Would you choose San Giminagno or Castellina in Chianti as base for northern Tuscany?
 

We wish to stay in either to see Florence and do some touring around in March. We have a car and will be there for 2 days-only one day in Florence. Which of these 2 towns would you choose as base?

Castellina-in-Chianti is a great location for exploring the region and is in a beautiful area, too. I'm not sure how green it will be in March, but it is an exceptionally pretty area. We stopped by San Gimignano, and it seemed to be further away for exploring the region. Although you can't really go wrong with either one, I think Castellina is a better and more convenient choice.

Have I understood your question correctly? You are staying a total of two days in Tuscany, one in Florence and one in San Gimignano or Castellina to tour northern Tuscany? Two days in Florence alone are barely enough, and two additional days in northern Tuscany will only scrape the surface. I would suggest you rethink your plans and give more time both to Florence and to Tuscany.

We are staying 3 days in another location in southern tuscany and then wish to move north,closer to Florence, to see some of northern Tuscany. We are breaking it up so there is less driving each day. We may stay longer than 2 days if the weather isn't good enough to see cinque terre (I was planning 2 nights there.)

I would actually choose San G, but I don't base my recommendation on location. San G has more to offer in ways of restaurants and such, and would be a great place to come home to after a day of exploring...it would give you an opportunity to enjoy a long leisurely dinner and drink wine without having to worry about driving home.

I don't want to give you the impression that Castellina doesn't have restaurants - it's just that San G seems to have more of a selection and has a little more "going on" than Castellina.

We stayed in a TINY town about 20 kms outside of Siena, and while the location was fabulous we really wished we had stayed somewhere with more options for our evenings after a day of exploration.

Sorry to put a damper on your trip, but we went to this area of Tuscany in March & it rained & was COLD every day. Perhaps it was the weather, but we thought San G was uncharming & unattractive.

CFW:Did the poor weather make you feel that way about more towns than San G? Or was it particular to this town? Would you recommend winter coats for this time of year? Or was it unseasonably cold when you went? We will be there in the latter half of the month.

I am not sure if I understand you correctly. Are you planning to stay in either SanG. or Castellina and visit Florence from there? You must be joing! Why would you do that? Why not stay in Florence if you want to see Florence? There is so much to see, and so little time! why would you want to spend your valuable time driving? In March, Tuscany will look nothing like the photographs. No wildflowers, no sunshine . . . Think about it.

You'll need raincoats & warm sweaters underneath. I think the weather is generally rainy in Tuscany in March, which is why it is so green then. I don't know if we would have liked San G any better any other time of year. We just did not find the villages in Tuscany charming. We love France, love Spain, but for some reason we did not have the same feeling in Tuscany. For the short time you have, & given the time of year, I'd stick to Florence.

We went to Italy last March and spent 4 nights in San Gimignano. The weather was brisk, but sunny - no rain at all - and we loved staying there. We left every day and returned about 5:00. We found a wonderful restaurant and liked it so much we ate dinner there every night. And we loved our hotel. One day (it was a fair/ market day - or maybe a feast day) we spent the whole day there. Lots to see. I can't talk about Castellina in Chianti as we did not get there, but I can highly recommend San Gimmingano from our experience!

I'd definitely prefer Sand Giminagno to Castellina for a base.

The idea of staying there and only doing a day trip to Florence is not so bad as some might think. Some people love busy cities -- others prefer the quiter villages -- particularly at night. If I had only two or three nights to do this -- I think I'd chose staying in San Giminagno and visiting Florence in the day, also.

About that last post -- you know that famous beach in Tuscany called "Sand Giminagno".

Great beach -- got a terrific tan there.
((c))

Brahmama:Which hotel and restaurant in San Gimignano did you love and why?

Thanks Patrick, we live in a big city and have no desire to stay in one while on vacation. Prefer the charm and calm of a small town.

Hotel La Cisterna is lovely. Ask for a room with a balcony and a view of the valley. The restaurant at the hotel is very good ,too- also has a beautiful very Tuscan view.

Look at google for the website of San G. Also do a search on this forum.

