What should me and my girlfriend do when staying in Porto ercole Italy for 3 nights. We like eating, nature, and we’ll have a car.

Porto Ercole is one of those places that rewards exactly the kind of trip you're describing. It sits on the Monte Argentario promontory in southern Tuscany, and having a car is essential here because the whole area opens up to you. Start by driving the perimeter road that loops around Monte Argentario itself, the views over the Tyrrhenian Sea are genuinely spectacular, and you can pull off wherever you like. The lagoons of the Orbetello nature reserve, which connects the promontory to the mainland, are worth at least a half-day. It's one of Italy's most important wetland habitats, with flamingos, herons, and a quietude that feels miles from the tourist trail.

For eating, you're in serious luck. Porto Ercole and its neighbor Porto Santo Stefano have some of the best seafood in Tuscany, full stop. The fish here is as fresh as it gets, look for small trattorias near the water that do a simple spaghetti alle vongole or grilled orata with olive oil and lemon. Don't overthink it. Il Pellicano, the legendary hotel just outside Porto Ercole, has a restaurant that's worth a splurge for one dinner; even if you're not staying there, the terrace and the cooking are the real thing. For a more casual lunch, drive over to Feniglia beach, a long, pine-shaded stretch of sand accessible by foot or bike, and find somewhere simple to eat afterward in Porto Santo Stefano.

With three nights, you also have time to day-trip to Capalbio, a perfectly preserved hilltop village about thirty minutes away, and if you want something truly offbeat, seek out the Giardino dei Tarocchi near Pescia Fiorentina, a wild, fantastical sculpture garden by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle, filled with enormous mosaic figures tumbling across the Tuscan hillside. It's one of those places that's hard to believe exists, and it's genuinely wonderful.