Italy / Tuscany, the Cinque Terre & Portofino / Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)

Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)

Cypress Roads, Hill Towns and Brunello Wine

2 daysIdeal stay₹11,720From / night₹3,200Food / dayFreeEntry

The Tuscany of the postcards, a UNESCO-listed valley south of Siena: Pienza (pecorino cheese), Montalcino (Brunello wine), Montepulciano, the hot springs of Bagno Vignoni and the cypress-lined farm roads. Stay in an agriturismo farm stay. A car or a driver is close to essential: buses between the towns are few. Best from April to October; spring is green, late summer gold.

Highlights

Cypress roads round San Quirico
Pienza and its pecorino
Brunello tasting in Montalcino
Montepulciano's wine cellars
Hot springs at Bagno Vignoni
Agriturismo farm stay and Tuscan cooking class
Sunrise photography at the Vitaleta chapel

Things to do

Hill-town drive: Pienza, San Quirico and Bagno VignoniMorning · 5h
Brunello wine tasting in MontalcinoAfternoon · 3h
Tuscan cooking class at an agriturismoAfternoon · 3h 30m
Sunrise at the cypress viewpointsMorning · 2h
Hot-spring soak at Bagno Vignoni or Bagni San FilippoAfternoon · 2h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)via GetYourGuide Tours & tickets in Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)via Klook

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When to go

Best time: April – June, September – October

Getting there

Fly into Rome (FCO), 147 km away

Then: Transfer · 2h 30m (Private car with driver (NCC), per vehicle)

Search flights to FCO from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Mumbai (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Bengaluru (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Chennai (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Hyderabad (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Kochi (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Ahmedabad (1 stop)from ₹26,000

Fly into Venice (VCE), 268 km away

Search flights to VCE from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Mumbai (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Delhi (1 stop)from ₹27,000
From Bengaluru (1 stop)from ₹27,000

Fares from India: one way, per person; typical fares, not live prices.

Entry rules

Your passport

Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹11,590

Apply for a Schengen short-stay (type C) visa at a VFS Global Italy centre in India, 4-8 weeks before you fly (no earlier than 6 months). Apply to Italy if it is your only or longest stay in Schengen. The fee is €90 (about ₹9,600; €45 for children 6-11) plus the VFS service charge, and it is not refunded if the visa is refused.
At the appointment give your fingerprints and photo (skipped if you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months). Processing takes about 15 working days, but appointments in spring and summer can be three weeks out.
If you have lawfully used two Schengen visas in the last three years, ask for a multiple-entry visa: under the EU's 2024 cascade rules for Indians you can be given a two-year visa, then a five-year one.
On your first arrival in the Schengen Area your fingerprints and face are scanned at passport control (the EU Entry/Exit System, in full use since April 2026) instead of a stamp. Allow extra time: queues at Rome and Milan can be long.

Carry: Passport issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages; Completed visa application form and two recent photos (35 x 45 mm); Travel insurance with at least €30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip; Return flight booking and a day-by-day itinerary; Hotel bookings for every night; Bank statements for the last 3-6 months, income-tax returns, and a leave letter from your employer (or business or college papers).

One Schengen visa covers Italy and every other Schengen country (France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and more) for up to 90 days in any 180. ETIAS is only for visa-free travellers, so it does not affect you. Fees, appointment waits and VFS charges vary by centre and season: check visa.vfsglobal.com for your city before you book flights.

Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.

Also in Tuscany, the Cinque Terre & Portofino

⛪ Florence · The Renaissance City: Duomo, Uffizi and Michelangelo's David
🗼 Pisa · The Leaning Tower and the Field of Miracles
🐎 Siena · Gothic Hill Town and the Palio's Shell-Shaped Piazza
🏘️ Cinque Terre · Five Cliffside Villages Joined by Train and Trail
🛥️ Portofino (Santa Margherita Ligure) · The Riviera's Most Famous Harbour, and the Abbey in a Cove

Plan a trip to Val d'Orcia (Tuscan Countryside)

Flying in from elsewhere? Start at Rome (FCO)