Yes it was the La Cisterna! I think it was room 58. Wonderful view.and a gorgeous sunset. Wish I were there right now!
We ate at Cheriberi - just a short stroll from the hotel. We also enjoyed our meals at the hotel - but Cheriberi treated us like regulars.
Happy traveling in Italy!

Put me down as a dissenter on San G. I didn't like that town at all. Way too touristy and almost Disney-esque. Castellina, on the other hand is v. nice and is a good base from which to explore the beautiful chianti region.

I would suggest San Gimignano. You will be away from the town during the day when the day-trippers are there and in the evening, it is charming. We ate a several good restaurants in SG but had more difficulty finding a place to eat in Castellina. Castellina is charming but pretty dead at night - especially in March, I imagine.

sera, out of curiosity, how many nights did you spend in San Giginagno? Or are you basing your opinion of its touristiness as a day tripper? In my opinion, mamc, has accurately described it. We didn't know that SG was even supposed to be that touristy until our third and final day there when we returned in the middle of the afternoon to find it swarming with tourists. Every other day we left for our day trips early and returned in the late afternoon and found it one of the most lovely villages ever to spend the evenings and nights in.

We loved staying in San G. We were there in July (height of tourist season). We cleared out during the day and explored other cities, got back after 4pm and the crowds were pretty much gone. A beautiful city with great people, cute shops and a decent restaurants. I'd def. stay there again!

For all of you recommending San G-did you have a car? If so, how complicated was it to get in and out of town (I understand you have to park far away)?

Yes, we had a car. It is not complicated to park. If you want to , you can drive into the town to drop your suitcase at the hotel. Then they will give you a free parking permit to use at the parking lot just out side the city wall. It is a very easy ten minute walk from the parking lot to the center of town. In fact we don't bother with driving into the town to drop our luggage. We just pull it along with us and enjoy the walk.

We think that S. G. is a great base to stay in for day trips in Tuscany- much easier than either Florence or Siena. We also like to spend a night in an agriturismo/vineyard in the area, preferrably one that also serves dinner- mmm, some of the best food that we have had in Italy

We stayed at the Santa Chiara on the outskirts of the town center. It was easy to park and about a 10 minute walk to the walled town. The Santa Chiara overlooks vineyards and olive groves and has a lovely garden and pool so you have the best of both worlds - a countryside hotel immediately adjacent to a town with a number of good restaurants - no need to drive after dinner.

We had a car and I do NOT rec. trying to drive into the center of town. We rented a room, Lovely-clean-large www.sangiapartments.com. Hubby waited in the car parked in front of the main entrance into San G. I wandered into the pastry shop and met the owner and got my key, they showed me how to drive in a back alley to get close to the apt.room. Put a placard in the car, unload the bags, then moved the car to park in an outside lot. We actually found street parking down the hill just a bit so parked for free!

We had a car and stayed at the Leon Bianco right on the main square (across from La Cisterna Hotel). Our hotel had a small garage. We drove right up to the front and they parked the car for us in the garage and got it out for us each morning. They had to juggle the 10 or so cars in the garage as they parked them bumper to bumper and almost door to door. We found it no problem driving up and down the narrow street to get there as there is so little traffic in the town itself. As I recall they sent us a permit in advance, or else we told the guy at the gate where we were going and then got a pass once we got to the hotel the first time.

Patrick:Would you recommend Leon Bianco? This is the first mention I've heard of it.

Yes. Actually we were originally planning to stay at La Cisterna but they couldn't confirm for the longest time and I do things way in advance. So I found Leon Bianca. It was quite small, but since it's opposite La Cisterna obviously the location is fantastic. Our room was nice, but didn't have as much character as I suspected the rooms at La Cisterna to have. I loved the parking deal, and breakfast was very nice. We didn't have a balcony, but our room had a pretty view out the back and towards the countryside. That was in 1997, so perhaps my information is a little dated. At that time I did faxes, not internet, so I don't even know about booking.

Thanks Patrick. I have sent an email to Leon Bianco. Crossing my fingers to get a reply soon.

Patrick, just one night in June in San G. and that was enough. The throngs never seemed to abate. And I just loved the chianti region much more -- just idyllic.

