1. Grab a map and walk the town. It is true that we only have one level street in town (Via Nazionale where many shops are) but think about all the extra pasta you can eat if you climb up the little streets and alleyways. Cortona is amazingly picturesque and everywhere you go offers another beautiful view of this quaint, very Tuscan city.

2. Visit as many of the local churches as possible. Each are very different in style and very interesting to see. Chiesa San Francesco was just recently opened after a long period for restoration. The high wood rafters and wooden pews are fantastic. San Nicolo is a beautiful little church in the upper part of town and the painting by Luca Signorelli, one of our famous Cortona painters, is very precious and quite well known. Santa Margherita, at the very top of Cortona, contains our patron saint in the altar who was a close follower of St. Francis. Just outside of Cortona, and can be a wonderful walk, is Le Celle, a wonderful monestary founded by St. Francis built into the hillside.

2. Try the local wine (our Cortona Syrah - the Il Castagno one is my fav. - is fantastic). We have several enotecas (wine bars) in town and all of them serve different varieties by the glass. There also are many other varietal Tuscan wines quite worthy of trying.

3. Visit the Etruscan museum. It was closed last summer for updating and now has modern exhibits in both English and Italian and really explains in detail about the Etruscans who populated the entire area before the Romans.

4. Visit the Diocesan Museum, also part of a former church that has been beautifully restored inside. It is small and easy to visit and there are some famous Luca Signorelli paintings there.

5. Eat. Almost all of our restaurants in town are fantastic and a visit here wouldn't be complete without going to La Bucaccia, Vino e Pane, Trattoria Toscana, Fufluns, Osteria del Teatro, Il Cacciatorre and La Tufa in Ossaia (a small hamlet nearby). My website has my thoughts on all of those restaurants in the restaurant section.

6. Walk. Walk through town to the public gardens, follow the public gardens all the way to the tennis courts. This is an old Roman road with beautiful views of the valley and Lago Trasimeno. From the tennis courts continue following the now paved road as it starts to wind around the back of the hill, it will take you by Francis Mayes house and to Torreone. At the intersecting roads (small bar on your left) turn left and then right onto a road that heads back into the top part of town. I often do this walk with my dog - it takes about an hour to go full circle at a moderate pace.