April

Wildflowers dot the meadows, mountain slopes are fuzzy pale green and people emerge from their houses to congregate at spring festivals. Azaleas make a colourful theme for one village festival, olive oil and wine join forces with art and antiques at a festival at a Medici villa and fish are on the menu at a lakeside village.

Sample activities

Visit the molo at Viareggio where the small family fishing boats land their catch of pesce povero, once the fish of the poor, but now vaunted as the traditional cuisine of northern coastal Tuscany
Buy your fish at the molo and take it to Gabriella's house for a lesson in traditional seafood dishes of Viareggio
Sightseeing in the seaside town of Viareggio with its turn of the 20th century stile liberty architecture
Help a shepherd make cheese and ricotta
Glide silently in an electric boat among the reeds of Lago Massaciuccoli at dusk, seeing the now dilapidated fishing huts on stilts and watching the sunset over the lake as the water birds come home to roost
Visit the Puccini villa and museum on the opposite side of the lake
Visit a lardo producer in Colonnata and find out how pork fat is transformed into a delicacy
Join the locals at a Medici villa for olive oil, wine and art
Visit a sculptors' studio built over the Medici villa's fish ponds
Dine at the home of an Italian family where mamma is a superb cook
Free day in the walled town of Lucca for sightseeing and shopping, or rent a bicycle and tour the tops of the 17th-century walls
Meals in family restaurants off the beaten track

Ask us for our full menu of activities since we're always finding new interesting producers.