As I promised in the Eurozine newsletter last week, I am sharing my photos from Carnevale in Venice this year. These images were captured before local cases of COVID-19 triggered regional quarantines and Carnevale events were suspended. Venice is a magical place in the weeks leading up to Shrove Tuesday. Its Carnevale tradition dates back…
So much to see and do in Europe already, but why not plan your trip around some of the season’s special events? Festivals and fairs are a window into a culture, a signifier of what is important to a community, and an excellent way to rub elbows with the locals. Here is your 2020 trip…
Tuscany is synonymous with wine and food tradition, an Epicurean streak running through the region’s history, economy, and daily life. Our Wine & Food UnTour is a natural in the region, and truffles are a given for a fall food (un)tour in the region. Truffles grow underground in certain zones within the Val d’Orcia, the…
Florence still has her sweet spots, as any Florence UnTour guest knows well. Though the historic center can feel overrun with tourists and students on a busy day in June, there are plenty of back streets and hidden churches to lure you in. Here are a few of my favorite alternatives to the tried and…
As spring merges into summer, gardens in much of Europe are at their most vibrant and colorful. Whether you seek out gardens as a main sight for your day or duck into them as a respite from sightseeing in built environments, it is hard not to fall in love with these lovingly cultivated spaces. They…
Our Tuscany UnTour is a perennial favorite, and ranks among our most popular UnTour destinations. It is hard to beat the views here in the Orcia Valley, south of Siena. With its stark rolling green hills, cypress trees, and vineyards, its landscape is so distinctive that the area was named a UNESCO World Heritage site…
Rome is a city of commerce and has been for millennia. Consider that as you walk through the ruins of the ancient Roman marketplaces. And then head to some of the city’s lively outdoor markets, where vendors sell produce, meats, cheeses, housewares, fast fashion, and antiques. Join the Romans and the lively, colorful continuum of…
Tracy Louis Hyde has led our Tuscany UnTour on the ground near Montalcino for a couple years now. She loves her work with us and is eager to share her region. She took some time to share some thoughts about her work and her love for Tuscany. Tell us a little bit about your professional…
Our loyal and frequent UnTourist Joanne Choyka made a cool discovery last fall in Tuscany. This is a photo taken last fall in Pitigliano, in Tuscany. My grandparents immigrated from this town to the US in the early 1900’s. My grandfather took a job working at the Hershey Chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where my…
When most people think of Rome, they think of big city crowds and chaos, and surely there is that. It is all part of the fun and real life of a busy city. But the MacPhersons found another side of the Eternal City on their Rome UnTour, and they captured it well in their entries…