Relais La Corte dei Papi, Cortona

Advantages: fantastic variety of high quality food
Disadvantages: long queues, very expensive

... El Corte's cheese counter is around 30 feet wide and packed with hundreds of varieties. The most famous Spanish cheese is Manchego, a goat cheese from La Mancha region. El Corte's cheese counter has an estimated fifty different kinds of it, ranging from young (fresco) and semi mature (semicurado) to mature (curado, at least 13 weeks old) and very mature (anejo, seven month and more) . The Anejo comes close to Italian Parmigiano in taste and substance, and is excellent in salads and Tapas. Like all the best kinds of Spanish cheese, Manchego comes from northern Spain. Other kinds from that area include Cabrales, Idiazábal and Tetilla, all of which are available at El Corte Inglés in great variety. But of course you can also find all kinds of cheese from outside Spain here, ranging from French Roquefort to Dutch Leerdamer. MEAT, HAM... Read review

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Advantages: Weather and sightseeing
Disadvantages: ...................

...I have lived within the reach of Cortona now for over 2 years. Over this time I have come to realize the vast amount of attractions there are here. During the summer months the heat can hit the 40's quite easily! So bring that sun lotion! Cortona is a VERY old mountain side town which overlooks Lago Di Trasimeno (Lake Trasimeno). In was in this area that Hannibal defeated the Romans. Cortona has many attractions for the tourist including the Etruscan museum which is situated in Piazza Signorelli. At the top of Cortona is an extremely old Fort. The views from Cortona are very Panoramic and a photographer would definatly appreciate the views. At Lago Di Trasimeno (Lake Trasimeno) there are many public beaches. On these public beaches are pedal boats, snack bars and the odd volley-ball court! Lago Did Trasimeno has a total... Read review

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Advantages: It's gorgeous!
Disadvantages: A bit unclean

...simple sauce, both in terms of preparation and ingredients (basil, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic and olive oil): because of its simplicity it is imperative that the ingredients are of the highest quality (basil that doesn’t grow close to the sea has a totally different flavour!) If you want to experience the delights of pesto first-hand, then Zeffirino may be the place to try: here you can try the specialities of Liguria NB: be prepared to spend a little bit more than you had budgeted for. If you prefer something a little more simple but would still like to try la torta Pasqualina (a savoury vegetable tart) as well as minestrone alla genovese a Struppa Geneose minestrone then you could try Piro and the historical Luchin in Chivari; here you can try a delicious farinata (traditional tart made with chick-pea flour) and stuffed vegetables... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful