Foreign Guide Spotlights Tuscany as Top 2026 Destination

Quartz, the US-based business and lifestyle publication, published a guide this week to the best places to visit in Italy in 2026, giving prominent placement to Tuscany. The article notes that Florence 'works as a base for day trips into Tuscany, since regional trains reach Siena, Pisa and the Chianti wine region in under two hours.' The guide also singles out Florentine food culture, describing the bistecca alla fiorentina as a thick-cut, bone-in steak served rare and priced by weight, and schiacciata as a flatbread sold from small bakeries rather than sit-down restaurants.

The timing of the endorsement comes as Tuscany braces for another peak summer season. International news outlets have repeatedly reported on the strain of overtourism on Florence's historic centre, where visitor numbers in recent years have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, crowding the Uffizi Gallery and the Piazza della Signoria. The Quartz guide, by promoting exactly these attractions, adds to the cycle of coverage that both sustains the regional economy and fuels debates about sustainable tourism.