Before flying home from Florence, we are thinking of traveling by car down to various small towns in the Chianti region. How many days would be ideal for this short adventure, how far south to go? Which towns would be the best for local color and local life and art? Places not to miss? Best food and wine? Now that is a silly question...... Best markets? Possible places to stay? All would be helpful for decision making.....thanks.....
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
The Chianti Road (via Chiantigiana, or SR-222) starts in Florence and ends in Siena, almost 50 miles to the south of Florence. The road is curvy and somewhat narrow, so don't expect to drive faster than 25-30 miles per hour. It's a 2 hr drive, to which you need to add any stops you might decide to make. Coming from the north (Florence) very first town officially inside the Zone of Classic Chianti is called Strada in Chianti. The main towns in the area (not all along the SR-222 but still around there) are:
Greve, Radda, Gaiole, Castellina, Panzano, Castelnuovo Berardenga and many others. The Municipality of Greve in Chianti, with a total population of about 15,000 is the unofficial capital of the Chianti. Any town has local life and local color. The most art will be in Florence and Siena.
Posted by
OP
St. Ignatius, Montana
29 posts
Roberto, thanks, just the kind of information I was hoping to receive. Have you been to or stayed at any of the towns you mentioned? Any additional info as to where you might have stayed would be nice to know. Or one towm over another for accomodations, as I see it, they are all relatively close together.
Thanks again, ciao....
Posted by
Rochelle, IL
263 posts
We are wrapping up a stay in Panzano, and it is a very nice little town. I echo Roberto's thoughts on the roads: curvy, hilly, and slow travel. I severely underestimated how long it would take to drive places. Panzano has a wine festival in September, which might be a fun time if you like wine. It was wrapping up our first day here and we were too tired to enjoy it. We wandered around quite a bit. I loved Voltera, and Castillana in Chianti, but I can't really explain why. Actually, I don't think I found a town I did not like! If you don't drive a stick shift, before you go you might want to get a few lessons.... I know you can rent automatics, but they are more expensive and might be harder to find.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
Montalcino is a great little town, in the province of Siena. Famous for Brunello di Montalcino wine.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16236 posts
There are accommodations in all towns. Obviously Greve and Castellina will probably have more than the smaller villages, but the place is full of agriturismo (farmhouses) for rent, therefore you will have plenty of choices. Many agriturismo have a minimum number of days requirements, but some accept even one night only. If you stay more than 3 nights and have a car, that would be a good option to visit the area. Zoe suggested the Montalcino area. They have the good Brunello wine there, but that is not Chianti anymore. Chianti is exclusively between Siena and Florence. This is the official map of the Chianti Classico zone, with all wineries:
http://www.chianticlassico.com/en/territorio/mappa/