Escorted Holidays 2020

The Tuscan Coast, Lucca & Florence
8 days from £849 May & September
There is also the chance to join an
optional excursion to Torre del Lago
Puccini, just half an hour south of your
resort. Puccini called this area “paradise”
- he converted an old watchtower by the
lake to a villa, now a museum: the town
has added ‘Puccini’ to its name in his
honour.
DAY EIGHT: Transfer to Pisa airport and
your flight home.
The Versilia Coast is a favourite holiday destination of Italy’s rich
and famous. Your holiday base, Marina di Pietrasanta, has excellent
beaches and a backdrop of the Apuan Alps. Your holiday includes three
contrasting excursions: to the mighty Florence of Dante, Boccaccio
and Machiavelli; to the stunningly beautiful ‘Gulf of Poets’ of Byron and
Shelley; and a circular trip by coach and rail through the Apuan Alps and
Serchio valley, with an afternoon in the wonderful walled city of Lucca.
• 7 nights hb Marina di Pietrasanta, on the Versilian coast • Excursion to
Florence • Excursion to the scenic Gulf of Poets • Train trip through the
Apuan Alps with a visit to Lucca
PROGRAMME
DAY ONE: Flight to Pisa and a short
transfer to your hotel for seven nights
half board accommodation in Marina di
Pietrasanta.
Marina di Pietrasanta: the more modern
beach resort is 3km from the old town
of Pietrasanta, and has shops, bars,
restaurants and pier. The resort centre
is 700m from your hotel, and there is a
regular bus service which stops near the
hotel to Viareggio and beyond.
DAYS TWO TO SEVEN: At leisure on the
coast, with three included excursions. You
have an included full day trip to Florence
where your guide will show you some of
the masterpieces including the Cathedral,
Piazza della Signoria, and Santa Croce –
where Galileo insisted to the end that the
earth moved around the sun, rather than
vice-versa. You will also have free time for
shopping and sightseeing. Florence is
68 miles away: you will cover the last few
miles by local train to get right into the
city centre.
The second trip takes you into the nearby
Apuan Alps – the ‘marble mountains’
– and Lucca. You take the motorway to
Aulla (32 miles), where there is time to
explore, before catching the train down
the valley to the exquisite walled town
of Lucca (journey time 2 hours). In Lucca
there is free time for lunch, and then a
guided walking tour of the main sights.
In the late afternoon, you travel back to
your hotel by coach (25 minutes). Please
note that if for any reason the train is not
operating, the excursion will concentrate
on Lucca rather than the valley.
The other included excursion takes you
40 minutes north to the azure ‘Gulf of
Poets’, a glorious bay of verdant hills and
colourful coastal villages, of ancient towns
huddled around and beneath their castle.
It is a coast rich in history, art, wildlife:
the ‘Gulf of Poets’ so named because so
many writers came and sang its praises
– Dante and Petrarch, George Sand and
D. H. Lawrence, Byron and Shelley (who
died while sailing from Livorno to the
Gulf). You travel by coach to Portovenere,
the ‘Port of Venus’, on the west side of
the Gulf (40 miles). Ferry timetable and
weather permitting, you cross back to the
east side of the Gulf by boat to meet your
coach and continue to the hotel.
YOUR HOTEL
HOTEL JOSEPH HHH,
Marina di Pietrasanta (seven nights)
The Hotel Joseph, recently-refurbished,
offers spacious lounge areas, lift, bar,
restaurant, terraces, and outdoor pool
area with terrace and fine views of
the Versilia Coast. There is a wellness
centre, with treatments available
(charges apply). Bedrooms are in two
adjacent buildings, and have shower,
wc, safety deposit box, and wifi. Twin
rooms also have balcony. (www.
hoteljoseph.net)
A WALKING HOLIDAY is also available
from this hotel. Please ask for a copy
of our Walking Holidays brochure or
visit preferredts.com.
Please refer to the enclosed ‘Dates and Flight Information’ for details of departure dates, prices and flights.
www.preferredts.com | 21