My wife and I are traveling in the Tuscan region next June, after a few days in Florence we will be renting a car and heading south into the heart of Tuscany. We would love to hear some recommendations on places to stay in the area. We plan on visiting wineries and seeing the area.
We are interested in cooking classes, wine tasting and really getting a feel for the local flavor.
Thanks!
Tim
We stayed at a fantastic agriturismo 5 minutes from buonconvento:
http://www.agriturismopoderecunina.com/
I know they give cooking classes. You are 15 minutes from the montalcino wineries, 45 minutes from montepulciano.
100% of the reviews on podere cunina are 5/5 and i can confirm this. The place is like what you dream of a Tuscan stay, the hosts are the nicest people you can meet.
This is situated in the most tuscan of tuscany, the val d’orcia/crete senesi region.
It’s a great base to visit the surrounding. We stayed 6 nights, it was our second trip to tuscany. From there you can do one day trips north to Sienna, volterra sangimignano, south to Orvieto, even east to perugia in umbria. And of course, pienza, Montepulciano, montalcino, the sant’Antimo abbey, and also san galgano abbey an hour west for amazing pictures. Close is also monte oliveto maggiore abbey.
Have a great trip.
Claude
Have you started your planning with a good guidebook? So many Tuscan towns will meet your requirements. I know I had a tough time selecting where to stay and what to see on our first trip, but Rick Steves' Guide to Florence and Tuscany laid it all out for me so I could select a couple of places in which to base ourselves. He lays out classes, tours, lodging.
I will say that with 4 or 5 days -- which I equate to 3 or 4 nights -- you probably should only sleep in two different places.
Perhaps start with reading the book then come back to us with questions about specific towns.
I should add that podere cunina is the type of farmhouse that is booked very quickly: we booked in november of last year for a stay in june as well, and there was only one room left(out of 5 i believe). This was for mid june.
If you are leaving from Rome don't forget about Umbria, like Orvieto, on the way down. A centrally located agritourismo for four night with day trips might be convenient.
Borgo Casato, near Castelnuevo Berardegna in the Crete Sinese hills -- relaxing guest house with marvelous on-site restaurant.
Tim,
Two years ago we spent a wonderful week in Tuscany. We stayed just outside Greve, which is south of Florence, at Castillo di Verrazzano. The winery has agriturismo accommodations. The rooms are comfortable, very reasonable and kept neat as a pin. The agriturismo is near the road leading into Greve, about 3/4 mile from the winery itself. Be sure to book with the breakfast, which is scrumptious. It includes wild boar salami and other cold cut, several cheese choices and wonderful bread, along with standard breakfast items such as eggs and cereal.
Also plan to take the tour of the winery. I highly recommend the Wine and Food Experience. They aren't kidding, plan to spend at least three hours! Also eat a light breakfast and don't plan on needing to eat dinner! When we were there, the owner and the wine makers were sampling the newest vintage and the owner kept bringing over extra samples to try. Luckily we were staying on the property because we weren't in any shape to drive on the highway!
If you want to take cooking classes, Greve is just 5 minutes away. La Cantina offers cooking classes led by Mamma Lorena, the mother of Alessandro, the owner. We didn't take cooking classes, but can attest to the wonderful food they prepare. We ate there the first night we arrived in Italy and Alessandro and his staff went out of their way to make us feel at home. Since it was off season, we were the only tourists there that night. It is a favorite restaurant of the locals, which I consider to be a great testimony.
Greve is a great location to use as a home base. It is on the famed Chiantigiana (SR222) road from Florence to Siena. We visited the places described in the link. We also spent a day touring San Gimignano and Volterra, which are an easy drive from Greve.
Driving in Chianti is easy. Just be aware that there are automated speed limit checks both in the countryside and in the towns. ZTL's are clearly marked and easily avoided. Greve does not have a ZTL, but we found it easier to use the large free public parking lot and walk over to the piazza.
I understand that many are restricted to going on vacation from June to August, but I would suggest you try to visit a little earlier, such as early May. It won't be as hot and crowded then.
Finally, I highly recommend taking Walks of Italy tours in Florence. We took the Best of Florence walking tour and the Uffizi tour. They were well worth the cost. Our guide Marco has a graduate degree in history and did a wonderful job of describing what we were seeing. They keep the group size small and the cost includes skip the line tickets.
Thank you for all the wonderful recommendations!
We cant wait for our trip!
