan your tripWhen to go, getting about and hiring a car.
- Find somewhere to stayHotels, B&Bs, villas and farm stays across Tuscany.
Plan your trip
Plan Your Trip and Find Accommodation
The practical bit. Where to sleep, how to get about, and the credit card thing nobody warned me about at the car hire desk.
BookAccommodationHotels, B&Bs, villas and farm stays, with my tips on the towns I know best.
DriveHire a carBooking, deposits, insurance and a checklist you can print off.
Your baseChoosing your baseVillage, town or agriturismo? How to choose.
When to goThe best time to visit Tuscany, month by month
Getting aroundGetting around Tuscany: trains, buses or driving?
Road tripA 7-day northern Tuscany road trip: villages, mountains and sea
Airports to Lucca Driving & ZTL fines Tuscany without a car All planning guides →
Planning to drive? You’ll want a car for the hill villages. I compare car hire for Tuscany with Discover Cars.
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you book through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
Virtual exploration
Wander Tuscany From Your Sofa
Not booked yet? Put the kettle on and have a wander. Drop into Street View on the map, watch my little films or browse the photos.
MapStreet View on the village mapPick a village, then walk its roads and lanes in Street View.
FilmLe Dieci Castella: a driving route through the Svizzera PesciatinaMy driving route through the ten castles above Pescia, with my film of the road.
PhotosPhoto galleryDoors, lanes, rooftops and flowers. Years of them.- FilmsMy YouTube channelShort films from the villages, festas and the odd rally car.
Food and village life
Food, Festas and Village Life
The sagre, the Sunday pasta and the neighbours who know everything. Mostly the food, if I’m honest.
RecipesTuscan recipesThe local dishes worth hunting down, and how to make them at home.
RecipeZuppa frantoiana: Lucca’s olive mill soup
Village lifeOtello: the day I bought a Tuscan village home from a 93-year-old war hero
Village lifeThe cats of the Tuscan villages
Sagre month by month What to eat in the Lucca and Pistoia hills All festas & food → All stories →
Out nowMy little Tuscany Village Journal, a paperback for wandering the ten castles above Pescia.
See the journalFresh from the hills
Latest
Hot off the laptop. My newest posts, minus the ones already above.
About
I'm Susan. I've spent years in the Tuscan hill villages around Pescia, and I'm still exploring them. More about TuscanyVillages