bcschile

My wife and I (33 years old) are planning a trip to the Chianti region in May, 2009. We are trying to choose the best small town to stay in. Our most important criteria are great restaurants/food and wine.

We would like:
- Smaller town (with bakery, food store, meat store, etc)
- Walking distance to restaurants
- Proximity to wineries
- Easy access to highway (15 minutes max...?)

We will most likely rent an apartment or villa for the week. We are not interested in tourist locales. We want to rub shoulders with the locals.

LoveItaly

Hello bcschile, to get you started I am posting a website which many Fodorite's refer to when desiring an apartment or villa as you are. I hope that this will get you started with planning what sounds like a lovely week in beautiful Italy.

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/index.asp

DownUnder

Castellina and Radda in Chianti match your criteria and they are both delightful, http://www.castellina.com/
http://www.radda-in-chianti.com/

vincenzod

IMO the best match between your needs and the skills of the small town gives GAIOLE IN CHIANTI.
Then, second in the rank, ex-aequo Castellina and Radda.

Ciao.

Vincenzo

HappyTrvlr

We have stayed in Castellina twice and highly recommend it.

bcschile

Thank you all for your feedback!! We can't wait to go. The towns you have mentionied look beautiful.

bobthenavigator

I agree that Castellina best meets your criteria if you truly want Chianti. The best of Tuscany is further south. Have fun !

bcschile

Any other feedback would be greatly appreciated. Great food + great wine is what we are looking for!

Thanks in advance!

HappyTrvlr

Castellina:Wonderful pizzas at Il FOndaccio, either to eat in or take out. Al Gallopapa for a great dining experience. Both are in the center of town.
Another reason we like this area is that is has a greener, more trees, landscape that other parts of Tuscany.

jmsvss

My husband and I are looking for the same. I have just started contemplating where in Tuscany to go. If I may ask - How/why did you decide on Chianti? Just asking because I am having trouble narrowing it down.

cathies

Happy to go along with the recommendations for Castellina. The scenery is breathtaking and it's not too far to drive to Florence (about 40 mins). We also drove from there to Siena and to San Gimignano (?).

Remus

Montalcino, home of Brunello wine, south of Siena, has a lot to offer.

Read Isabella Dusi's "Vanilla Bean and Brodo"

NYCTS

<i><font color=blue>&quot;Our most important criteria are great restaurants/food and wine.&quot;</font></i>

Then, clearly, you must not know Tuscany very well because there is no town that offers enough &quot;great&quot; restaurants to satisfy the least discerning among us for a whole week. In Tuscany, if you want to experience great food and wine, you need a car. And only then will the adventure begin. Most of the &quot;great&quot; food places aren't in the center of any town. Most of the Chianti town centers are one small street.

toscoman

The stretch of highway SS222 (and side roads) between Castellina http://www.castellina.com through Panzano http://www.panzano.com to Greve http://www.greve-in-chianti.com offers a huge range of excellent agriturismi - entire villas, farmhouses, farm apartments and farm B&Bs, and of course is famous for its landscape, castles, old churches and wineries. I know many posters here are filled with enthusiasm for the Val d'Orcia but give me Chianti Classico territory any time!