What to do in Siena & Val d'Orcia

In Siena, start your wanderings in the Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped square where the famous Palio tears around the cobbles each summer, then climb to the marble-striped Duomo to gaze at Pinturicchio's frescoes in the Piccolomini Library. Pair your sightseeing with a cooking class in Contessa Piccolomini's 11th-century palazzo and you've got a perfect day in town. Head south and the Val d'Orcia unfolds like something out of a fairytale – that stretch of cypress-lined ridges and ochre hill towns that looks as if it fell straight from a postcard. Amble through Pienza, the Renaissance ‘ideal city’, and watch fresh pecorino come together with a local cheesemaker, before tasting the grapes. Brunello in Montalcino and Vino Nobile in Montepulciano are not to be missed. For a completely different view, take to the skies and see the valley in all its glory on a sunrise hot air balloon flight, or take it slow on a Vespa or bicycle along the back roads.