Luxury cookery holiday in Tuscany
This 4-night cookery holiday in Tuscany features small group cookery classes for either 4 or 6 people that are held in the Chianti region not far from Arezzo at Relais Villa Belpoggio and a local bakery. The Villa’s lessons are taken by the chef, who cooks using local, mainly organic, produce. All classes are hands-on and each participant will be invited to input ideas on menus and techniques. The emphasis is on explaining and instructing you in traditional cooking methods and regional dishes. Each of the lessons lasts between two and three hours and is followed by a meal together. Also included in this cookery holiday is a pasta making class nearby, a visit to an organic farm, a guided visit to a local market, an excursion to Arezzo and dinner at the hotel on two evenings. This holiday can be arranged for just two people, and with a hire-car instead of transfers. Contact us for exact price details.
Highlights
Two cookery classes each of 2 to 3 hours’ duration • One pasta-making class followed by lunch or visit to organic farm • Visit with English speaking guide of a local market • Visit Arezzo
It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights with at least 4 people in the party.
From about
£1,860 Apr, May
£1,920 Jun, Sep
Holiday Code FHIT16
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury cookery holiday in Tuscany
Depart from London to Pisa, on the British Airways morning flight. You will be met and taken by mini-bus to the Villa Belpoggio in Loro Ciuffenna. The journey time is about two hours. If you want to travel by another airline, or to another airport or have a hire-car, we can adjust the details and the price for you. Once you have checked in to the Villa, there is time to explore it and its grounds, perhaps enjoying a refreshing drink before your invitation to join a guided tour at 6.30 taking you through the history of the villa and its gardens. Dinner with wine this evening at Villa Belpoggio is included. The Relais Villa Belpoggio is a boutique hotel of only 10 rooms and two apartments, in the countryside near the village of Loro Ciuffenna just 35 kms from Florence in the direction of Arezzo. It is set in a secluded part of the valley of the River Arno, upstream from Florence, and its belvedere looks out over the valley and its wooded hills. Hills, woods, fields, olive groves and vineyards are all to be found nearby. The Villa dates back to the 17th Century, having been built for the aristocratic Fiorilli family. Today it is a boutique hotel, run by a husband and wife team and combines charm and cosiness with high standards of service and comfort.
This morning we arrange for you to be taken into Arezzo (about 40 minutes’ drive), birthplace of Piero della Francesca and home to numerous churches, mediaeval palaces, fine town square and Roman amphitheatre, for some free time to explore and then you are transferred back to the hotel ready for the first cookery lesson given by the chef, which takes place at 3pm, followed by dinner at 7.30 pm of the menu you have created in the afternoon.
This morning you will visit a local market from about 9.30 until 11.00 with an English-speaking guide. Then there is some free time before your afternoon cookery lesson at the Villa. This two-hour session is hands-on and provides an insight into the preparation of regional dishes as well as traditional cooking methods. At the end of the session, you share the evening meal together.
In the morning after breakfast there is a pasta making class nearby. Lunch consists of the fruits of your labour after a pleasant walk in the surroundings. If the pasta-making is not available, it will be substituted with a visit to an organic farm that produces wine and vegetables or truffle hunting. The afternoon is free for you to walk, potter around nearby Loro Ciuffenna or relax beside the pool and in the gardens. Tonight dinner with wine at the Villa Belpoggio is included.
You have the morning at leisure, depending on the time of your return flight, before you bid farewell to your charming hosts at the Villa Belpoggio and the transfer back to Pisa for your filght.
It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights with at least 4 people in the party.
From about
£1,860 Apr, May
£1,920 Jun, Sep
Holiday Code FHIT16
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
● Scheduled flights with British Airways London Gatwick to Pisa return, economy
● Mini-bus transfer from Pisa airport to the hotel and back
● Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a double room at the Villa Belpoggio, near Loro Ciuffenna
● Dinner with wine on two evenings at the Villa Belpoggio
● Two cookery classes at the Villa Belpoggio each of 2 to 3 hours’ duration with a meal to follow.
