




Arezzo sits forty-five minutes southeast of Florence by train, climbing a ridge crowned by a Medici fortress. It is known for Piero della Francesca's fifteenth-century frescoes in the Basilica di San Francesco and the raked stone expanse of Piazza Grande. Arezzo is worth visiting if you want Renaissance masterworks without Florence queues and rustic Chianina beef in quiet trattorias. Look elsewhere if you want late-night clubbing, coastal scenery, or flat, effortless walking.
Last updated 6 Oct 2026
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Arezzo rewards unhurried walking. The town climbs from the lower shopping spine of Corso Italia to the serene hilltop park of Il Prato. Life revolves around unpretentious neighborhood bars, afternoon strolls through Piazza Grande, and quiet contemplation of early Renaissance art. It suits travellers who appreciate layered Etruscan, medieval, and Renaissance history without the tourist throngs found in Florence or Siena.
Spend the morning in the Bacci Chapel viewing Piero della Francesca's frescoes before climbing to Piazza Grande for lunch. Sit down for pici al ragu di chianina at an osteria near Santa Maria della Pieve. Finish the afternoon at the Medici Fortress, catching sunset across the Valdichiana before an evening aperitivo on Corso Italia. Select 1 Day above to see it.
Dedicate your second morning to Casa Vasari and the Roman amphitheatre's archaeological museum. For lunch, sample local pecorino and cured salami in the upper town. Spend the afternoon exploring the steep artisan alleys around Via Cavour, ending with roasted wild boar and local Chianti Colli Aretini in a vaulted cellar trattoria. Choose 2 Days to expand the plan.
A third day allows you to venture into the surrounding valleys. Drive north into the deep oak forests of the Casentino to explore Poppi Castle and the monastery at Camaldoli, or head south into the Val di Chiana for olive oil tastings and vineyard tours around Cortona, returning to Arezzo for a quiet evening meal.
Book ahead for the Bacci Chapel in Basilica di San Francesco to study Piero della Francesca's Legend of the True Cross up close.
Browse hundreds of stalls filling Piazza Grande and adjoining alleys on the first Sunday of each month for vintage copper and furniture.
Order pici with rich duck ragu, roasted Chianina steak, and thick ribollita at long-standing family osterie along Corso Italia.
Visit the Romanesque Santa Maria della Pieve to inspect its multi-tiered arcaded facade and Pietro Lorenzetti polyptych.
Taste structured Sangiovese and Trebbiano along the Strada del Vino Terre di Arezzo in the surrounding Valdichiana hills.
Walk the grassy ramparts of the sixteenth-century Fortezza Medicea for sweeping views across the Casentino valley and Apennines.
Watch goldsmiths and wood restorers work in small workshops tucked into the steep side lanes off Via dei Cenci.
Explore the Palazzo dei Priori and the sloping cobblestones of Piazza Grande, where the Giostra del Saracino tournament runs.
Stop at Logge Vasariane market stalls for pecorino toscano, cured finocchiona, and fresh porcini mushrooms in autumn.
Sit under the cedar trees in the hilltop Passeggio del Prato park, looking out over olive groves toward the Valdarno basin.
Tour Casa Vasari on Via XX Settembre to examine the painter and biographer Giorgio Vasari's self-decorated frescoed rooms.
Drive thirty minutes north into the forested Casentino to reach the medieval castle of Poppi and the hermitage at Camaldoli.