Join one of 10 day group tours for the day in and out of Florence, each different, each unusual and the reason you came to Italy.

THE OTHER TUSCANY is a series of one-day programs offered year-round that explore the "invisible" Tuscany that few tourists, and many natives see. Tours are offered on specific days Monday through Saturday, including an English-speaking guide and lunch.

Even in downtown Florence one hundred yards far from the tourist flow, you can find artisans, shops, and museums unknown to even the native Florentine. Join us for a great and memorable experience, the reason you came to Italy.

Monday

• Wine in Florence - wine making in and around Florence

Tuesday

• Artisans - tour ancient quarters - ancient ways of gold, silver, paper and wood
• Cruising in Chianti - a tour from Greve visiting vineyards, castles, wineries, villages and lunch
  
  Wednesday
  
• Prepara La Pasta   - Prepare a Tuscan meal to enjoy with lunch & local wines
  
  Thursday

• The Oldest & Hidden Museums - guided tour of Florence's unknown museums
  
• Taste Italian Language - learn Italian through games and role-playing
  
  Friday:

• Ancient Shops - from pharmacies to antiques
• Parks and Gardens - a walking tour of Italian gardens and parks
• The Abbey in the Forest   - Abbey of Vallombrosa and a fabulous forest
  
  
  Most tours originate in Florence, but several require obtaining private or local transportation to their point of origin.

Monday - Wine in Florence - This program goes into the history of wine and its relationship with the city of Florence and its noble families like Antinori and Frescobaldi. There will be a brief wine itinerary in the city, before starting the actual wine tasting session. The session includes a sensorial analysis, with five wines. At the end a tasting session with the regional gastronomic specialties.

10 am - a walk seeking the old Florentine wine makers who during the 1800s were small taverns. A stop in the famous Enoteca Migliorini, one of the oldest shops in the city.
1030 am - Visit Palazzo Antinori representing the Wine Makers. Continue to the Enoteca de'Giraldi for a professional-led wine tasting session.
1130 am - Introduction to Tuscan red wines and the most widespread vines; the traditional D.O.C.; the Brunello and Nobile; the role of the Cabernet and new trends. Tasting around the working table with red and white wines.
100 pm - Organoleptic analysis of the wines during tasting and suggestions for food pairings and include traditional canapé, slices of toasted bread with tomato or garlic, olive oil and basil, local cheeses and salami, crostini with mushroom and artichokes, bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and fresh white beans (cannellini)
2:00 pm Excursion over and escorted back to the Plaza of the Duomo.

Cost per person $154

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Tuesday
Florence artisans at work practicing ancient techniques in gold, silver, paper, and wood.

1000 am - Meet in Piazza Santa Croce and then walk along the narrow streets of the neighborhood the group will got the first artisan, enroute the guide will describe the Florentine neighborhoods, focusing on the history of the local arts and crafts. In place since the year 1000.
1030 am - In the first workshop, attend a demonstration on how to create marbled papers.
1130 am - Onto the second workshop (varying between ancient book binding and restoration, mask making, wrought iron, wood carving or textile restoration)
1245 pm - Continue to Trattoria Icche c’è c’è for lunch at with local food and wines. After the lunch, the group will be escorted in the Ponte Vecchio area ("Old Bridge").
2:30 pm - Visit a the jewelery production workshop inside a historical building, dating back to 500. The artisan will show the complete working process, explaining the different techniques used to smelt, weld, and encase.
345 pm - Return back to the meeting point and end of the excursion

Cost per person $140

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Thursday - The Oldest and Hidden Museums of Florence - there are museums in the old town center that few tourist guides will show you. Many are interesting not only for the objects showed but also for the architecture, the furniture, and the guiding philosophy behind the museum.

1000 am - meet in Piazza Duomo
1015 am - walking to the Anthropology and Ethnology Museum in Via del Proconsolo for a guided tour.
1130 am - Continue to the Science Museum and its superb planetarium
for a guided tour
1245 pm - lunch with Tuscan specialties and wines at Trattoria Icche c’è c’èAfter lunch, the group will be escorted in the Ponte Vecchio area ("Old Bridge"), where the Museo della Specola (Zoological History) is located.
230 pm - Guided visit of the La Specola
330 pm - Return to the Piazza Duomo and end of the tour

Cost per person $154

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Friday - The Abbey in the Forest - The Vallombrosa forest is a world known for its natural environment, but the most unique aspect is the presence of historical and architectural evidence of the Vallombrosiani monks' community. This community lived in these woods for centuries - from as early as the 11th & 12th centuries. Still, it is easy to find traces of their stay. The tour will feature a visit of the Vallombrosa Abbey, an adventure to discover the so-called Saints' Chapels, and a lunch in the Pensione Medici.

1000 am - Meeting at the Bar Pensione Medici in front of the Abbey of Vallombrosa. The tour will start with a visit of the Abbey of Vallombrosa, located in a dense forest of oak, pine, beech, and chestnut trees.
1130 am - After visiting the Abbey, the guide will escort participants towards the Noviziato, along a path that was built by the monks of the Vallombrosa Order. Guided visit of the botanical garden.
100 pm - Llunch in the Pensione Medici dated back to the late 1800s.
2:30 pm - The itinerary will follow the Chapels of the Saints. Participants will follow a path made of stones carefully prepared by the monks. This path was built to easily reach the Chapels.

Cost per person $154
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