● One pasta-making class followed by lunch or visit to organic farm
● Visit with English speaking guide of a local market
● Transport to and from Arezzo on one morning
● Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
Additional information
This holiday operates in 2021 on 25 April, 9 May, 13 June and 19 September.
Holidays for two people can take place at any time subject to availability.
Call us on 01392 441245
It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights with at least 4 people in the party.
From about
£1,860 Apr, May
£1,920 Jun, Sep
Holiday Code FHIT16
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
• Scheduled flights with British Airways London Gatwick to Pisa return, economy
• Mini-bus transfer from Pisa airport to the hotel and back
• Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a double room at the Villa Belpoggio, near Loro Ciuffenna
• Dinner with wine on two evenings at the Villa Belpoggio
• Two cookery classes at the Villa Belpoggio each of 2 to 3 hours’ duration with a meal to follow.
• One pasta-making class followed by lunch or visit to organic farm
• Visit with English speaking guide of a local market
• Transport to and from Arezzo on one morning
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
The journey and how you get there There are scheduled flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Pisa, usually three times a day. You are collected at Pisa airport and transferred to Loro Ciuffenna by mini-bus, a journey time of about 2 hours. If you are booking this holiday for just two people, you may want to have the use of a hire-car instead of the transfer. It is also possible to fly from London City Airport to Florence and you can be collected from there.
Additional information
This holiday operates in 2021 on 25 April, 9 May, 13 June and 19 September.
Holidays for two people can take place at any time subject to availability.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury cookery holiday in Tuscany
Special offers
Call to make your booking and save an extra £50 per adult Call us instead of emailing us when you are thinking of booking a holiday and save an extra £50 per adult (in addition to any special offers that might be available). We want to talk to you to discuss your requirements and a phone call is usually the best way for you to define what you want enabling us to respond more accurately. We want to talk to you and you save an extra £50 per adult.
It was an excellent holiday - due to excellent planning on your side. Super efficient, very professional.Mrs F, Holiday to Norway, Oct 2023
Holiday price guide Sample prices are per person based on two people sharing a double or twin room for 4 nights with at least 4 people in the party.
From about
£1,860 Apr, May
£1,920 Jun, Sep
Holiday Code FHIT16
The prices displayed here are a guide only. Each holiday price will be tailor-made at the time of booking to reflect all actual costs including up-to-date special offers.
Our prices include
• Scheduled flights with British Airways London Gatwick to Pisa return, economy
• Mini-bus transfer from Pisa airport to the hotel and back
• Four nights’ bed and breakfast in a double room at the Villa Belpoggio, near Loro Ciuffenna
• Dinner with wine on two evenings at the Villa Belpoggio
• Two cookery classes at the Villa Belpoggio each of 2 to 3 hours’ duration with a meal to follow.
• One pasta-making class followed by lunch or visit to organic farm
• Visit with English speaking guide of a local market
• Transport to and from Arezzo on one morning
• Concierge service and Expressions Holidays regional helpful hints
The journey and how you get there There are scheduled flights with British Airways from London Heathrow to Pisa, usually three times a day. You are collected at Pisa airport and transferred to Loro Ciuffenna by mini-bus, a journey time of about 2 hours. If you are booking this holiday for just two people, you may want to have the use of a hire-car instead of the transfer. It is also possible to fly from London City Airport to Florence and you can be collected from there.
Additional information
This holiday operates in 2021 on 25 April, 9 May, 13 June and 19 September.
Holidays for two people can take place at any time subject to availability.
