Villa Rosa, Panzano, Chianti
You can't miss the striking, deep pink and grey house set just above the road from Panzano to Radda in the northern reaches of Chianti. Not your typical Tuscan villa, it dates from the early 1900s and has a retro feel. The 11 bedrooms are painted in warms colours and have a mix of rustic country furniture and vintage pieces: two of the largest have big terraces. There's a spacious living/dining room for cool weather, but, when possible, breakfast and four-course dinners are served under a loggia at the back of the house. From here, the informal garden climbs up the hillside with a pool and wonderful views at the top. The position is ideal for exploring Chianti's many vineyards, and wine tastings and cellar tours can be arranged.
• Via San Leolino, Panzano, +39 055 852577, resortvillarosa.it. Doubles from €80. Dinner €25
Le Due Volpi, Vicchio
The green hills of the relatively unexplored Mugello, north of Florence, make a peaceful (and cheaper) alternative to overcrowded, often over-priced Chianti to the south, and The Two Foxes is a favourite place to stay. Heidi Flores and Lorenzo Balloni offer guests four beautiful bedrooms and wonderful meals cooked in an inviting kitchen with colourful ceramic tiles, Aga and huge stone fireplace. Their ivy-clad farmhouse sits on a little outcrop north of the buzzy little market town of Borgo San Lorenzo surrounded by virgin countryside. Inside, the homely mix of antiques and memorabilia reflects Lorenzo's passion for antique radios and vintage racing bikes, and outside there are shady terraces, a loggia for meals and a flower-filled garden with a lovely pool.
• +39 055 8407874, leduevolpi.it. Doubles from €80, dinner on request €25
Castello di Fonterutoli, Castellina, Chianti
The aristocratic Mazzei family has been making wine at Fonterutoli, located at the heart of the DOCG Chianti Classico area, since 1435. Partly converted into apartments and B&B accommodation, the hamlet stands in a 650-hectare estate with vines, olives, lavender fields, a state-of-the-art cantina, an enoteca for wine tastings and an osteria for meals. The stylish B&B rooms are divided between two village houses, each with communal sitting and dining room plus large kitchen where breakfast is prepared. Furniture, pictures and books from the family vaults give the whole place a homely, lived-in feel. Some rooms will seriously stretch the budget, but the "basic" (and perfectly comfortable) doubles just about fit and the setting is wonderful. The restaurant offers unfussy, traditional dishes using locally-sourced ingredients and the superb estate wines.
• +39 057 7735790, fonterutoli.com. Doubles from €100
Casa Palmira, Feriolo
This converted stone barn lies just off the old road from Florence to Faenza and is a perfect choice if you want a rural setting with easy access to the Renaissance city (16km down the road) thrown in. Stefano and Assunta Mattioli, the hospitable owners, have done a beautiful job of creating a relaxed, comfortable B&B where guests are welcomed as friends. The spacious ground floor sitting/dining room has a huge fireplace, squashy sofas and chairs, and an open kitchen where a generous breakfast is prepared. Upstairs, six pretty bedrooms have beautiful chestnut wood floors made by Stefano, who also made the doors and the bedsteads. There's a saltwater pool in the rambling garden, great walking nearby and mountain bikes for hire. Or you can take a pasta-making lesson from the multi-talented Stefano.
• +39 055 8409749, casapalmira.it. Doubles from €75, dinner on request €25
La Sterpaia, Pisa
If you are travelling on a budget with kids and want easy access to both Pisa and the beaches of Versilia plus a bit of nature thrown in, La Sterpaia delivers. Once the summer residence of the royal Savoy family, the massive 19th-century ex-stable block lies within the protected area of the huge San Rossore natural park that stretches along the Tyrrhenian coast. Home to all manner of wildlife and rare flora (you are quite likely to meet a deer or wild boar en route to breakfast), you can explore the park by bike or horse-drawn carriage tour. The 20-odd bedrooms (doubles, triples or quads) are basic but clean and modern and come with private bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, phones and free Wi-Fi. There are two restaurants on the property offering estate-reared beef and local game alongside the usual pastas and grills.
