While staying in Bagni di Lucca, I took many short trips to several towns and cities in Tuscany.

One of these trips was to Arezzo. I travelled there by train which took about 4 hours, and included 2 train changes. The first change was at Lucca, then another change at Florence before the final destination of Arezzo.  It was a pleasant and easy trip.

After my arrival in Arezzo it was just a short walk from the train station to the Guido Monaco Piazza where the BnB  was where I stayed for a couple of nights.

After checking in to the BnB,  I headed out on foot to explore this lovely city.  It was not very far to walk up to the “old town”

At the top of the Arezzo hill, between the cathedral and the Medici fortress, is ” Il Prato ” , a beautiful green park.  Il Prato is huge and hard to miss.  Yet, it was remarkably void of tourists and filled with many locals, mostly kids running around and playing games.

Il Prato which is near the edge of the walls of the city has lots of beautiful walks under the lovely large trees.  You can walk to the edge of the park and look out over the city walls to the valley below. It is beautiful and very tranquil.

There is a small snack kiosk in the park serving drinks and some of the usual refreshments.

This park is also home to summer concerts , sporting events and the antiques fair on the first weekend of September.

On this particular day, they were setting up for the Giro d’Italia which was coming through Arezzo while I was staying there. It was so exciting.

Between the cathedral of Arezzo and the Medici Fortress, in the centre of the “Prato”,  is the huge monument dedicated to the great famous poet of the fourteenth century Francesco Petrarca.

When I first arrrived in Arezzo it was  raining heavily, hailing and thunder storms. Then the day improved and it turned out warm and lovely.

The park is at least a few degrees cooler than being in the centre of Arezzo.  When I felt hot and tired I found a bench overlooking the rest of the town and the hills…it was relaxing and definitely recharged my batteries.

Travelling can be exhausting, so why not take some time to relax in the park?