Call us on 01392 441245
Luxury cookery holiday in Tuscany
About Tuscany
An Expressions tailor-made holiday in Tuscany allows you to appreciate its classical landscape of rolling hills and vineyards dotted with olive and cypress trees, its misty green-grey mountains that are never too far distant, and hill-top towns of rich brown and gold stone houses. This combines with the beauty of the works of art contained in the towns and villages throughout Tuscany to create an inspirational union of the spirit and the senses. There is an intrinsic comfort in the supposed contrast between the delicacy of a Botticelli and the heartiness of Ribollita soup, yet both are typical of this fascinating region. As birthplace of the Renaissance, the impact of Tuscan and particularly Florentine traditions and culture on European heritage is fundamental to our way of life. In addition to the obvious attractions of the scenery of Chianti and the art cities of Florence and Siena, there are the less well-known regions south of Siena with its moon-like landscape of hills, the patchwork vineyards of Montalcino, the coastal marshlands of the Maremma, the spas of Montecatini and Saturnia, the islands of Elba and Giglio, and the Casentino with the source of the Arno and abundant mushroom crops. Wherever you travel on holiday in Tuscany, you will be inspired by the beauty of your surroundings and the way of life, which is quintessentially that of Italy too.
Highlights of Tuscany
Famous vineyards producing wines of Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Alabaster is produced in Volterra. Gold and silver are worked in Florence and the Ponte Vecchio is lined with jewellery shops. Marbled paper and stationery is a speciality of Florence. Ceramics and hand-painted majolica from raw terracotta from Impruneta to the glazed pottery of Siena are to be found throughout Tuscany. Lucca has traditionally produced silk and hand-woven fabrics. Leather goods including shoes, handbags and belts are to be found from market stalls to designer shops such as Gucci and Ferragamo. Interesting markets include the Mercato dell' Antiquariato which sells furniture from antiques to bric-a-brac in Arezzo on the first weekend of every month, in Pisa on the second weekend and in Lucca on the third weekend. The 'wild' Maremma is known for its long-horned white cattle and cowboys (butteri) and natural springs including Saturnia.
Cultural highlights of Tuscany
As birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany contains a wealth of treasures: Giotto`s Campanile and Brunelleschi`s Dome in Florence, the Tombs of Galileo and Michelangelo in Florence`s Santa Croce, Botticelli`s `Birth of Venus` and `Primavera` and the portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino by Piero della Francesca in the Uffizi, Michelangelo`s `David` in the Accademia, the architecture of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, `The Tuscan Maremma` painting by Giovanni Fattori in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence, the Piazza del Campo in Siena, `The Legend of the Cross` frescoes by Piero della Francesco in Arezzo, `The Creation` fresco by Bartolo di Fredi in the Collegiata in San Gimignano, Romanesque church of the Collegiata in San Quirico d`Orcia, 14th Century Fortezza of Montalcino, Renaissance masterpiece of the church of Madonna di San Biagio at Montepulciano, the abbey-church of Sant`Antimo, mediaeval Lucignano and the towers of San Gimignano, the Etruscan Museum in Cortona.
Festivals in Tuscany
Many of Tuscany`s festivals resound with the flamboyance of the Renaissance and keep Tuscans and visitors alike in touch with the region`s rich history. Others are linked to Tuscany`s hearty traditions of eating and drinking. The most famous is Siena`s Palio which takes place on 2 July and 16 August each year. Others include the Sagra del Tordo (Festival of the Thrush) in Montalcino on the last Sunday in October when there is an archery contest and charcoal-grilled thrush are a delicacy. In Florence, Calcio in Costume (a football match played in mediaeval costume) takes place in June. Pisa has the Giocco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge), a mock battle in Renaissance dress also held in June. Viareggio celebrates Carnival on Shrove Tuesday with a huge display of flamboyant floats. In May and August Massa Marittima holds the Falcon Contest.
Gastronomy in Tuscany
Simple country food is at the heart of Tuscan cooking. Regional dishes include Bruschetta (bread or ciabatta toasted and rubbed with garlic, olive oil and salt), Ribollita (bean, cabbage and bread soup), Pasta with hare or wild boar sauce, Porcini mushroom and truffle dishes, Bistecca all Fiorentina (thick cut of sirloin and fillet beef), Cantucci (almond and honey biscuits) served dipped in Vin Santo, Panforte (chocolate, nut and spice cake). Pecorino cheese made from sheep's milk. Local wines include the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano and the Bianco di Pitigliano. Famous reds include Chanti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino and the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Vin Santo made from semi-crushed grapes left for several months is an excellent dessert wine.
