sellGolden Week in Tuscany - Based in Cortona - For Women Only

Today you will depart on the overnight flight to Florence, full of joyful anticipation.

OR if you’d like to arrive early for Golden Week, pre-hotel nights in Florence or Cortona can be arranged.

*Flights are not included in the price of this package.  We are happy to arrange them for you.

Benvenuta! You’ll be met by our driver at the Florence airport or train station, then transported through the beautiful countryside to your home for the week: Hotel Villa Marsili. The setting of this boutique hotel, with panoramic valley views, will enchant you upon arrival. There will be time to relax, unpack, and perhaps wander up to Cortona’s historic center, where cobblestoned lanes and medieval piazzas will invite you to blend in with Tuscan hill town life.

In the early evening, a welcome aperitivo with the group in the Villa’s bar will be a cozy start to our adventure. Susan will give you tips about keeping a travel journal, so that it can become a treasured souvenir of the trip. We’ll meet our local guide who will lead a short orientation walk up to Cortona’s historic center, and then enjoy dinner at a nearby trattoria, the first of many memorable and delicious meals.

Meals Included: Dinner

Buongiorno! Wake up to your stunning valley view  and a delicious breakfast buffet of homemade focaccia, pastries, marmalades, and more. Get used to this lovely start to every day of your Golden Week.

Then you’ll be driven to the countryside, near the town of Montepulciano, to experience Tuscany’s beloved autumn tradition: the Olive Harvest. You’ll be welcomed to the organic farm of an award-winning cookbook author and begin the day’s adventure in her olive grove, where you’ll have fun picking olives and tasting freshly pressed oil.

In the farm kitchen, you’ll enjoy a hands-on class to learn about Tuscany’s classic rustic cuisine—rolling pasta, making a savory sauce and olive oil cake dessert. Lunch, enjoying the fruits of your labor, will follow.

You’ll be back in Cortona by late afternoon, with the rest of the day to enjoy the town and have dinner on your own, with Susan’s suggestions.  Choices range from wine bars that serve light snacks to folksy trattorias and elegant ristorantes.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

This morning our charming local guide will lead us to discover a range of Cortona treasures. We’ll begin outside the city walls with mystical sights: Le Celle = a mountainside hermitage where Saint Francis prayed in the thirteenth century, and the Basilica of Santa Margherita, that impressively honors Cortona’s patron saint. And YES, we’ll see Bramasole, the house Frances Mayes’ wrote about in Under the Tuscan Sun.

In Cortona’s historic center, we’ll stroll to discover Renaissance masterpieces in the Museo Diocesano, hear stories of the town’s fascinating history, and meet local artisans who are dedicated to preserving centuries-old crafts of ceramics, woodworking, and leather.

The rest of the day is yours to enjoy Cortona according to your desires.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Today you’ll experience one of Italy’s oldest traditions: taking the waters at a thermal spa.

You’ll immerse yourself in the regenerative waters at Fonteverde, a luxurious 5-star resort that’s set in the midst of Sienese hills.  Here is where the Etruscans established a thermal center two thousand years ago, Roman emperors soaked, and Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici and his family frolicked in the seventeenth century. You’ll continue the healthy tradition by relaxing in warm pools, indulging in excellent massages or body treatments, and enjoying lunch on your own at the resort’s acclaimed restaurant that celebrates local ingredients and regional specialties.

We’ll return to Cortona by early evening, completely refreshed. Dinner is on your own, with my recommendations.

Meals Included: Breakfast

Wines produced in Tuscany are beloved world-wide. We’ll visit an exceptional winery near the town of Montalcino--the only winery in Italy that has an all-female staff and produces award-winning Brunello wine designed by an all-female panel of experts. The experience, in a sixteenth century villa, surrounded by organic gardens and vineyards, will include a cellar tour, followed by a tasting with lunch.

In the late afternoon, we’ll head to the hilltop top town of Pienza. Sunset is the perfect time to enjoy this treasure, that’s adorned with elegant Renaissance architecture. There will be time to stroll along Pienza’s panoramic promenade, shop for artisan treasures, and taste the town’s prized Pecorino cheeses.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Our guide will lead us to discover beauties of Arezzo—a town where Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance art and architecture are splendidly blended. A highlight will be Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross, painted in the fifteenth century, and hailed by art historians as one of the best fresco cycles in the world.  

And to make our visit even more colorful, we’ll be there for Italy’s largest monthly Antique Fair, when Arezzo’s historic center fills up with 500 vendors, spreading out an eclectic mix of treasures—from candelabras to jewelry to comic books.

There will be time for strolling and shopping, and then we’ll gather for lunch to enjoy excellently prepared Tuscan specialties.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Today is your day to enjoy Cortona, or its surroundings, according to your desires. Susan will help you plan your day.

In Cortona, simply wandering, exploring artisan shops, opening church doors to discover beautiful sights, or strolling the Parterre (Public Gardens) are wonderful choices.

Other suggestions in Cortona:

-- Etruscan Museum

    Besides 4 floors of Etruscan artifacts, there are upper floors of Roman mosaics and an exhibit of twentieth century paintings by Gino Severini, a native of Cortona

-- Tuscan Clay Lab Pottery Lesson

     (More info available on request)

Outside Cortona

-- Visit to Montepulciano

     (More info available on request)

In the evening we’ll gather for our Farewell Dinner, grateful, refreshed, and inspired from our Golden Week together.

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Our driver will transport you to the Florence airport or train station, where you’ll depart with Golden Memories of our week together...

Meals Included: Breakfast