When our taxi driver dropped us at the airport in Rome to get our rental car, he asked us where we were planning on driving. And originally, we had planned to drive all the way up to Florence and stay for the night, but after a flight schedule change the following day, we didn’t end up having enough time to do that. So when the change occurred, I had found a hotel in Tuscany close to the town of Montepulciano and booked it. We had planned on driving up through Umbria, stopping in beautiful Orvieto and then spending the afternoon in Montepulciano. When our driver heard this, he immediately said in his lovely Italian accent, “ooooooooh, Montepulciano!!! The most beautiful town in Tuscany!” We were thrilled to hear this and our afternoon in this beautiful place did not disappoint!
Montepulciano takes a while to get to, with curvy roads up a hillside and again, a car park at the base of the town where you must park and then walk up to town. I realized later that this is the town where the Twilight: New Moon movie was filmed and it really feels like a movie set. This ancient town is gorgeous, with little shops and cafes, cobblestone alleyways, views out over Tuscany and amazing wine. They are actually famous for their Nobile wine, which is only made in Montepulciano, nowhere else in the world. I fell in love with their local Rosé wines, and we found a little wine shop that shipped to the US so we bought a few bottles for us to enjoy at home.
We spent a couple hours just wandering, having a long lunch complete with local homemade burrata and Serrato ham, pizza and risotto with local mushrooms. All in all, Montepulciano definitely deserves the title of the “most beautiful town in Tuscany.” It’s windy streets and charming alleys are what this region of Italy are all about!
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Megan Thudium says
I love the photos! Beautiful town.
Casey says
Thank you!
Jenn says
Love it! These are the kinds of towns I want to visit when I get back to Italy!
Casey says
Totally! These kinds of towns are what is best about Italy! 🙂
Kayti Clayton says
I absolutely love Montepulciano, there’s this one little restaurant that I can’t think of the name of that’s kind of hidden on a little halfway side alley. Bomb pizza, black truffle asparagus and the sweetest store owner you could ever hope to meet. I can’t wait to go back.
Casey says
Amazing! We ate a place similar to that and I had the best mushroom risotto of my life! We also loved the local wine in Montepulciano!
Casey says
It’s so beautiful! You could definitely see it! 🙂
Bridget @ A Traveling B says
Beautiful photos! You capture the essence of Italy so perfectly. I was in Tuscany 8 years ago (!!) and I am well overdue for a return trip to visit some of the gems like Montpulciano like I missed last time!
Casey says
YEs!!! there are so many amazing little towns throughout Tuscany, I want to go back to explore more too!
Maria Salomonsen says
I am planning a trip to Italy this fall and want to spend at least a couple of days driving around Tuscany. Montepulciano is definitely on the list now – wonderful pictures 🙂
http://momentumtravels.com
Casey says
Yay!!! You won’t regret it. We also loved Orvieto!