Cycling in Tuscany and Umbria

National Geographic Traveler's list of 50 Tours of a Lifetime includes a biking tour of the Italian countryside. The Tuscany and Umbria Insider tour will take you to Cortona, Todi, Assisi and Siena -cycling all the while. And you'll have cooking lessons, chocolate-making demonstrations, wine-tastings and picnics along the way. Backroads hosts the trip and offers 100 hiking, backpacking and cycling trips throughout Italy, many of them family-friendly.

The Roman Chocolate Factory

Since 1923, SAID chocolate has been providing Perugina and other famous Italian chocolatiers with the finest chocolate around. Just in time for Easter, you too can be a part of Italy's chocolate dream when you visit the SAID Antica Fabbrica del Cioccolato in the neighborhood of San Lorenzo (Via Tiburtina 135). Closed in the summer months (no proper Italian would dream of drinking hot chocolate until autumn!) SAID offers tours of its facility as well as countless chocolate products ranging from milk to dark, alcoholic to ricotta filled. There is even a restaurant if you want to make an evening of it!