Hello! I’m visiting Tuscany in May and am looking for a good “home base” in the countryside while I’m there for three nights. I would like to see Siena, take a cooking class, visit a winery and travel through several of the hill towns. I was initially planning to stay at a bed and breakfast in San Gimignano, but was told it might get boring quickly to stay there, especially since it’s further from Siena. I would love to stay in a farmhouse-style bed and breakfast not far from Siena, but when I do some research, I see mostly hotels in the city of Siena. Does anyone have any favorite B&Bs, wineries and cooking classes in that area you could recommend? Any advice is much-appreciated!

St Gimn in the evening is magical, in fact nicer than during the day when the buses turn up.

There's a wonderful agriturismo in Pienza, south of Siena, where we stayed some years ago. It is a converted farmhouse and barn. Our apartment used to the barn. Wonderful owners!

Golfbuddy, do you remember the name of it?

Here is a bunch of nice places:
Look at Fattoria Tregole and at Terre di Nano:


BOB’S FAVORITE DIGS IN TUSCANY

A. RURAL LOCATIONS: All have parking and good food options nearby

1. SANT’ ANTONIO APTS. http://www.santantonio.it/ Lovely apartments
in a rural setting near Montepulciano—very helpful owner

2. Cretaiole Agriturismo http://www.cretaiole.it/ Good value for families
Isabella also has 2 apts. in Castelmuzio for rent—wonderful—see her site.

3. Terre di Nano www.terredinano.com 100 to 155
Both rooms and apartments at rural Agriturismo near Monticchiello

4. Casanova di Pescille http://www.casanovadipescille.com/ 100E
Rural B&B 3 KM from famed San Gimignano—we loved the views of San Gim.

5. Fattoria Tregole www.fattoria-tregole.com 110E to 180E
Has both B&B and apartment accommodations. Near Castellina in Chianti

6. Agriturismo apts. near San Quirico— www.poggiolo.info/ About 110E

7. New historic B&B north of Pienza. http://www.camprena.it/index.htm
Site of filming for THE ENGLISH PATIENT About 90E for double

8. http://www.borgoargenina.it/index.html A special rural B&B in Chianti.
The lovely owner, Elena, will make you feel like family. 170E for double

B. IN-TOWN LOCATIONS: For walking convenience to shops & ristorantes.

1. Palazzo del Capitano www.palazzodelcapitano.com 170 to 210E
Very nice small hotel in center of San Quirico—perfect location to explore.

2. Vecchia Oliviera www.vecchiaoliviera.com/ 150 to 200E
Nice 4 star hotel at the gate into lovely Montalcino---has pool.

3. Palazzina Cesari www.montalcinoitaly.com 80 to 110E
Lovely small B&B in heart of Montalcino—great value—2 night stay minimum.

4. Locanda di San Francesco www.locandasanfrancesco.it 180 to 200E
Nice boutique B&B in a lovely location in Montepulciano—great reviews !

5. Politian apartments http://www.politian.com/ Good value apts. with
minimum stay of 3 nights in Montepulciano---helpful host---85E

6. Palazzo Ravizza www.palazzoravizza.it 170 to 250E
Very nice & popular hotel in Siena with parking.

You might try working this the other way around, which is to google up "cooking classes agriturismo Siena" and see if you can come up with a farm with lodgings. If you are very interested in food, you might not find it uninteresting to be on a Tuscan farm rather than in a tourist town.

San Gimignano is not in the most famously scenic area of Tuscany if that makes a difference to you. On the other hand, if you would interested to learn to cook dishes with saffron, it is definitely the place to be.

Several years ago we stayed at La Canonica di Cortine www.chianticortine.it. I recommend it highly. It is near the town of San Donato about halfway between Florence and Siena. It is a short drive to San G. They have a bed and breakfast section. A rental car is a must because it is out in the middle of nowhere, but the scenery of the vineyards and the Tuscan countryside is gorgeous. There are several small, family owned wineries nearby including Casa Sola right down the road. We also went to Dievole winery just north of Siena. They have a nice tasting room with glass walls overlooking the vineyards.

bookmarking

It was Cretaiole Agriturismo - bobthenavigator listed it. We all made pece (pasta) one night - the night we had a group cookout; and Isabella organized tours; one to Siena, another to a winery. We all received a bottle of red wine and a bottle of olive oil when we registered. Washer on premises for all guests to use; fireplace in our apartment, and wood was provided.

Thanks, everyone!!

I love this B&B near Florence: http://www.valdirose.com/en/homepage

It is a really special place where you feel like staying at a friends house.

We spent a week in Apt Le Logge at the Podere Lucignano Secondo agriturismo in June of 2014 and liked it a lot. Apt La Mangiatoia looked nice too. It is in a very rural area (you will need a rental car) but is only about 14 km to Siena and is close to other Chianti towns. Click on my name above and scroll down to the trip reports section to read my report which includes links to some pictures. BTW the owners offer a cooking class which we did not do but another poster on this forum (rosecity15) did and said it was good - she describes it in her trip report.

Here is a link to the agriturismo:

http://www.lucignanosecondo.it/

We stayed at a lovely place in Tuscany called Tenuta Santo Pietro. We based ourselves there and took day trips exploring vineyards, farms and even an Italian spa! The owners are wonderful and they also have cooking classes which were so much fun! I highly recommend checking them out.
http://tenutasantopietro.com It was the highlight of our trip to Italy!