Call me perverse but I'm not going to recommend the Tuscany of 'rolling green hills, loan cypresses...' etc etc (ie Chianti). Head north, rather than south when you leave Pisa airport and you come, via the spa town of Bagni di Lucca, to the Garfagnana. This is considerably more rugged and mountainous than southern Tuscany, you are still within reach of the beach, there is skiing up at Abetone, large bits of the Garfagnana are Nature Reserves (Parco della Orecchiella is a must), it's fantastic country for walkers and hikers. We're talking ancient chestnut forests, alpine meadows, caves, spectacular ridges, roaring streams and little mountaintop hamlets that seem to grow from the stone of the hillside. Must sees (there's a list at www.knowital.com/html/lucca_-_the_garfagnana__3_.html include the Caves of the Wind (Grotta del Vento), the Devils Bridge near Bagni di Lucca, the sunken village at Vagli and the sanctuary and museum at San Pellegrino in Alpe.

www.knowital.com/index/listing/garfag/
Trains go into Bagni di Lucca

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