Vacanza nel Bosco

A hike at the Riserva Naturale Lago di Santa Luce (five minutes’ drive) rewards with potential sightings of marsh harriers over the reeds fringing the lake, plus herons and nightingales. In the surrounding hills you might also come across porcupines and foxes. Livorno (half an hour) is a coastal city dominated by the Fortezza Nuova, a 16th-century moated citadel that’s now a lush park. Stroll through the city centre, following your nose to a restaurant serving the local fish stew cacciucco, then head to the expansive chequered Terrazza Mascagni for views of the harbour. Piazza del Duomo in Pisa (45 minutes) is unmissable: it is on this large grassy square that the city’s most iconic sight (a certain leaning tower…) stands, alongside a marble cathedral (with an imposing altar and striped arches) and the elegantly ornate Battistero di San Giovanni. Across the river Arno, in the south of the city, is a famed Keith Haring mural: Tuttomondo.