Love the idea of staying in a farmhouse in the Tuscany region. Great views, away from the town, etc. Does it make sense if we're only there 1 or 2 nights? We'll travel to Rome from here.
Also, we'd love to visit Chianti Classico wineries. Suggestions? It's our first visit to Tuscany and not sure which hill town to stay in. Would love any and all suggestions!
The farms in Tuscany are very small at around 20 acres. In order to have secondary income, virtually every farm has apartments and/or rooms for rent. There are hundreds of Tuscan agriturismos, and they're great places to slow down at. By all means, take the time to visit the local hilltowns--Montalcino, Siena, San Gimignano and Volterra (my favorite) by rental car.
There are a number of places to book agriturismos, including Booking.com.
Also look @ http://www.tuscanyaccommodation.com/
We've stayed at these two. The first is in the area you want and produces its' own wine.
Some wineries...
http://www.avignonesi.it/en/hospitality
http://www.casaemma.com/index.php
http://www.ricasoli.it/visite/visite-guidate/tour-classico
http://www.verrazzano.com/en/rooms/
Have some wine for me.
We were in Tuscany end of May this year. Stayed one night Orvieto, drove to San Gimignano the next day, stopping in Montepulciano on the way for lunch and walk through village. Stayed two nights at Poderi Arcangelo. Beautiful place in the middle of vineyards and olive groves. booked through booking.com. First time in Italy and loved area so much we would stay longer and do day visits to other places next time. Loved the hill towns!!
Thank you all for the comments. I truly appreciate your time and suggestions. I'm looking into each of them!
I found that many of the agriturismo properties required a week long stay if traveling there during high season (summer). But there are many lovely options. We stayed in L'Orta di Panza, (roughly translated as "Grandfathers Vegetable Garden" :)) and it was absolutely perfect! It was in Montepulciano - just outside the town center. We had lovely views over a vineyard and an olive grove, a beautiful pool, a delicious breakfast each day, and, best of all, the most delightful service from the wonderful family that owns it. We staying for three nights and used it as a home base for exploring the hill towns. We rented a car in Rome (Termini) and drove there - it was very easy and very relaxing. We had a two bedroom apartment (family of four) with a kitchen. We ate a nice lunch out each day in a different hill town and then ate a light supper at "home" each night after a swim in the pool and enjoyed a bottle of wine we picked up in our daily travels.
Montepulciano is not in Chianti region but is in the heart of some of the most fabulous wine territory on earth. It was like heaven!
Hi
We stayed at http://www.verrazzano.com/en/rooms/ a couple of years ago and will be returning to Tuscany this coming fall. We really enjoyed our stay. Rooms are nicely appointed. No A/C if that is a consideration. We also had lunch at the castle and it was amazing. I would highly recommend it.
Cathy, thanks for your comments on Verrazzano. I've booked in for two days in September and found little on the internet around reviews of the accommodation, most were about their wine tours.
Hi Again
There are some wonderful local restaurants in Greve as well. Can't remember their names but one was right across from the bus stop, had an outside patio, next door to a shoe store, and full of locals. It was perhaps one of the best casual meals we had in that area.
Enjoy.
Here are 2 working wineries/agriturismos.
http://www.ilgreppo.it/index.en.php Just outside Montepulciano.
http://www.lamarcellina.com/ in Panzano in Chianti. They have the best Classico Reserva wines. We had 3 cases shipped home from them after our visit.
We stayed at Il Canto Del Sole, which is south of Siena about 20 miles or so. This was a BEAUTIFUL country location, with a beautiful view of the hillsides of Tuscany. Not far at all from the Chianti region. The hosts, Luciano and Laura will map out a trip for you-making it very easy to plan your day. We stayed for 3 days. Wish we could have stayed more.
