The Pitti Palace was commissioned in 1440 by the banker Luca Pitti in an attempt to outdo the Medici family; but his luck changed and the family had to sell it to them in 1549. They initiated major expansion works, lavishly decorating the rooms and creating what are now the Bobboli Gardens. With the death of the last Medici Grand Duke in 1737, the Habsburg-Lorraines took over and lived in the palace until 1860. King Vittorio Emmanuel I briefly lived here from 1865-71. The Palatine Gallery was opened to the public in 1874 and the palace was donated to the state in 1919. To my mind, the building has a functional, depressing outward façade, like a prison, deliberately hiding views of the gardens behind. But the extensive interiors are a real treasure-house. The visit is equivalent to 6 separate attractions, and in many ways, more absorbing than the Uffizi. The Palatine Gallery is housed in a luxurious suite of rooms, filled with artworks, largely by Tuscan or wider Italian painters; Tintoretto, Raphael, Murillo, Gentileschi, Lippi, Titian, Caravaggio and more. The fun is finding them tucked away among the others, and guessing what the subject is. These rooms are enjoyable for the decoration alone. For me, the Ark Room was the most impressive, with its simulation of a large tent and action going on around you – fresco, trompe a l’oeil and marbling combined. The Royal Apartments were unfortunately closed, but there’s still the Museum of Fashion and Costume, the Modern Art Collection, and the State Rooms. In the latter, trompe a l’oeil is taken to the limit in some stunning rooms. The Russian icons did not work for me, but some of the items in the Treasury were mind-boggling, especially the ivory carvings (yes, I know tastes change over the centuries). Café not the cheapest and service not great. Boboli Gardens are an extra fee.

What a great experience! There were 6 of us and we were joined by another couple. We made ravioli and tiramisu. The class is very hands on. After we prepped our food, we sat down for a meal of what we made, plus bruschetta. Everything was delicious! We had such a good time. Would strongly recommend!

We had an awesome day exploring these three amazing towns! David was so helpful and knowledgeable. He had great energy and was happy to share a variety of restaurant recommendations for not only the Florence area but other surrounding areas we scheduled to visit on our trip. It was a very fun day! Our driver, Carmine was an amazing driver as well!

Very knowledgeable guide and accommodating to all inquiries. Would highly recommend this tour which comprehensive but not too long.

Enjoyed the tour. Vincenzo was a charm … thank you for the intriduction to driving in Italy! Plenty of wine 🍷 Good company in group too.

I booked a trip to Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano. The tour completely left out Montalcino and the tour guide acted like he didn’t know we were supposed to go there. We left from Siena and went to a small winery in Lornano, in Chianti, the opposite direction of the 3 towns we were supposed to visit. Very disappointing tour.

It was a wonderful, educational evening with new friends. The lesson was informative and useful. The food was delicious and the company excellent!

Beautiful day visit at the medieval site with a beautiful shops and walk. Thank you for Intrepid tours taking us here to enjoy.

Absolutely fantastic!!!! Siena Italy was beautiful and the class was awesome!! Highly recommend!! The chef was phenomenal!! His assistants were awesome.. just a great experience

We found the Luculus Ice in Bratslava when we were there on a tour in September. It had the best gelato we had ever tasted!! I had Pistachio and Nutella flavors! Yum Yum!!! My husband had Makaco Almonds Carmel & White Chocolate!! They have a nice little patio we sat at to enjoy the gelato!! We'd rate it a 10/10!!

Huge group tours are not my thing, the 2 vineyards we visited were very different the firat felt like a sales tour, the second was fun and they made a real effort to include everyone. Then a random trip to a castle when the weather was awful, seemed to be an exercise tonget us all to spend money in the small bar there. Overall it was ok but not my thing

This class was great. Simone the chef was outstanding. Everyone had a opportunity to be part of the cooking. Along with Simone showing us how to prepare the menu but he was also very entertaining as well. The one thing that was very frustrating about this tour is that we were given wrong directions from Viator and we arrived about two hours late. There was another couple that bought the same tour from Viator and ran into the issues as we did. Simone just came right over to us worked with us and get us up to speed with the other attendees. Thanks to Simone for making this class so much fun and waiting for us the to hours we were lost.

I’ve had the opportunity to do another large scale bus tour through the Chianti wine region so it was hard to not compare to this one. I felt the wineries we visited were best suited for those who have no wine experience. I understand the large scale tours have partnerships with wineries who will take large groups, but I was hoping one of the stops would be more authentic and offer views of the vineyard but both wineries were more of tourist stop. For those who know a bit about wine, spending a bit more money would be worth your time to ensure you get to visit more classic takes on Chianti wineries. Coming from Canada, the wineries felt like the ones at home which offer great experiences for first-timers but not best recommended for those with previous interest. The tour was rushed at each stop which became a joke between all tour goers but does affect the experience. To also note, pay attention to the pick up point - it is 25 minutes from the main station which led to a very squished train ride home. I luckily was English speaking but this tour is also offered in Spanish and both wineries the host did not know Spanish so I felt bad for the attendees who were expecting a Spanish tour. Overall, good tour for those who have never done a wine tour before but I would not recommend for someone with wine experience.

Overall a nice wine testing tour in Brunello. First we visited an organic winery that also grew other things and have their own bee farm and made their own honey. We tasted four lovely wines. The also make a super Tuscan. One Brunello was so good so we ordered some to be sent home. Then we went to Montalcino town and had som free time there. It was to late for lunch (most restaurants in Italy stop serving lunch at 14:00) and we were glad that we had som light lunch before the tour started. Last an other winery also with very good wine whish we tasted four of. We were back in San Giminignano 20:45 in the evening. Why did we give four and not five stars? We think the tour is wrong planed in time. It started 13:00 and should take 6,5 hrs. Were back after 8 hrs. It the tour had started at 11:00 instead, then the first winery and after that lunch in Montalcino we would have been back in a reasonable time at night.

Luciano excellent guide, empathetic, punctual and very pleasant company. Well organized tour, the hosts in the wineries are kind and well prepared.Thank you !!!