Shore Excursions Florence Livorno

LIV01 - Florence & Pisa

A trip to Tuscany is not complete without a visit to two of the most beautiful cities in Italy – PISA, once a thriving maritime port with a great navy (it was only in 1998 that the original harbour of Pisa was discovered just 500metres from the Leaning Tower!) and FLORENCE, a great Renaissance city over 2000 years old and the cultural heart of Tuscany.

Your personal driver will collect you directly from your ship for the 30 minute drive to the centre of Pisa - see the Leaning Tower (1173-1350) and marvel at the stunning setting of the Campo dei Miracoli where the Baptistery took 242 years to complete and where it is said that Galileo Galilei was baptised in 1564. You’ll also drive through Piazza dei Cavalieri and the renowned university Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa before departing the city for the hour and twenty minute drive to the centre of Florence where your driver will be at your service throughout the day to show you the renaissance highlights which start as you approach the city to breathtaking views across the River Arno from Piazzale Michaelangelo before making your way into the heart of history. You could, if you wished, take a 20 minute detour around Florence through beautiful Chianti countryside filled with vineyards and olive groves – just let your driver know what you would prefer to do. Once in Florence, discover the city’s prominent landmarks without too much walking – your driver will give you some background information about the history and monuments - Discover the splendid piazzas of Santa Croce and its gothic church where Michelangelo, Galileo and Dante are buried, Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria and its Palazzo Vecchio, stroll among the narrow streets past the lively and colourful market of San Lorenzo (renowned for its leather) and the Medici Chapel to La Loggia dei Mercanti, Orsanmichele and the enchanting Ponte Vecchio reaching across the River Arno to the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. Florence’s museums, palaces and churches contain more good art than perhaps any other city in Europe and highly recommended are the Uffizi (for Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera), and the Accademia (for Michelangelo’s David). At no extra cost, we can assist in ensuring pre-booked museum tickets so you won’t have to waste time standing in line. Plan to depart Florence at around 4pm for the hour and 20 minute return journey to your ship in Livorno

LIV02 - Siena & San Gimignano

Your driver will collect you directly from your ship for the hour and a half drive into the heart of the city (piazza del Campo or Duomo) for you to enjoy Siena on your own or you may wish to book a morning walking tour with one of our guides. Please note that due to the multiple steps and hills it is almost impossible to drive around the city centre. Highlights include the Palazzo Pubblico, the Pinaoteca painting gallery, the Archeological Museum and the marvels of the marbled Cathedral and Baptistry. Stroll down the various winding streets, climb the Torre del Mangia in the main square for spectacular views across the city and afterwards descend for a hearty lunch in the grand Piazza del Campo where the Palio is held each July and August. After lunch take the short drive (30 minutes) to SAN GIMIGNANO - a small and charming hilltop town known as the “Manhattan of the Middle Ages” owing to the many high towers that were built to show the wealth and power of this prosperous commercial city. Today, of the original 76 towers, just 14 have survived and this ancient town has been declared part of the World’s Architectural Heritage by UNESCO. It is renowned for its Torture Museum and its Vernaccia di San Gimignano wine (one of the few DOCG white wines of Italy). It has also reintroduced the farming of saffron which was cultivated here in the Middle Ages and was an important part of the city’s economy. Before returning to port (an hour and a half drive), you must try the gelato from Sergio at Gelateria di Piazza, renowned as one of the best gelato in Italy!

LIV03 - Lucca & Pisa

Get a true feel for Italian living as you discover the enchantments of some of Tuscany’s smaller towns. 

