Tuscany, Italy: Small-town Itineraries for the Foodie Traveler

Great little book but alas, no index so finding specific areas is hard.

This book quickly became our bible to memorable meals on our recent trip to Tuscany. Pretty much every restaurant we tried seemed to tie for first place among the many, many wonderful meals we enjoyed. Ristorante Ana in Piancstagno was an unassuming little place in a tiny hill town that offered a 3 hour of-menu feast that may have been our best meal of all-time. (We were the only non-Italians in the place.) Ristorante da Billy in Manarola (Cinque Terre) brought 12 dishes to the table for their outstanding seafood antipasto as we enjoyed a panoramic sunset view of the Mediterranean. Il Vicoletta in Stress on Lago Maggiore is Michelin-ranked. We went twice! I could go on, but you get the idea.One of the challenges of traveling to a place you don't know is that you are often at the mercy of standard guidebooks that take you to the same crowded places everyone is visiting. And that's exhausting. As a former exchange student in my youth, I find the most satisfying travel experiences are those that allow me to feel a part of the daily rhythm of a place, mix with locals, and visit special places that locals love. The Little Roads booksoffer an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy just this kind of travel. While I consider myself a pretty adept travel planner, I suspect their inexpensive itinerary planning service would deliver in spades.

This book is perfect for people who enjoy traveling a bit off the beaten path. The Little Roads authors give in-depth descriptions and directions for restaurants, shops and accommodations that would otherwise be overlooked. The Tuscany edition is broken into routes/sections - perfect for planning day trips. It covers everything a first-time or repeat traveler will need for an outstanding vacation.

We love to visit the little stores and restaurants in small towns that the local people know are great for taste and value. We will take this guide with us on our next trip to Tuscany, which will be--we hope-- in April and May this year.

This book is not a travel guide, sure it has restaurants and hotels, but it lacks any real information and doesn’t tell you anything useful about the regions, the roads and Italy overall.

Meticulously written yet decidedly down-to-earth in tone, this fabulous little book succeeds on multiple levels. It is indeed a great practical tool for planning trips to my most favorite travel destination, the country of Italy. As one who has also spent time exploring some of the country's less-touristed regions, I can attest to the quality of the recommendations that the authors make with respect to the villages and towns on the book's itineraries (and the extensive list of restaurant suggestions, all vetted personally by the authors, is most impressive). Beyond the book's practical value, however, what I love about it most is that it evokes perfectly the experience that it encourages the reader to seek: the great joy and beauty that one finds in taking in the ancient rhythm of daily life in Italian towns that do not regularly see tourist visitors. Ultimately, this is what makes the book such a great pleasure to read. I look forward to reading more from Little Roads in the future.

Reading this book while riding in an airplane, I was tempted to change destinations during the layover and take the next flight to Pisa. Here is an example of the authors' approach toward sharing their travel experiences: "...When we ask for due cappuccini, the barista asks, 'Normale, o decorato?' Having no idea what decorato meant, of course we have to try it. The answer was really a treat: each cappuccino is lovingly created by the barista into a unique work of art, using a variety of gel icing and small candies. All that decoration does nothing for the taste of the coffee, but watching the effort and seeing the result is an artistic adventure."Highly recommended, whether or not there is a trip to Tuscany on the horizon.

Having just travelled 2K kilometers in a week in Tuscany among the hill towns ( a few biggies) I bought this on return, as we will return. It's a little on the light side, giving little in depth. However, it does contain the restarurant in Trequanda which is just as wonderful as described. March in Tuscany is wonderful, very few tourists, temps cool, light wonderful. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. But we New Englanders think 50's is warm!! A book to add to the collection, not to take along.

We found this book just before setting off for a two week holiday in Southern Tuscany. It covered most of the places we had intended to visit - and some we didn't know about. It was very useful for restaurants ( it seems we share their taste in food and ambience ) and gives information on local history in a succinct way that was easy to read when you are travelling. We were mainly based round San Querico / Buonconvento / Pienza area but ventured outwards in all directions. Beautiful in the early autumn .....

lovely book

Excellent travel guide, full of "off the beaten path" information, fun stories, with a touch of humor. Planning a trip to Italy next year, and this book will be the basis for the trip. Other reviewers who are complaining about the lack of information about major tourist traps, oops, attractions, maybe forgot to read the title first?

Takes the work out of travelling small towns and back roads. Very pleased