One warm May evening in the Tuscan hill town of Cortona my new fiancé and I witnessed the ritual that is the Italian passeggiata. After the day’s work is done all ages take to the streets for a stroll, catching up on gossip, flirting and maybe enjoying a drink and a snack.
We watched the spectacle from the comfort of a street-side bar and ordered a negroni each, which arrived with complementary olives and breadsticks.

www.cortonaweb.net
Google map: bit.ly/x5iocS

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Visit the hilltop Etruscan town of Cortona. As you wander around its narrow streets, taking in breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside, you may notice that some of it looks familiar. It has infact been used as a backdrop for various films, notably Under the Tuscan Sun, based on the book of the same name by Frances Mayes, and Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful. You can continue the film tour in most of Tuscany - towns south of Siena (Stealing Beauty), the Val d'Orcia valley (Gladiator) and obviously Florence (A Room with a View, Tea with Mussolini).

Google map: bit.ly/lovdaV

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Cortona is a pocket sized town in northern Tuscany. It's a two and a half hour train ride from Rome and with a bit of searching, B&B and self catering accommodation are reasonable. The public swimming pool is located on the edge of the town and even in the heat of August is rarely busy. Prices change year on year but tend to be around 5E for an adult for an all day visit (sun beds are currently free). If you want an Italian holiday and can't afford a three-bedroomed villa with a pool, this is the place for you. The pool is a 15 minute stroll from the centre of town where many of the B&Bs are located. You can wander through the local park, plonk yourself on a sunbed all day and enjoy pizza and a jug of the local wine for under 10E in the charming cafe. Take your own swimming hat (you're not allowed to swim without one) and frolic in the cool, unchlorinated waters.

Parco Sportivo "G. Favilli" - just off Viale Passerini (behind Casa di Accoglienza)

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This B&B is charmimg and on the web (phone as they speak English) but out of town where it is quieter. The breakfast is excellent and drinks during the day are very cheap. The rooms are remarkably good and there is a small pool. A great relaxation venue.

You could walk up the hill (an hour is fair and it is pleasant in the evening) but take a taxi down. Dine, sightsee and come back down for a quiet sleep. There are no taxis around for some reason so do not get stranded in town at night.

The restaurants are OK but not that impressive if you eat a great deal in Italy. This is a very pleasant but tourist saturated town made famous by a novel and romanticism. There is no fountain, OK!

www.ilsoledelsodo.com/index_eng.htm

Ring from the train as they will book a taxi (10 Euros). You cannot walk from the station to Cortona or the B&B.

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This is a walled, Tuscan hill top town on a small scale. You can drive up to the town, park your car in the shade beside the town wall, gaze out over the valley below and walk five minutes through cobbled streets to a town square with a selection of good restuarants.

This is a very pretty little town that is worth a visit and is out of the way enough to not be crawling with tourists. And still only a few minutes drive from A1, the main motorway north from Rome. I've driven up here to eat in the past, rather than stop for lunch at a motorway services.

Also the setting for Under the Tuscan Sun, apparently.

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Beautiful houses and cobbled streets lead to stone paths and elegant cedars with far views across the town - at sunset the warm light turns it all to intense gold.

Just walk up the hill from center of town, Saint Margaret is at the top.

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