MAPPING TUSCANY

I always avoid Sundays at the beach:  no parking, too many beach towels, too much noise, too much queuing up for ice-cream - basically too many people.  Unless you talk winter in Tuscany. At that point Sundays at the beach mean c lear skies, warm and sunny afternoons, long walks on empty beaches and... queue-free ice-cream.  Winter walk on Castiglione della Pescaia's north beach

I know you are all ready to jot down an address in Rome, Florence or Venice. Sorry to disappoint the foodies between you, but the best Italian ice-cream is neither to be found in the eternal city nor on a canal in Venice.  The prize goes to a little gelateria (a shop that only sells ice-cream, gelato in Italian) called  Oasi del Goloso , with a a fig/ricotta ice-cream to die for!    

Almost every small town in Tuscany will be a delight to holiday in with kids. Car-free historical centers, good pizza, restaurant owners who adore children and local bars that sell ice-cream. But a place like Buonconvento even manages to have a few more extras to throw in. The beautiful little town is one of my favorite museum destinations to the south of Siena. And it's flat - which is a relief after all those Tuscan hilltop towns: you'll be at last able to wear your new high-heels - or who knows - you might even end up riding a bike. And it's a perfect place if you just want to hang out and do some people watching, as even in high-season Buonconvento is above all populated by Italians and not tourists.  Buonconvento's town walls