Florence is not entirely devoted to art, however, and visitors who restrict themselves to paintings and sculpture will come away with memories of a forbidding indoor city. It's essential to leave the rather gloomy streets and brooding palaces for the city's gardens, bridges and half-hidden corners, and still more vital to join the Florentines - some of the most chic of all Italians - in their pursuit of outdoor pleasures, whether it's window-shopping in Via dei Tornabuoni or sipping drinks in the city's elegant, old-world cafés.

In Tuscany the choice of pleasure is greater still, from cities with a wide array of culture - notably Siena and Lucca - to the endless possibilities of the region's beautiful countryside. There are hills, mountains and sandy beaches, and a hundred village squares lined with rustic trattorias and bustling bars. And not so far from the beaten track lie towns such as Pienza, Cortona and San Gimignano, each a perfect combination of the culture, charm and beauty which make this unusually favoured region so irresistible.