Considering this may be only 2 days, San G. is not the place I would recommend. As long as you have a car, I would avoid any town as busy and touristy as San G. Even though you won't see many Americans in March, European bus tours will still be visiting.

Plus, the drive to and from San G. isn't that special. This isn't the most lush part of Chianti. However, the area around Castellina In Chianti is glorious. There are many wonderful little towns 20 minutes-or-less away from Castellina, on all sides, worth exploring, and the drives are among the most beautiful and scenic.

Driving at night is much easier than you think and driving in and out of Castellina is a breeze.

Has anyone stayed at the Hotel La Locanda Di Quercecchio in San Giminagno? We're considering staying there for a week in September, but would love any comments any of you might have. We'll have a car.

I thought RDixon is talking about a place to spend two nights but spend the one day in Florence. I fail to see what difference it makes if there are a lot of other little towns worth exploring since they will be in Florence all day. And it is very doubtful that they will encounter any tour busses in San Gimignano between the time they leave early in the morning and the time they return late in the day. Yet when they do return, the cafes will be buzzing and some nice shops will still be open, as well as several really nice restaurants to choose from. But it is interesting what you learn here. Until today I never even realized that San Giminagno is in Chianti.

NYCFoodSnob: You're exactly right about the area around San G. It isn't picturesque at all. And it seemed like a bit of a drive to anyplace interesting.

Patrick, you're in a very defensive mood today. What gives, precious? This board is called "fodors" and not "Patrick answers every thread best." Everyone is entitled to an opinion here. So, calm down, sweetie.

It's awfully ugly here in NYC so I should be in a lousy mood but I'm not. Talk of Tuscany makes me giddy.

San G. is most definitely in Chianti but the area around San G. is not the most scenic part of Chianti, a region of Tuscany most famous for its scenic drives and famous vineyards.

I believe half the fun of visiting the Chianti region is exploring as many small towns as possible; and with a car, it's quite possible to visit six towns in one day. Some are absolutely adorable. It's so easy to do, especially if you're well based and Castellina in Chianti is considered one of the best bases in the Chianti region. (This isn't just my opinion, dears.)

Castellina in Chianti is only 20-30 minutes south Florence on the S222. Not bad for a beautiful drive down a long and winding road. In March and April, the skies often get quite dramatic and the vistas are breathtaking especially in this section of Chianti. The same is not as true of the area around San G.

I like San G. and I always recommend at least one visit. But, it's not the most beautiful area in Tuscany.

ps Sorry, Budman, you're wrong. My word is always good but I could care less if it's last.

This is indeed an extremely interesting discussion. Since more seemed to be recommending San G over Castellina, I was going to book there. But now I'm not so sure. I think it would be nice to have choices of great restaurants right in town so we don't have to drive after dinner. And I'm getting the impression there is not many in Castellina. Anyway now I'm feeling thoroughly indecisive.



ROSEBROOK:I think if you type the room 'sangiroom' in the box and then search you will find a number of positive references to Locanda di Quercecchio.

I try to answer questions according to what the poster seems to be seeking, not necessarily my personal favorite. I failed to understand making a big deal about how scenic the area around SG is or how many charming villages there are to visit, as it seemed to me that has little or nothing to do with the question being asked. This particular poster obviously isn't going to have the time or apparently the interest in driving around for days exploring the area, so the comments don't really seem pertinent to the discussion. SG is not my favorite place in the area either -- and in fact I doubt if I'll even ever return. But as a "base" for a Tuscany first timer staying just two nights so he can go into Florence for a day and then return to a fairly lively and certainly pretty village -- I think it is perfect. I just don't get what many of the comments here have to do with answering the question. It's fine for us all to rant on and on about our favorite places -- but I don't believe in that, unless those rants are pertinent to the question being discussed. If someone says they love beach resorts, what is the point of my ranting on and on about how a particular mountain resort would be better? I prefer to aim my comments at making suggestions for what I think (and of course I can never really be sure) the person is looking for -- not what I'd do if I were there. There is a big difference much of the time.

NYCFoodSnob: Tell me about the great restaurants around Castellina (or elsewhere for that matter)?