marthag

I will be spending a week in Florence and would like to make a quick visit to the hilltop castle/village of Montefioralle, which is about 2km from Greve-in-Chianti. I am thinking of getting a taxi or private driver to take me there and wait while I wander through the town.

About how long should I plan to spend in the town, if I am not getting a meal there? Is one hour sufficient? Is the ride from central Florence to Montefioralle about 30-45 minutes, as Mappy seems to indicate?

Another option is to take the bus from Florence to Greve and then hire a taxi to bring me to and from Montefioralle. Do you think I could find a willing taxi driver at the Greve bus station?

This will be my second visit to Tuscany and I will also be visiting Siena and Orvieto later in the trip. I've seen photos of Montefioralle and thought it would be a pleasant way to get a taste of a very small, picturesque hilltop town, without taking a whole day away from Florence.

zeppole

It appears you can walk from Greve:

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/vr/review.asp?n=148

marthag

Thank you very much, Zeppole, for the helpful link to SlowTrav. I read every post pertaining to Montefioralle and learned a great deal. I learned that the road from Greve to Montefioralle is short but very steep. I have bad knees and would like to avoid that uphill trek.

Do you know if there are taxis in Greve, and would one be meeting the incoming bus from Florence?

Thanks again for providing me with a link to SlowTrav which was extremely helpful.

zeppole

I don't know, but Slow Travel has a message board.

My experience of Italy is that it is a country full of both hilltowns and people with bad knees, and therefore even the tiniest pin speck of a town has a minibus that takes you to the upper levels. Just be careful not to go during the lunch hour, when the bus driver is having lunch.

Also, there is a lot of English spoken in Greve, I would think, so I would just head out and if I didn't see a taxi, walk into a bar and ask how to get one. Somebody would probably call one for you.

marthag

Once again, Zeppole, thanks again for the helpful reply. I'll post on Slow Travel, to see if anyone can confirm the existence of taxi service in Greve.

I'm really looking forward to visiting Montefioralle. I spent several hours in Monteriggioni two years ago and it still lingers in memory.I imagine that Montefioralle will join my list of special places.

zeppole

All those tourists drinking wine? There has to be a taxi in Greve!

Charley1965

We have just come back fom Montefioralle! I did not see one taxi while we were in Greve. I'm guessing this is because most people seem to have a hire car and the bus service is very good. I would not rely on a taxi at the bus stop in Greve, it's just a bus stand, I never saw any taxis there.

It's a long walk up to Montefioralle, all up hill. I see that you are not prepared to do that anyway, which is very wise in my opinion! there are a couple of restaurants opposite the bus stand, so you could go in and ask about a taxi if you stop for a drink. However a search has found this taxi service

http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/taxi.htm

Montefioralle is beautiful, do try to have lunch in one of the two restaurants. The one inside the walls is probably quieter & more relaxing, but the food is better in the roadside restaurant as you enter into Montefioralle from Greve.

marthag

Hi Charley,

Thank you so much for the informative reply. I will contact the driver you referred me to, as well as a few other potential taxi drivers that I learned about from Slow Travel.

I am also going to explore hiring a Florentine private driver for a half day. There may be three of us ladies making the trip to Montefioralle, so the per person cost may not be prohibitive.

As always, the people on this forum have given me great advice. i sure appreciate it.

Charley1965

Glad you found it useful! If you have time try and visit Badia a Passignano too, it's absolutely beautiful, not a great deal there but well worth seeing. It's about 10-15 minutes drive from Montifioralle going straight though the village ie. not back through Greve. I think an hour in Montefioralle is enough if you are not lunching. You will also experience the traffic lights to get around Montefioralle if you go to Badia. We had to use these every day as we were staying just past Montefioralle - can be eventful as you are only given 3 minutes! Oh, and if you are thinking of lunching at some point, you could try La Cantinetta di Rignana. http://tinyurl.com/5uj78y It's totally secluded up a long dirt track, but accessible from Badia. We went there a couple of times - the food is very good and the views are outstanding.

I also have some pictures of Montefioralle on Flickr if you're interested

http://www.flickr.com/photos/charley1965/sets/

marthag

Wow! Charley, your photos are marvelous. I feel like I've just been back to Tuscany. These are very helpful in planning our October, and future, trips to the area. Thanks so much for your valuable help.

Do you have a trip report posted somewhere? I'd love to read it.

Charley1965

Thank you!

No, no trip report from me I'm afraid - too much like hard work!

Do feel free to ask any questions though, we were there for 2 weeks, so got to know the area quite well. We also drove in Florence, which was an experience I can tell you.

denice7

We stayed in a villa above Greve about 4 years ago for 9 days. We walked to Montefioralle one day and it took about an hour and a half but it was a lovely walk. We had lunch at the restaurant along the road into the town from Greve. The restaurant is on one side of the road and outdoor dining is on the other. I have to say everytime I think of all of our trips to Italy I always remember think of lunch and this little village. The lunch was spectacular as we sat outside looking over the valley thinking we walked all the way from over there to here! I remember having a caprese salad that was served on a round board and the cheese and tomatoes were interlaced and looked like a round checkerboard.

We are flying into Milan and out of Rome this October and making our way down to Umbria. We are planning on having lunch again that this beautiful restaurant and walking through the village again.

marthag

Hello Denice.....

Sorry for my delay in thanking you for the very helpful reply. It is comments like yours that are making us determined to visit Montefioralle. We may just hire a private driver from Florence, in order to be assured that the travel to and from the hamlet is smooth.And we will plan to have lunch at the restaurant on the road into town from Greve.

Many thanks to you, and all the other posters here, who have helped me plan a visit to this enchanting little town.

toscoman

There's now a bus service to Montefioralle from Greve (Piazza Trento, the SITA bus stop), four times a day. I recommend a bus ride up from Greve and a walk down. Montefioralle is still one of the most picturesque villages in Tuscany.