I will be traveling with my 3 teen aged sons to Florence at the end of March. We will have 3 full days there before heading down to Rome on March 29th. The boys are not really into seeing a lot of museums and I think one or two churches will be there limit. My husband and I would love to take them on a wine tour or food tour and thought maybe Parma as an option. Is that to far to go from Florence and are the cheese and ham venues open on a Saturday? If so can any one recommend a tour guide. Should we take the train to Parma or hire a guide to drive us? We also need a day trip for Palm Sunday, any suggestions?
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
Don't know about Parma, but an alternative option would be to drive the "Chianti Road" down toward Siena. It is state road 222, through the village of Greve. A beautiful drive past many wine-producing "estates." There are numerous wine shops in Greve. And Siena itself is very beautiful & interesting.
Posted by
Palm Beach, Florida, United States
536 posts
Ava - Being Italian and a tour consultant, I would have to agree with Tom - Siena - Very easy and Wonderful daytrip from Florence.
Ciao, greg
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
This looks lot a lot of fun: http://www.500touringclub.com/default.aspx
Maybe you can try a wine tasting tour in the Chianti zone just south of Florence - by bus or rental car. That has been discussed here often - maybe a search on that topic would help. Many people recommend Verrazano - I have done it - good tour, not my favorite Chianti Classico (not bad mind you, just something I can't quite put my finger on with their wines).
The Wind Cave or Grotto del Vento is also pretty cool: http://www.florence-journal.com/florence/2007/01/grotta_del_vent.html