Tuscany- Staying in Chianti

Posted by Mek (San Diego) on 06/30/15 12:14 AM

As part of our trip to Italy in Oct. of 2015, we will be in Florence for 2 days and the Tuscany region for 3 days. We would like to visit Siena, Montepulciano, San Gimignano, and Volterra. We would also like to stay in an apartment in a Agriturismo. Is Chianti a good central place to stay if we are going to rent a car to get around to the mentioned towns? Does anyone have a recommendation for an Agriturismo that is well located for visiting the towns above, either in Chianti or somewhere else centrally located in Tuscany?

We also need a good place to stay in Florence that is well located for visiting main tourist sites. We are not opposed to Airbnb's.

Thanks very much!
Marianne

Posted by Charlie

Ventura, CA, USA

06/30/15 07:54 PM

297 posts

IL Grepo agriturismo, between Montepulicano and Siena. http://www.ilgreppo.it/

La Marcellina winery in Pansano in Chianti. http://www.lamarcellina.com/default.aspx

Posted by Nick

Oak Park

06/30/15 08:53 PM

243 posts

We stayed in a farmhouse about 10K north of Siena and it was a great location for visiting Siena, San Gimignano, and Volterra. we visited Montepulciano, but the drive was a about 1 hour. With your towns that you are visiting, you will have little time to visit Greve, Castellina, Radda, or any of the Chianti hill towns. But this may not be part of your itinerary. Volterra/San Gimignano is a full day, and so is Siena. Montepulciano is one of my favorite small towns. Hopefully the location that the first poster gave you would give a great location to include all towns. If you do stay at farmhouse/AirBNB and you are cooking your own meals, try to visit the Volterra Saturday market for vegetables and seafood. The fishmonger was a magician with a knife! Park at the train station in Siena to avoid driving into the TLZ. The RS book explains the walk into the city center. Above all, make time to enjoy Italian coffee in the morning and a glass of Chianti or Vermentino in the evening.

Posted by Mek OP

San Diego

06/30/15 09:16 PM

7 posts

Thank you Nick and Charlie for the great suggestions. I really appreciate it. Last night, we discovered a castle near Siena called Castello di Badia - La Loggia, Poggibonsi, Siena, Italy. It looks pretty awesome so we are considering it. I do appreciate the time considerations as well as the places to stay. We will check those out thoroughly before making our decisions. If you have not ever seen pictures of the castle I mentioned, you might want to take a look for fun. It's an airbnb and it looks pretty amazing! It's also at the top of a hill, so the views are gorgeous!

Posted by brianpfreeman

06/30/15 09:45 PM

11 posts

So 5 days total? If you are going to locate in Siena which is wonderful check out the Villa Sciacipenseri just a short cab ride outside the walls of Sienna. If you have a car the Villa Belvedere in Florence is very nice outstanding views of Florence.