Tuscany villa - On the Mediterranean coast, visitors can rent the main wing (sleeps 6) or both wings (up to 11) of this substantial Italian country house rental.
Reservations are weekly and run from Saturday to Saturday only. Grande Prato, sleeping 6, is €1390, €1690 or €2300 depending on the season. The additional wing, sleeping 5, is €900, €1000 or €1300. There is a security deposit of €250 payable for each of the two parts of the house; water and electricity is charged at a set €15 per week per wing. Gas is metered, as is heating if required. Final cleaning is €50 per unit, and pets are charged at €50 per week.
Bed, bath and kitchen linen and garden maintenance is included in the price. There is a cot with bars available for infants; should the number of guests exceed the maximum specified above, the cot will be charged at €50 a week.
The nearest grocers is 500m away, the supermarket 5km, Carrara 15km, Viareggio 20km, Pisa 40km, Lucca 42km, Montecatini Terme 65km, Bagni di Lucca (thermal bath) 70km, Collodi 70km and Florence 112km. A ferry from Viareggio and Massa/Torre del Lago takes you to Lerici, Portovenere and the Cinque Terre. There is a swimming pool 700m away and cycle hire 1km away.
Versilia is the 40km coastline between Carrara and Viareggio. Tuscany isn't particularly renowned for its bathing but particularly in spring and autumn it is lovely to enjoy the empty beaches of Versilia. Even in summer - with the exception of August - it is never as full here as elsewhere. Protected from the wind by the mountains, a wide, fine sandy beach stretches alongside the sea. After those of Maremma, the Versilian beaches - at Marina di Massa, Forte dei Marmi, Marina di Pietrasanta, Lido di Camaiore and Viareggio - are by far the most beautiful along the 330km Tuscan coastline. They are also very child-friendly: gently sloping into the sea, their bright shining sand is lovingly cared for.
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Forte dei Marmi, an elegant sea resort, was most popular around the turn of the 20th century. Even today, Forte dei Marmi still has a touch of sophistication. Marina di Pietrasanta and Lido di Camaiore are ideal bathing spots for families satisfied with a little less luxury. Viareggio meanwhile, once a small fishing village which Maria Luisa von Bourbon converted to a harbour, experienced its heyday as a seaside resort around the turn of the 20th century, and art nouveau villas, palms and pines border the impressive promenades. The town is now known mainly for its internationally renowned yachting shipyards and its carnival. In summer, numerous fashion boutiques attract visitors, and revellers can be found enjoying themselves in the many bars, cafes, clubs and discos along the promenade.
The Alpi Apuane are the mountains rising behind Carrara - a paradise for mountain bikers and hill walkers. This is where the marble for which Carrara is so famous is mined. In addition to the museum of marble and an academy of sculpture, there are also more than a hundred marble workshops. For a good idea of the quarrying techniques and processing methods, visit the quarries at Colonnata and Fantiscritti, a few kilometres east of the town. The workers cut huge blocks of white marble out of the mountain with steel-wire saws: each year they mine up to 500,000 tons, with the marble then exported all over the world. More than 2000 years ago, the Romans used marble from Carrara and Michelangelo personally picked out a piece for his David.
Bagni di Lucca is known for its thermal baths, and has villas from the 18th and 19th centuries, hot springs and a sauna grotto. Montecatini Terme is an elegant thermal resort with an international name. In the Parco delle Terme you'll discover the Excelsior, an art nouveau building from 1915; the Leopoldine baths, classical-style baths from the 18th century; and the Tetuccio, an impressive column-decorated structure from 1927.
Collodi has its Pinocchio park with scenes from the famous children's book - a delight for both young and old. And visit Lucca, this self-contained yet cosmopolitan art and business town is known as the jewel of Tuscany. The town is surrounded by a huge mediaeval wall: more than 4kms in circumference, it is topped by tree-shaded parkland, ideal for lovers, walkers, cyclists and joggers. It is a romantic location with unparalleled views, looking both into the town and out onto the Apennines. Enclosed by the wall is the pretty little town with its many churches. Visitors can still peacefully wander along the narrow streets even in the peak season - past cycling students, noble palazzi and elegant shop windows. Visit the Piazza del Mercato, the oval market place which was once a Roman amphitheatre. Every third weekend in the month, more than 200 dealers present their antiques along the squares and streets of the Old Town.
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