Your personal driver will collect you directly from your ship for the 30 minute drive to the centre of PISA, once a thriving maritime port with a great navy - it was only in 1998 that the original harbour of Pisa was discovered just 500metres from the Leaning Tower!  See the Leaning Tower (1173-1350) and marvel at the stunning setting of the Campo dei Miracoli where the Baptistery took 242 years to complete and where it is said that Galileo Galilei was baptised in 1564.  Then it’s on to LUCCA (30 minute drive) where you can enjoy the city taking you back in time to 180BC when Lucca was founded as a Roman colony.  Your driver will take you around the outside circle of the medievel walls (built between 1504-1645) and then you will wind your way into the heart of the city to discover the anfiteatro, an arena shaped piazza, the church of San Michele in Foro (where Puccini began his musical career as a choirboy), the 11^th century Cathedral of San Martino housing the Volto Santo, a cedar-wood crucifix said to be a true portrait of Jesus sculpted by Nicodemus, an eyewitness to the crucifixion, Matteo Civitali’s marble tabernacle the “Tempietto”, the Tomb of Illaria del Caretto (1408) by Jacopo della Quercia and Tintorettos’s “Last Supper”.  After lunch why not take a 20 minute drive to the local vineyards where you will be able to enjoy countryside views and at the same time taste some of the wines that this area has to offer.  Many of the local vineyards also produce their own olive oil.  Alternatively, if you wish to spend more time in the city centre,  one of the best ways to gather in the sites of the city centre is to climb the Guinigi Tower (tree topped) for views across Lucca towards the hills.  Stop for some of the best gelato in town before your driver takes you on the hour journey back to your ship in Livorno.

LIV04 - Tasting Chianti

Take an evocative Tuscan journey through gently rolling landscapes of vine-clad hills topped with castles and abbeys into the heart of CHIANTI. Enchanting dales hide quaint market villages overflowing with an abundance of some of the finest Tuscan speciality foods. 

Your personal driver will collect you directly from your ship for the hour and a half journey to  Chianti.  Stroll around the enchanting market town of Greve-in-Chianti and delve into the enticing Antica Macelleria Falorni, specialists in wild boar as well as pecorino cheeses before making your way to Castello di Verrazzano (dating back to 1170) for a tour of the gardens, wine cellar and a typical Tuscan lunch with wine-tasting. Early afternoon, depart Greve-in-Chianti for the 15 minute drive to Vignamaggio, setting for Kenneth Branagh’s film “Much Ado about Nothing” featuring Emma Thompson and Denzel Washington and where apparently Monna Lisa was born).  Visit the gardens, part of the villa and the cellars followed by a wine-tasting.  It’s then time to take the hour and a half journey back to your ship in Livorno.

LIV05 - Design your own Tuscan Tour

Everyone has their own special reason for visiting Tuscany – there are things you may want to see and do that are not mentioned in one of our pre-arranged tours.  Many of our clients are looking for relatives or visiting old friends, many are food and wine enthusiasts and are looking for a particular experience, some are interested in exploring in the footsteps of Leonardo Da Vinci from his birthplace in VINCI to the marble quarries of CARRARA, others have always dreamed of walking the Vasari Corridor in FLORENCE.  Tuscany holds an abundance of treasures – Renaissance FLORENCE filled with art and steeped in history, maritime PISA with the splendid Leaning Tower, enchanting LUCCA surrounded and protected by its medieval walls, noble SIENA set on seven hills and home to one of the most spectacular cathedrals, the hilltop towns of SAN GIMIGNANO and VOLTERRA, the delightful fishing villages of PORTOVENERE and the CINQUE TERRE, the marble quarries of CARRARA and the sculpture town of PIETRASANTA, the lively beach resort of FORTE DEI MARMI renowned for its boutiques, restaurants and the summertime haunt of many Italian TV and film personalities, the little village of VINCI and the museum that pays homage to the great Leonardo, the town of AREZZO and its wealth of antique shops, CHIANTI market towns, castle estates, ancient abbeys and vineyards, BOLGHERI wine estates producing SuperTuscan wines that look out over to sea views across to the island of ELBA where Napoleon was exiled in 1814.  From history, art, culture and tradition to food and wine ... Tuscany awaits you. 

Tell us what you want and we’ll ensure you get the most from your day in Tuscany on your own special personalised tour.  Our drivers will meet you directly from your ship at the dock at 8am and will be at your complete disposal for up to a 9 hour service, returning you to your ship at the end of a fulfilled day of Tuscan discovery. 

Contact us now for other tour suggestions that include:

LIV06 - Antinori's Classic Chianti Tour

LIV07 - Supertuscan Tour of Bolgheri

LIV08 - Volterra and San Gimignano

LIV09 - Cinque Terre, Lerici and Portovenere

LIV10 - Florence Outlet Shopping at the Gucci Mall

LIV11 - Golf in Tuscany

Contact us to discuss your shore excursion plans

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