From Montecarlo, the route heads east, crossing the Tuscan hills and then descending to the Arno which we follow to Firenze. The terrain for the first third is very scenic, gently rolling hills with lots of grapes. Along the way we pass the Padule di Fucecchio, which is the largest remaining marshland in Italy. We'll get a good view of the area from the road as we pass through the village of Massarella.

(Photo Centro di Ricerca del Padule di Fucecchio)

There are some pretty towns as well, Cerreto Guidi, and Vinci (as in Leonardo da-) where there is the inevitable museum and bars with evocative names. If we want to cut some time and distance, we can skip Vinci and take Via Beneventi across to Vitolini.

After Vinci the road through Vitolini and Camignano climbs over the Tuscan hills and back to the Arno after Signa. This is not an insignificant climb by our standards, 8.6Km at around 4% grade, but if we have to have a rest half way up that is no problem! There are lots of places to stop along the way to take in the view across the countryside. Near the summit are a couple of restaurants, "The Canary" or Pietramarina, either of which might make a good lunch stop. A little after the summit is  Il Pinone which is less well reviewed. Once back down at the river it is a fairly straight and flat run into the city.

Accommodation

We are back at Hotel Mario's. They have confirmed that storage of bags, secure parking for bikes will be OK.

Route information for mobiles