Hi Everyone, We are staying in Greve in Chianti for a few days in May and will have a vehicle. On our first day, we are driving from Orvieto to Greve. Any suggestions for must-sees along the way? Once we arrive to Greve and check in, we would like to go to Pisa as it is only a half hour from our hotel. On day two, we will be in Florence. And on the third day, we have a completely open schedule, but would like to be in Asissi by evening. We are staying in Gubbio that night for a special festival, but want to see the church of St. Francis before getting there. Would love your suggestions on what to see and do on the first and third days! We will have teenagers, so we will be limiting our wine tasting.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
It's darn well over a hundred kilometers. Either the hotel is lying or there's more than one Greve .... or more than one Pisa.
Steve's route is okay, but if you have any interest in Lucca, use the E76 just to the north, it's longer but moves a bit faster, so the time would be about the same.
Posted by
Lake Forest Park, WA, USA
365 posts
That's quite a whirlwind. Panzano a few miles south of Greve is a cute little town, Sunday morning is the weekly street market which is really cool. Castellina is also nice.
I'm puzzled that any hotel near Greve could be described as within a half hour of Pisa, though. Is this a helicopter journey?
You might want to review the amount of time spent in the car especially with the teenager factor in play. I mean, if possible.
Posted by
Carbondale, IL, USA
1201 posts
If your hotel is actually anywhere near Greve, Pisa is in reality at least an hour and a half away if you do autostrade and bigger roads most of the way. With the actual driving time on the smaller roads more directly probably a bit closer to two hours or so..
Greve is actually a nice little town to explore. Check out Le Cantine for some wine tasting in town.
http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtente/index.php?cambialang=en
On day three, I'm tempted to suggest you route through Siena and stop for lunch and explore the city some.
Posted by
OP
Shrewsbury, USA
72 posts
Hi, the hotel emailed us and told us Pisa was only a half hour away. I will have to double check that! Our schedule is very flexible, so even with the time difference, we will be okay.
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
Greve has a open air market on Saturday mornings. Lots of fun. You don't say how you are getting into Florence, but I recommend catching the bus in Greve. It takes about an hour. Driving in Florence is a huge head ache and sometimes comes with tickets that you don't get until after you are home (Read up on ZTL zones if you are driving) This whole area is filled with speeding cameras, so always go the speed limit. We have been home almost 2 years, and so far, so good. You might want to allow some time in Greve for a nice walk up into the hills. We stayed at an agritourismo and love walking up through the vineyards for the picture postcard views. Enjoy your trip.
Posted by
Orlando, Florida
676 posts
Mark and Kristy, I just booked a hotel in Greve in Chianti and it also said it was 20 min to Pisa. Since I've lived in Pisa and been to GIC, I knew that was wrong. Not sure how they figure it, but I suspect all the hotels do the same thing so people will stay in Greve instead of Pisa. Maybe we should all complain to the hotels and/or website that publishes such lies?
Posted by
Dundee, Scotland
95 posts
Stop off in Montepulciano for an hour or so then head to Pienza where you must sample the roast pork sandwiches for lunch. Pienza is achingly beautiful.
Forget Pisa - apart from the leaning tower, cathedral and baptistry there is nothing else. Use your time instead in Siena or San Gimniano(sp?) When you go to Florence definitely take the bus. En route to Assisi, stop off in Arezzo.
Posted by
OP
Shrewsbury, USA
72 posts
Thank you so much everyone for your replies!
The other distances listed from the hotel in Greve included:
Asissi-2 hours away from Greve
Perugia-2 hours away
Orvieto--1 1/2 hours away
Elaine, does that sound right to you since you lived there?
Ron, thank you for the suggestion of Le Cantine for wine tasting! The website link is extremely helpful.
Steve--Thank you for the route! I now have a new website to use to map out distances before we get there since our GPS won't be able to do that until we land on Italian soil. I will be playing with that a lot between now and when we leave!
Connie--We had not planned to drive in the city of Florence at all. We were going to find out from the hotel where we could drive to to catch a train into the city. However, the bus in Greve is a perfect idea as long as we have somewhere to park the car.
Linda--thank you for the suggestion for en route to Asissi!
One last note--we just went to NYC this weekend to celebrate my daughter's 13th birthday, and I realized you can never get done what you think you can in the time allotted.
Kristy
Posted by
Everett, WA
1299 posts
Greve has a large free parking lot right up the hill from the bus stop. You can leave your car there all day. Have a great trip.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, USA
320 posts
Mark and Christy:
Another vote for Panzano (our favorite little hill town). The Sunday morning market is a nice contrast to Greve's bustling Saturday Market.
Be sure to see Dario Cecchini's butcher shop in Panzano. Dario is Italy's most famous butcher (he has been featured on Anthony Bordain and also in Bill Buford's great book "Heat".
Another great town nearby is tiny Lamole. Do not miss the awesome Sunday afternoon supper at the Ristoro di Lamole. Have fun.
Posted by
montepulciano, SIENA
21 posts
Yes, I definitely agree with Linda!
A visit of Montepulciano is a must not to be missed. And Pienza (15 km from Montepulciano) is lovely and really worth the visit.
If you'd like more info about these places, just say!! I'll be pleased to help you!
ciao
Serena