Hi everyone, new here...
Just want to tell you that I'm going to be in Italy between 16-24 april, mostly to run and hike. I'm going to visit Tuscany with Lucca and other not very big cities. Please give me suggestions for more cities.
Best regards
Håkan

{fixing thread title to be more descriptive of question}

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pauline,

I just read a Henning Mankell mystery set partly in Boras...

You will have to take a train to get to them, but Pienza, Montalcino (with the nearby Abbey of Sant'Antimo, which should not be missed) and Montepulciano are fairly close together. There are a number of even tinier villages in between.
Mind you, I've never walked, only gone by car...

Have you read my essay running in Italy? RR

For anyone else who is curious, Boras is in Sweden.

I think you may like Volterra--not too far from Lucca and an ancient Etruscan center.

Thanks a lot everyone. I will read about Volterra on the net
Robert: Yes, I've read it and enjoyed it very much.(this is a little trainingcamp for me before the goteborgsvarvet: www.goteborgsvarvet.com)

Eloise: That's very seldom that Boras is mentioned in best selling books. I'm glad you noticed that :-)

Ciao

A training camp? What is your age group and goal for this half Marathon? I am just a slow
ultrarunner and havn't run fast in 20 years.
I am running the avalon 50 in two weeks. RR

You didn't tell us if you are going to have a car or not. If you don't, there are many easy towns you can visit by train. Lucca is connected to Florence, Pistoia, Prato, Viareggio and Pisa; besides, you can reach La Spezia and Cinque terre via Viareggio and Bologna (and Porretta Terme). Also, you can easily reach a few spa towns (Montecatini, Monsummano, Bagni di Lucca) by either train or bus. A favorite place for runners in Pistoia is Parco del Villon Puccini: it's not gorgeous parck, but it's decent and you will meet lots of people running there, especially around the pool. Ofte enough you will be able to meet there a member of the Italian women national team for marathon, who lives in Pistoia.

Lucca will be fun to train in. The wall around Lucca is a nice running path about 4km in length. Plus a lot of the city is closed to cars.

For hiking, have you seen our Slow Travel page on Hiking? Several of the books would be good references for places to visit. Volterra is a good suggestion There are hikes near Volterra. I'd also recommend the area around Certaldo, San Gimignano and Colle Val d'Elsa. There are several hikes you can do in the area.

You may also be able to train up to Cinque Terre to hike in the area. We have notes on hiking around Cinque Terre and Levanto. There is also some nice hiking in the Apuane Alps near Lucca. April might be a little early for some of the higher trails but there may be some lower trails.

Robert: I'm 34, this is going to be my third start for the 21K and my goal is 1h40 this year. Depends on how the training camp falls out :-). I admire those who run Ultra, keep it up and good luck at the Ava50.

I will fly to Bergamo, rent a car and go to Lucca, find that town with the wall very interresting and useful.
My thought is that I will have some sort of 'base' in Lucca and take daily trips to those towns which you have suggested.
I can see myself on the smaller roads getting lost and just enjoy the country side, perhaps I'll find that town/village that is an hidden pearl...
//Håkan