Five towns to visit near Volterra

20 minutes from Volterra. Visible from miles away, Montecatini is an archetypal Tuscan hill village, perched high on a hill-top and crowned with a high tower that enjoys fabulous views over the valley of the Cecina river. You can stay in the high medieval tower - it's called Torre del Merlo and has been beautifully converted into a holiday home with its own pool in the olive groves.

30 minutes from Volterra, the medieval New York bristles with towers a short distance from Volterra, a magical reminder of a combative time when the stone towers and walls were tested in battle. A popular tourist hot-spot, San Gimignano can be a stressful place to stay but is a wonderful place to visit - and if you can go out of season, all the better.

45 minutes from Volterra. This small town has been made famous in the last 50 years thanks to a small group of visionary wine-makers who saw the potential of this rocky and sandy terrain and started to make big, fruity, complex red wines known as "Super Tuscans". A great place to come wine-tasting - you can read more about the wineries here: Bolgheri, Tuscany's Super wine area.

30 minutes from Volterra. This lovely hill town looks down on a patchwork of greenery and despite its small size has a lively village life with an art centre, restaurants, enoteca, ancient castle and friendly residents easy to interact with. There are concerts in the Romanesque Collegiata & festivals year round.

An hour from Volterra. If you'd like to go to the coast from Volterra there are few coast villages nicer than San Vincenzo - small, charming and slightly old-fashioned.