Fiesole, evening in the tuscan hillside above Florence

As an option during our free day, or any evening really, in Tuscany we can take a bus to Fiesole to watch the sunset over Tuscany. Fiesole can be reached by car or bus, and also on foot along narrow walled roads past numerous villas and the area where Leonardo DaVinci conducted his flying experiments.

Reaching Fiesole by bus

The ATAF Florence city bus to Fiesole is Number 7 which runs about every half an hour until almost midnight from the Santa Maria Novella train station. This 25 minute ride arrives and departs from the town square Piazza Mino de Fiesole. The late bus scheduled makes it possible to stay in Fiesole for sunset and dinner. The bus line starts at the SMN main railway station in Florence.

Piazza Mino de Fiesole

Fiesole, A Brief History 
per http://fiesole.com/

Fiesole is of Etruscan origin, and was probably founded in the 9 C BC and was then conquered by the Romans in 283 BC. Under Roman rule, it became the seat of a famous school of augurs, and every year twelve young men were sent here from Rome to study the art of divination.

During the Gothic War (536-53) Fiesole was besieged several times and in 539 Justinus, the Byzantine general, captured it and razed its fortifications. In the early Middle Ages, Fiesole was more powerful than Florence in the valley below, and many wars arose between them. In 1010 and 1025 Fiesole was sacked by the Florentines, and its leading families obliged to take up their residence in Florence.

View of Tusany from Fiesole

Cinque Terre

I think one of the most relaxing days of our trip, although also one of the more physically strenuous, will be our day hiking the Cinque Terre.  As these five towns are so closely and easily connected by train and boat this will be a great opportunity for everyone to define their own level of activity.

The details of our Day tour of Cinque Terre

Tuesday, October 19th 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
As taken from Avventure Bellissime website description

• Riomaggiore - Manarola: 1.0 km: Completion time: 25 min.
• Manarola - Corniglia: 2.8 km: Completion time: h 1,00.
• Corniglia - Vernazza: 3.4 km: Completion time: h 1,45.
• Vernazza - Monterosso: 3.8 km. Completion time: h 2,00.

Our private day tour of the Cinque Terre will start at Riomaggiore, the first village of the Cinque Terre where we will start on an easy walk along La Via dell’Amore "Lovers Walk" trail that affords magnificent views of the coastline, and forms part of the famous coastal footpath that links all of the Cinque Terre (five villages).

We'll then continue on to the village of Manarola with a guide who will accompany us to catch the boat to transfer to Vernazza, the most beautiful village of the Cinque Terre, stop for lunch and exploration in Vernazza.

 After Vernazza, we'll drive up to the quaint village of Corniglia to enjoy some of the best views of the Cinque Terre. Perched on the hillside, surrounded by terraced slopes of vineyards you can celebrate your day on the Cinque Terre with a glass of the famous local wine.

PLEASE NOTE: As a Private tour of the Cinque Terre, we can manipulate this itinerary to suit the particular requirements of your family. A popular alternative to the above itinerary would be to continue to walk along the famous coastalk footpath from Manorola to Vernazza, instead of catching the boat. This would involve a more strenuous two-hour walk, and would mean that there would no time to visit Corniglia.