Driving through Chianti

sarav

Member
Hello,

I'm looking at renting a car from the Florence Airport and then driving through Chianti to Siena and then back to the Florence Airport. I'm wondering if this itinerary looks too ambitious:

Rent car at 10:00
Greve in Chianti (including a 1.5 hour wine tour 11:00 - 12:30)
Panzano in Chianti
Castellina in Chianti
Radda in Chianti
Siena
San Gimignano
Florence Airport for 22:00

I don't know how long we would need at each place in Chianti. Is a half hour in each place long enough? I know it would be ideal to have a lot of time in Siena, so I don't know if this one day trip would be too quick or if there is something I should cut out.

Thank you!
 
It is a very ambitious plan - unless you're just planning on driving through most of Chianti, enjoying the scenery and landscape and only stopping to take some photos along the way to then reach and spend most of your time in Siena.

Considering you also have a wine tour planned until 12:30pm, your "day" isn't really starting until after you're done with that.
Where will you have lunch? I suggest a quick, but delicious panino at the Macelleria Falorni in Greve in Chianti located in the main piazza because anything else will take too much time out of your day.

You can then drive down past Panzano and stop in Castellina for a quick visit, then continue on to Siena -- the entire countryside here is quite beautiful, stop to take photos or just enjoy!
There is so much to see in Siena, you need at the very minimum 3 hours to visit the inside of the Duomo and then at least go to Piazza del Campo. I would also suggest a visit to the Palazzo Pubblico and a climb up the tower or just one.

Then you could drive back toward San Gimignano and have dinner there.... but I would be more for taking your time in Siena, have dinner and then drive back to Florence. If you have another day, you could take the bus from Florence to San Gimignano - http://www.discovertuscany.com/san-gimignano/how-to-reach-san-gimignano.html

Consider you need to factor in driving time and you'll be doing Chianti on a two lane road that has many curves. So speed at the most on some stretches is 70kph, more often around 50. That's why I suggest cutting stops in Chianti and just making your way down (it will likely take you more than an hour from Greve to Siena, even with minimal stops).
 
Is it worth Renting a car?

Hi Lourdes,

I would like to spend 3-4 days in Tuscany, basing myself in the Chianti Region. I would like to rent a car to visit different small villages. I would love to see Siena, Volterra, a few other small villages, than head to Cinque Terre and Fosdinovo with the car. It seems that towns like Siena do not allow cars? Am i being too ambitious to also drive to Cinque Terre and Fosdinovo? Are the roads difficult to navigate for first time Italy drivers? Or would it be best to just rely on public transport which I hear is not always reliable.

Thank you for your help!

Meagan
 
driving in CT

Buongiorno,

Whereas I would totally encourage you to have a car while driving in Tuscany - especially the Volterra, Fosdinovo and Val d'Orcia area - so you can enjoy the scenery, the small towns and the traditions I would not suggest it for dealing with Cinque Terre.

The beauty of CT are the small towns and really getting to see them from the sea or hiking them will give you the best perspective. Look at these articles which will give you an idea of how to navigate the area:
https://www.discovertuscany.com/cinque-terre/

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
12 hours in Chianti region

Hello Lourdes,

You seem very knowledgeable about the Chianti region, and I was hoping you can help me make a great 12 hour itinerary driving through the Chianti region.

Some useful information:
I will be arriving in Florence on a Sunday evening, and leaving on Thursday morning of the same week. I hear that many museums, stores, restaurants are closed on Mondays in Florence, therefore I was planning to visit the Chianti region on Monday. I will have a car, and I was planning on driving down the SR222 from Florence to Siena, stopping by Greve, Panzano, and Castellina. I was also planning to have either lunch at 1pm or supper at 8pm at Antica Macceleria Cecchini. I would have liked to visit San Gimignano as well, but it is not crucial I do.

My questions:
Is Monday a good day to travel Chianti, or will I be facing the same issue as in Florence, with most stores and restaurants closed?
How would you plan out these 12-14 hours driving through Chianti? I will be returning to Florence for the night.
Do you think I should enjoy Lunch or supper in Pazano?
Do you suggest anything I should add, remove or modify in my planning?

Thank you very much for your input, it will be greatly appreciated!
 
preparing a one day itin in Chianti

Buongiorno,

I suggest you start by reading this article which really gives you a good start on what an itin could look like for one day: http://www.chianti.com/itineraries-in-chianti/one-day-in-chianti.html

I also suggest you have a look at this article - which has you starting your itin in Impruneta, there is a box which give you an idea of what you can do from here - and the time it will take you to complete the itinerary...starting from Impruneta is really one of my favorites - because it includes some well know towns but also so more hidden places.
https://www.chianti.com/itineraries-in-chianti/impruneta.html

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
12 hours in Chianti region

Thank you for the reply and for the suggestion!

I have made up my itinerary, and I am quite happy with it. However my main concern is the fact that I will be doing this on a Monday. Do I have reason to be concerned that Mondays aren't the best day to visit these regions or are they like any other day? I know that many museums and restaurants/stores are closed on Mondays in Florence.

Thank you for your help!

Danio
 
Monday MORNINGS will be like that everywhere in Italy.
Because shops are open on Saturdays, they take their sweet time getting back to work on Monday -- but by afternoon ALL shops are generally open.

This doesn't apply to restaurants, who follow a different schedule. They can have their closing day of the week on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Generally, in any small town, they will not all close on the same day so you should always have an option!

As far as museums, there are many open on Mondays in Florence -- it is just that the UFFIZI and ACCADEMIA are both closed on that day. So we generally have to remind visitors to plan to visit other museums on that day - here's a list: https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-museums/open-on-mondays.html

As far as your itinerary in Chianti, if you want to visit specific museums, you should double check opening hours for them to be sure they will be open on Mondays. Many of the smaller museums during the summer are open all the time, while many are also open just on the weekends. If you need help in checking, let us know more or less which ones you aren't sure of and we can help!
 
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