Chianti Area

Fattoria Tregole (http://www.fattoria-tregole.com) in Castellina in Chianti makes a great base if you will have a car.

I've slept in both towns, earlier this month!

We liked them both, a lot, but of the two, I'd pick Lucca. Just a wonderful place. Greve seemed more like a modern town. Lucca feels older, with more of what we are looking for when we go to Italy.

And, I'll take Puccini over Verrazzano the Navigator anytime. (you might have to Google that)

Lori:

Both are great towns but Lucca is much more picutesque.

However Lucca is not "Chianti" proper. Chianti is a small sliver of Tuscany.

Greve is a neat little town but it sits on the valley floor so you miss the sweeping vistas that other locations offer.

If what you are looking for is the Chianti countryside try the hill towns: Siena, Panzano, Radda, Castellina, Lamole, etc. There are many great places. Just look at a map of Tuscany and follow the S222 (also called the Chianti Road) between Florence and Siena and you will have a great start to your Chianti research. Have fun.

Hi Lori,

We went to a Winery very close to Greve Called Castello di Verrazzano: http://www.verrazzano.com/ . I know that they had rooms you could rent there.

Even if you don't stay there it's definitely worth the stop for one of their wine tours. It was the highlight of our entire trip in Italy.

We did the lunch tour (the Chianti Tradition). It was about an hour tour of the grounds. Then you sat on this terrace overlooking the vineyards for lunch. You sampled 4 bottles of wine and everyone had a huge plate of meats, cheese, and bread. The best part was after they poured the wine they left the bottles for the table to finish. Plus you also sample a Dessert wine along with a Balsamic Vinaigrette.

The grounds were absolutely beautiful there and the staff was so helpful and very kind honest people.

next time we go to Italy I would love to stay there or at least in that region.

Have a great trip!

Lucca is a long way from Chianti. It's a better base for day trips to Pisa, the CT and even Florence.

There are any number of towns that are good bases for Chianti. As long as you have a car, it really depends on what you want for accomodations and if you want to be inside a town at night.

We loved staying in Greve. Where we stayed we could walk into town and catch the bus to Florence or Siena (about an hour to each-Greve is between the two) We stayed at Casa Nova in the 2 bedroom apartment. (we were 2 couples) We found it on this web site:

http://www.greve-in-chianti.com

Greve has a great Saturday market that was lots of fun. I highly recommend it. (I haven't been to Lucca so I can't comment on it)

Thank you for all of your suggestions and help. I appreciate you!