See & Do

Insider tips from our guide to things to do in Cortona.

The museum also runs temporary exhibitions that are often excellent. Check the MAEC website before your visit to see what’s on.

Go at sunset. The light over the valley in the late afternoon is extraordinary, and the fortress is often quiet at that hour.

Dress modestly if you plan to enter the chapel. The hermitage is an active religious community, not a tourist attraction — treat it accordingly and the experience is genuinely moving.

Day Trips

Insider tips from our guide to the best day trips from Cortona — the small details that make the difference between a good visit and a great one.

Visit on a weekday morning in spring or autumn. Montepulciano gets crowded in summer — arriving early gives you the town almost to yourself before the coach tours arrive.

Combine Pienza with Montepulciano in a single day — they’re only 20 minutes apart. Lunch in Pienza, afternoon wine tasting in Montepulciano.

Book tickets for the Piero della Francesca frescoes in advance — access is timed, and numbers are limited. It’s worth every effort to see them.

Take the ferry to Isola Maggiore — the smallest inhabited island, with a single village, a lace-making tradition, and the kind of quiet that’s almost impossible to find in summer Tuscany.

Climb the Torre del Mangia — the tower overlooking the Piazza del Campo — for the finest view of the city. Go early morning before the queues build.

Visit the Eremo delle Carceri — the forest hermitage above Assisi where Francis came to pray. Quieter and more powerful than the basilica.

The best view of the towers is from outside the walls — particularly from the road approaching from the south. Stop before you enter town and take it in.