Tuscany is my favourite part of Italy so far, especially the UNESCO listed site of
Val d'Orcia described in my previous post. But the more famous region of Chianti certainly lives up to its reputation too, and a trip to Tuscany should not be a quick drive through this beautiful countryside.
There are a couple of villages/towns worth stopping in in Chianti, with Greve in Chianti probably the most famous as its considered the "gateway" to the Chianti region from Florence. Others include Gaiole in Chianti and Radda in Chianti etc, and the latter was where I decided to spend more time in.
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| Tourist Information Centre in Radda in Chianti |
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| Views from Radda in Chianti |
All these villages are small, and so is Radda in Chianti. You can probably finish walking the streets of Radda in like 15 minutes! So "stopping" in the villages of Chianti for a night or two usually means staying in one of the many bed & breakfasts, farmhouses, vineyards etc scattered around these villages. Of course, from Radda in Chianti itself, being perched on a hill, you can get fantastic views of the countryside, and the ambience of the whole place is really laidback. I stayed in
Fattoria Poggerino, a family-run vineyard cum B&B some 2km from Radda. Set in their traditional stone house handed down from their ancestors, the setting is fabulous. Even right from the house, I could get beautiful sunrises and sunsets. And all the while sipping their Chianti Classico. What an enjoyment!
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| My B&B house! |
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| You can rent a scooter to tour the countryside |
I'm sure the various accommodations around Chianti all offer equally enchanting experiences. The point is that one can, and should be enjoying the sights of Chianti/Tuscany by basing oneself in one of these homey establishments and then taking excursions out. Of course, all these is best done with a car, though those intending to do wine tasting tours have to manage it properly, For solo travelers, another option is renting a scooter like the Vespa. So you could take a bus from Florence to Radda in Chianti (or one of the other villages) and then rent a scooter to tour around. Do note that bus schedules are quite limited though.
For wine enthusiasts, landscape photographers, B&B/farmstay lovers, and generally anyone who just loves the countryside, check out Chianti and Tuscany!
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| Chianti wine country |
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| View of Radda in Chianti from Fattoria Poggerino |
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| Under the Tuscan Moon - Dawn view from Fattoria Poggerino |
