Walk to town from your Italian villa – no need to drive

From: One Stop Italy. Bookings and Enquiries:  +44 (0)1603 812212 or contact us here.

Le Mura – just 300m from San Gimignano. The photo says it all!

When you’ve been arranging holidays in Italy for over 20 years, certain trends emerge.

At the very beginning, people were most interested in houses which were within easy travelling distance of the great centres of art: Florence, Rome, Venice etc. Essentially they were there for the culture.

The next big thing was swimming pools, as rural farmhouses started to be restored and rented out to holidaymakers.  So you could combine lolling around in your private villa with day trips to churches, galleries, museums etc.  Something for everyone.

Next it was the beach … a villa with a private pool, access to the coast and also places of historical interest.

And now?

Well it’s the simple life really. The most frequent request we have nowadays is for a villa or farmhouse apartment within walking distance of a town or village with shops and a restaurant or two. It seems that people want to go out in the evening without having to worry about drinking and driving in unfamiliar territory. And they love strolling to the local shops each day for their bread, fruit and veg, ice creams etc. Click on the link for a few more examples of  properties to rent in or just outside Italian towns and villages.