Where to spend a day in Chianti?
 

I will be in Siena for a few days and would like to visit someplace in Chianti. I will not have a car so it will have to be someplace accessible by bus. I know that Radda, Castellina, and Gaiole are accessible by bus from Siena. The question is, are any of these places worth a whole day trip? <BR> <BR>I would also like to see a castle while I'm there. I read somewhere that Castello di Brolio is accessible from Siena and Gaiole. Does anyone know where I can get more info about this?

Try www.initaly.com. Under table of contents you will find City walks and day trips (one of which is from Siena and includes Brolio) Much information on this site that you might find useful.

We spent some time in Chianti region. Don't think each of the towns you mention is a whole day but one thing that we were surprised about is that Greve in Chianti was open all day and didn't close for the afternoon. Also the market in Greve on Saturday is fun if that happens to be the day you'll be there. Perhaps you could take a bus to one of the other Chianti towns in the morning and then get the bus to Greve for lunch and a couple of hours poking around. It's such a nice area to drive through...any way you could rent a car for the day?

If you like shopping and wine tasting, then Castellina or Radda would be a great place to spend a day. We really, really enjoyed Radda and Castellina (Castellina had some great pottery). It's fun to visit these smaller, quaint towns and I thoroughly enjoyed these two.

Thanks Brook, I bought a book called Walking in Tuscany and it has a description of a trail from Radda to Castellina. Maybe I could bus to Radda walk the trail to Castellina then take the bus back from Castellina.

Castello di Brolio is lovely. We had a great meal at the Osteria di Brolio on the grounds. Of course, the house wine was fantastic!

Hi Vita! Castello di Brolio is about a 20 minute drive north of Siena. We did a tasting there & bought a couple bottles of their Reserva - excellent. Reservations are required for the restaurant, you can tour the grounds of the castle, but can't go inside. It's still used as a private residence for the family. We picked up our car in Siena and drove to the TINY village of San Sano, just off the Chianti highway. Brolio is very nearby. Driving in the countryside was a snap, but if you really can't get a car, how about taking a day tour? There have been previous discussions here on Chianti tours that got great reviews. You will love Chianti, it's beautiful!

Hi!! If you want to spend a day in Chianti the best thing to do is contact Dario at [email protected]. He takes very small groups around the area and tells you so much history, info and curiosities. He showed us some etruscan tombs he had dug out with a friend of his and took us to see some villages that are still reachable only with white roads. The wineries he took us to are not open to the public and lunch was terrific! Oh yes we even went to Brolio and he told us many spooky legends about the place. He is a local and fluent in English. I don't know if he will be available as he is very well known and get booked up very quickly. However you can try, his e-mail is [email protected]. I think he is the guide that is on the initaly.com website