Montepulciano Off The Beaten Path

Montalcino is a beautiful Tuscan hill town, which sits looking over the Orcia valley, 38km west of Montepulciano. It is famous for its wine - Brunello di Montalcino, which is one of the best (and most expensive) wines produced in Italy.

We stayed in Montalcino for two nights, tasted our fair share of the local drop and explored the surrounding area. Our hotel room had views across the valley, in fact the early morning view from our window was one of the most stunning I have seen in Italy.

Montalcino really is a lovely town - the landscape around it is gorgeous, and there is that very drinkable wine to consider! It makes a great day trip or half day trip from Montepulciano.

For more details, check out my Montalcino page.

Located just 14 km from Montepulciano is the delightful town of Pienza, which is perched on a hill overlooking the rolling landscape of the Val d'Orcia. This tiny walled town is refreshingly not overrun with big tourist groups and is quiet enough to lose yourself to the stunning scenery surrounding it.

There is not a lot to see here, it is more about its location in one of the most stunning parts of Tuscany. It is a place to stop and sample the creamy, locally made Pecorino cheese and perhaps a glass or Brunello produced in nearby Montalcino.

Take a stroll along the town walls, enjoy the colours of Tuscany and plot your return.

It is an easy day/half day trip from Montepulciano. If you arrive by car, you will find small parking lots around the edge of the old town. There isn't a huge amount of parking though, so grab whatever you can find. We found a shady, free parking spot about 5 minutes walk from Piazza Dante Alighieri.

If you don't have a car, you can catch a bus from Montepulciano. There are several services a day, and they arrive/depart from Piazza Dante Alighieri.

For more information, visit my Pienza page.

It is a few minutes later and the sun has already set. All I can see is the silhouettes of the cypress trees in the distance.

The most chances to find these beautiful cypress roads are in central Tuscany, around Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino, south of Siena. I saw this particular road in southern Tuscany, just south of Pienza, near the La Foce estate.

This is an image you will see everywhere in Tuscany on postcards: a beautiful winding road lined with cypress trees on either side. I think it looks beautiful so I set out to take a photo of a road like this myself.... but wow, that is easier said than done!

This road might be famous on the postcards and a symbol for the landscape in Tuscany, but it is actually very hard to find one for real. After driving around the whole afternoon, enjoying the surrounding landscape and visiting some villages, finally, just minutes before the sunset I found 'my' road! Hahaha, I can't tell you how happy that made me :-))

Did you know that these cypress roads have a sad history to them? These trees were often planted along roads to commemorate the dead from wars.

Outside the walls of Montipulciano at the foot of the hill stands a remarkable church. It is built in the shape of a Greek cross and has a cupola.

Coming from the direction of Pienza, you will have a great view of the church at the bottom of the hill.

This is a wonderful church close to the city.
To go there you have to pass by a street with cypress tree in boyh side .
Absolutely to see!!!