Must-SeeSight · ParkFreeOutdoors

Val d'Orcia

The Tuscany of postcards: rolling wheat fields, lone farmhouses and winding roads lined with cypress trees, a UNESCO landscape.

Photo: Carlo cattaneo fotografie · CC BY-SA 4.0
Open
Always
Price
Free
Time Needed
A day
Address
Around San Quirico d'Orcia, 53027Directions
Getting There
About an hour by car south of Siena.

Why Go

The valley south of Siena was shaped by farming estates in the Renaissance, and painters made its gentle hills famous. Drive the back roads between San Quirico d'Orcia, Pienza and Montalcino for the cypress avenues and the little chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta, alone among the fields.

Tips

  • Go at sunrise or sunset, when the light is soft and mist fills the valleys.

Go Next

1–3 of 6
Must-See
Cities

Siena

Tuscany
About 21 miles away

A medieval brick city around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, home of the Palio.

Guide Coming Soon
Must-See
Cities · UNESCO

Florence

Tuscany
About 51 miles away

The cradle of the Renaissance, with the Uffizi, Michelangelo's David and Brunelleschi's dome.

Full Guide
Worth a Detour
Heritage · UNESCO

Pisa

Tuscany
About 73 miles away

The Leaning Tower and its marble square, an easy stop from Florence.

Guide Coming Soon

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Traveler Reviews

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