We will be vising Chianti in Oct. Which city is the best for a home base--Greve or Castellina? We like an area with shops and good restaurants for our base.

I stayed just outside Greve in an agriturismo and found it to be a good location. Greve has several restaurants around the square and nearby. Shops were nice, a little pricey. The agriturismo B&B that I stayed in is called Podere Torre and I highly recommend it; let me know if you want more information on it.

They are both fairly similiar. There is a "real" town feeling to both meaning that neither town is totally just tourist focused. There are regular markets, post offices, etc rather than rows of souvenier shops like you might find in St. Gimignano.

There are some shops in Greve and some very good restaurants around the main square. But both are fairly small towns and I dont think you would want to stay right in the towns.

There are many good places to stay around Castellini and Greve. We stayed in Vignamaggio and went to Greve and Lamole for dinner. Both required a drive. I dont think there are lots of restaurants in Castellini. A good one in Greve (casual but delicious) was Nerbone. Tuscany.net has good pictures.

If you want LOTS of shops and lots of restaurants and nightlife, i dont think either fit the bill. Siena might be better or San. Gimignano.

It will be interesting to see what others say.



I would imagine that you need to get accomodations pretty quickly for October.

Neither of these two is a city, so if you want a city, you will need to look at Siena or some other place. They are both small towns. Maybe it is just my opinion, but I thought that Castellina had much less of a "touristy" (and yes I realize how silly it sounds to say this on a travel/tourist message board) feel than Greve. However, in my memory, Greve had more shops and restaurants. Both are lovely, but Castellina felt more quaint in a more authentic way, if that makes any sense.

WE've been to Castellina twice this past year staying at Squarcialupi and love it! There are a few restaurants, our favorite for a nice meal being Gallopapa which is fairly well known and there is also Albergaccio and probably 5 others in the town itself. The web sites for these are:
www.gallopapa.com
www.albergacciocast.com

Even if you don't stay there, go for the gelato-it's the best!

There is only really one main street with shops, and probably only about 10 maybe?

Greve is larger with more of the shops and restaurants, but I felt CAstellina to be more of a small hill town and quaint.

I know several people have said they are too small to stay in the city, but we really liked being able to walk home from dinner (in the case of Gallopapa, it was below the hotel) and not have to drive.

If these are too small, I would recommend Siena. San Gim is too touristy for me. (just my opinion)

Annabelle2
We've stayed at Podere Torre the last two years and love it. We are trying to stay again this fall (they may be booked for dates we need).
Cecilia has "closed" one of her rooms that she used to rent out and now only has 2.
Both Castellina and Greve make great bases. Choose the one that has the best applicable inn for you.

jabez, I have read your comments about Podere Torre before and so I know you have been lucky enough to stay there more than once. Thanks for the update on the rooms...what did she close and why?

We stayed in San Gimignano at Hotel Pescille (just outside town) and spent a day driving through both Greve and Castellina. We liked Castellina more than Greve. We found the prices of everything were better in Castellina and it was more quaint. We had a good meal at 'Gallo Nero' in Greve, but found a lot of nice souvenirs and wine to buy at good prices in Castellina.

She closed the room closest to her house. It was my favorite. She said she was saving it for family. I suspect her son may have talked her into a seperate room. I suspect that she might open this room for rental ,if available, to folks she knows.
The 2 rooms that remain are the "apartment" that has the great view from the roof and the old jail (now a very nice room) where we stayed last.
Even if we can't book this year, we will stop for a visit and bring a few things from the states.
It's an amazing bargain (85euros) and what a view!