• +39 050 533601, casalelasterpaia.it. Doubles from €60
La Luna di Quarazzana, Fivizzano
Surrounded by chestnut woods high in the Lunigiana, the extreme north-western corner of Tuscany, the ancient, semi-derelict hamlet of Quarazzana is home to just 12 souls, a few dogs and cats, a couple of donkeys and this wonderfully atmospheric B&B. Rescued from near decay by owners Ilaria and Stefano, the old house has four simple, pretty bedrooms with luxurious touches such as feather duvets and rain showers. It's worth splurging on the spacious Volto suite: for just €10 extra, you get an extra-big bed, antique wood-burning stove and sitting area with sofa. There's a stone flagged courtyard with tables and chairs for warm weather, a rambling terraced garden and a dining room with open fire. Ilaria is a fantastic cook: she makes her own bread, cakes and jam for breakfast, and delicious dinners using home-grown veg.
• +39 0585 949181, quarazzana.it. Doubles from €65, meals on request from €18
Quercia Rossa, Montemerano
Within easy reach of the sandy beaches of Monte Argentario, the thermal springs at Saturnia and the wild, remote hinterland of the southern Maremma, La Quercia Rossa is brilliantly placed. A convincing mix of working farm and cool, relaxed rural retreat, it's quirkily stylish and filled with vintage furniture that once belonged to Victorian traveller Lady Augusta Belloc. Inside, there's a salon with a log fire and six very individual bedrooms; outside is a scented garden with pool and lawns that give way to gently rolling fields and infinite views down to the distant sea. There are plenty of restaurants in the area, but the food at the farm (homegrown organic produce, the in-house oil and excellent local Morellino di Scansano red wine) is so good and the setting so heavenly that you may never want to leave.
• +39 0564 629529, querciarossa.net. Doubles from €80, meals on request €25
Sant'Anna in Camprena, Pienza
The setting of this 16th-century Benedictine monastery is glorious: surrounded by olive groves, it sits on a hill with show-stopping views over the undulating countryside and has a magical garden with a fish pond and lemon trees in terracotta pots. Bedrooms, mostly inhabiting monk's cells, are fittingly Spartan and only the six "luxury" rooms have private bathrooms and heating. Meals using home-grown fruit and veg plus the in-house olive oil and wines are served at long tables in vaulted dining rooms while the original refectory is graced with precious frescos by Sodoma. The other bare communal spaces don't exactly invite you to curl up with a book, but you'll be enjoying the garden or visiting nearby gems such as Pienza and San Quirico d'Orcia. Looks vaguely familiar? Maybe because some of the scenes from The English Patient were shot here.
• +39 0578 748037, camprena.it. Doubles from €80
Locanda Toscanini, Piazze
Standing on a little square in blink-and-you'll-miss-it Piazze, a frazione of the pretty town of Cetona, this guesthouse takes its name from the legendary conductor who spent several summers here in the 1930s. Now owned by an Italian architect and his American journalist wife, it makes a comfortable and cosy base for exploring the delights of the unspoilt Val d'Orcia and northern Lazio. Bedrooms are done out in warm colours and furnished with antiques, and beds are made up with fine linens and feather duvets. The ground floor salone, warmed by a crackling fire in winter, is stocked with books, board games and an honesty bar, and there's free Wi-Fi throughout. Trattoria Via Vai, a new in-house restaurant which will showcase fish and Tuscan dishes using organic ingredients, is due to open any day now.
• +39 0578 244273, locandatoscanini.com. Doubles from €79
Podere Valdibotte, Scandicci
Florence's sprawling western suburb of Scandicci soon gives way to open countryside, which is dotted with old farmhouses like Valdibotte. Giancarlo and Helene Berni's laid-back B&B is stuffed with lovely old furniture, pictures and ceramics: guests have the run of a living room on the ground floor while upstairs there are three spacious bedrooms. There's a garden with a pool and shady terraces for meals and, beyond that, acres of vines, olives and fields. Guests sit round a communal table for hearty breakfasts and delicious dinners which make use of the abundant fresh veg and fruit from the garden plus Giancarlo's wine. Kids will love this place and the dogs, cats and horses seal the deal. The last stop on the new tramline is 500 metres from the house, and the journey time to central Florence is 18 minutes.
• +39 055 7422107, poderevaldibotte.it. Doubles from €80
