Maur2010

HI,
I am visiting Florence for 5 days in early August and would like to make 1 or more day trips to the countryside. Is it possible to visit Chianti (wine tasting) and Siena in the same day? Or should I do a day for each? I like a relaxed pace (wine tasting, picnic, exploring, etc) versus a fast pace. I won't have a car so am considering taking the bus. Can you wine taste without a tour? I really enjoy visiting the wineries and enjoying the countryside vs. wine tasting in an enoteca. Do tour prices include the wine tasting? Can you wine taste in Chianti without a car? Are there certain days to avoid, for instance are most things open in Siena/Chianti on Sundays/Mondays?

Thank you for your help!

bobthenavigator

Siena demands a full day for me. Some tours try to do both at the compromise of both.

kybourbon

You can't easily do it in one day by bus because the connections for Chianti aren't as good/convenient as the Florence/Siena connections.

You could bus to Greve and pop into the Cantine if you want to wine taste.
http://www.lecantine.it/cantineUtent...?cambialang=en

I would bus a bit past Greve to Panzano and spend some time there first, then backtrack by bus to Greve, wine taste and back to Florence. You should also be able to visit the winery mentioned on this thread. The tour I mentioned on the thread is no longer provided by the Florence Tourist Board.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ic-transit.cfm

CAF offers some reasonably priced wine tours.
http://www.caftours.com/search-engin..._city=Florence

http://www.albatravelflorence.com/en/sightseeing_tours/

http://www.florenceandtuscanytours.c...&idSottoCat=27

joannyc

I think Siena needs 2-3 days. I spent 1 1/2 days (2 nights) and it wasn't long enough. You could see the highlights in one day.

uhoh_busted

You can do it with one day for Chianti and one day for Siena, and you can catch all the high points of Florence in the remaining three day. Once you are out of the big cities (e.g., Florence, Rome) things pretty much shut down for a LONG lunch break mid-day. Thus, I recommend not trying to do too much each day outside of the city.

Maur2010

Thank you everyone for the great info!

Kyboubon-awesome info, thanks! That thread you posted that mentions the Verrazzano winery has great info. Looks like I can take the bus from Florence pretty easily to that winery and it looks great! Also thanks for all the info on affordable tours. The ones I found were too expensive for me.

Any one else go to the Verrazzano winery or any other wineries accessible by bus from Florence?

Thanks for your help!