Day Trips within Chianti Region
 

Planning a family trip for next fall. During part of that trip we plan on staying somewhere in the Chianti region of Tuscany for 4-5 days. Two questions:

1. Recommendation on a quaint little town/city as a home base during that part of the trip.
2. Recommendations on day trips for that area.

Since we will also be going to Florence and Cinque Terra, we want this phase of the trip to be a little less touristy.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Tom

You either pick a town and figure out what you can reasonably see from there, or you develop a sightseeing list and choose a town that puts you within a reasonable driving distance to all/most of the list. I like to keep drives to the farthest point at about an hour.

We liked Castellina as it seemed central to where we wanted to explore which was not entirely within or limited to the Chianti area. It's large enough to have multiple restaurants within walking distance, and the town is located at the intersection of several roads which meant we weren't driving the same roads in/out every day. It's near the southern end of Chianti, and distances within Chianti aren't that great, but, depending on your sightseeing list, you might want to be a bit more north. I would focus on staying near SR222.

Thank you!

If you are up to visit wineries of the region I'd reccommend you Vignamaggio (legend has it La Gioconda was born here, and Leonardo da Vinci came to paint her for a couple barrels of wine) and Leonardo Manetti Vino (they also grow irises for use in perfumes)

Thank you.

We have stayed in Radda, Castellina and Panzano and all are charming and interesting.

I still remember visiting Bar Uci in Radda on our way to Montepulciano, on our first visit to Italy. OH MY! Ravioli with sage butter, something I had never tasted before. Changed my life! LOL I believe it's still open, go there! The owner was a hoot, she hugged me when I complimented the food. You can walk around the tiny village after lunch also. Have fun! Bar-Ucci | Volpaia

We love staying in Chianti with it’s green landscape, vs gold, and proximity to so many great towns and cities.

Can you recommend a hotel or apartment in Radda?

Tom

We stayed in Greve in Chianti and did day trips all over the place: to Pisa, to Lucca, to Forte dei Marmi to a beach club, Siena, San Gimignano, Montepulciano. We didn't stay right in the town centre though so can't recommend our hotel as lovely as it was.

Castello del Trebbio offers wine tasting / tours and the history of the castle is fascinating. They also have some of the best olive oil I have tasted and an onsite restaurant that we haven't tried. We just visited on an insider tip many years ago and had a private tour that was fun. We did it as a day trip when staying in Chianti.

We stayed at Relais Vignole in Radda, very nice. in town but adjacent to vineyards.