An adventure under the Tuscan sun

Tour Itinerary

 

You'll love this tour on which you'll explore fascinating Tuscany: the heart of Italy. After starting in Florence, you'll enjoy 8 nights in a fabulous Chianti village, venturing out each day to experience and savour all that this wonderful part of Italy offers. Tuscany has some of Italy's best food and wine, as well as some of its prettiest towns and villages. Cuisine, rolling hills, history, culture... Tuscany has got it all, and this is the best tour of Tuscany!

 

Day 1 – Florence: a Renaissance welcome

Guests will be arriving at different times and we will be on hand to assist when you check into our hotel and to help orient you. You will then have free time until 5:00 pm when your fellow travellers will join us for welcome drinks and a chance to talk about our time together in Tuscany. Later you will take an orientation walk to familiarise you with the local area which will finish at a lovely traditional Tuscan Italian restaurant for our first meal together, and an opportunity to get to know the others who will be sharing this tour with you.

Inclusions: Welcome drinks, orientation walk

Meals: Dinner

 

Day 2 – Tuscany: our first view

Today begins with a terrific introduction to Tuscan cuisine, as you take a cooking class that commences in Florence's Central Market, where you'll learn about local food culture and help select the fresh ingredients you will use later in your lunch. You'll then go to the kitchen, where you'll help prepare a fabulous meal which you will then enjoy. Afterwards, you will be transferred to your hotel in Castellina in Chianti - which will be your home for the next eight nights - by private minibus; stopping on the way for a wine-tasting in a local wine estate. That night, you will share dinner with your fellow travellers in one of the town's lovely restaurants.

Inclusions: Florence cooking class, transfer to Chianti by private minibus, wine-tasting. 

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, wine-tasting.

 

Day 3 – Castello Brolio and Siena

After breakfast, you will drive through the wonderful Tuscan countryside to Castello Brolio: one of Chianti's most famous castles - where you will enjoy a tour and taste some of the castle's own wines, before dining in the Osteria. After lunch, you'll head to Siena: Florence's historical rival for hundreds of years, where you'll take a two-hour guided tour before enjoying some free time to explore the town independently. On the way home, you'll stop at a rustic restaurant where you can choose your evening meal. 

Inclusions: Guided tour of Castello Brolio, wine-tasting, guided tour of Siena

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine-tasting

 

Day 4 – Medieval towns and a historical abbey

Today begins with a visit to the well-preserved fortified town of Monteriggioni. You can explore the old streets and climb the walls; imagining life in days gone by when the town played a pivotal role in the on-going battle between the city-states of Siena and Florence. After that, you'll drive to gorgeous little San Gusme: so well-preserved and photogenic. After wandering the town, you'll partake in a great lunch in its renowned restaurant, before we move on to Badia a Coltibuono: a historic 11th-century stone abbey surrounded by 800 hectares of forests with great views across the valley. A guided tour of the Abbey is enlightening and will be followed by a tasting of some of the Abbey's extensive wines. 

Inclusions: Visits to Monteriggioni and San Gusme, guided tour of Badia a Coltibuono, wine-tasting

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine-tasting

 

Day 5 – Cooking and opera in the Chianti countryside 

It's a short drive this morning to Radda: one of Chianti's many pretty little villages, where you can wander the shops and enjoy a coffee and perhaps a cannoli. Then it's off to imposing Castello Meleto for a guided tour of the castle and a wine tasting, before resting over lunch in the castle's ristorante Later you'll enjoy a drive through the beautiful Chianti countryside on the way to a unique cooking school in a quaint farm setting where you'll learn to cook a typical Tuscan meal composed of five courses: an antipasto, a homemade pasta dish, a meat course, a side dish and a dessert,  which you will later enjoy with some local wine while professional artists perform a concert of beautiful arias of the Italian Opera as the sun sets over the stunning farmland.

Inclusions: Visit to Radda, guided tour of Castello Meleto, wine-tasting, cooking school with operatic performance

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, wine-tasting

 

Day 6 – San Gimignano splendour

It's an easy start to the day today, with most of the morning free to enjoy Castellina. Late in the morning, you'll drive to an amazing family-owned winery in the hills near San Gimignano where you'll learn the family's history and approach to wine-making over a lovely light lunch and wine-tasting. Then it's off to San Gimignano itself. Encircled by 13th-century walls, San Gimignano is renowned for its skyline of medieval towers. You'll enjoy a guided tour and a little free time for independent exploration before a drive through more of that gorgeous Chianti countryside with a stop in little Barberino Val d'Elsa where you can enjoy dinner in a great little local ristorante.

Inclusions: Wine-tasting and lunch, guided tour of San Gimignano

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine-tasting

 

Day 7 – Market day and more castles

It's market day in Castellina. You'll be able to wander the stalls in the town's main piazza looking for bargains, before visiting another local castle: Castello Verrazzano, for wine tasting and a light lunch in the Chianti tradition. After lunch, you'll be taken to Montefioralle: one of the most ancient villages of the Chianti area and considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. After free time to explore the town, you'll end the day back Castellina, maybe on the terrace with a cool drink as the sun sets on another great day under the Tuscan sun.

Inclusions: Visits to Castello Verrazzano and Montefioralle, wine-tasting

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine-tasting

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Day 8 – Lunch with a view

After a relaxing Sunday morning, you're off on the winding road up to the small hamlet of Lamole which is not known for much except an excellent restaurant with views to die for where you'll enjoy lunch. The menu is truly Tuscan, reflecting the tastes of the region, whilst offering something for everyone. As you digest your meal, you'll be taken to Volpaia, a well-preserved fortified village of medieval origin which is now one of the best wineries in the area and where you can enjoy tasting its products including the famous Chianti Classico. After heading home for a rest, later that evening you will visit another great local restaurant for dinner.

Inclusions: Visits to Castellina, Lamole and Volpaia, wine-tasting

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, wine-tasting, dinner

 

Day 9 – Those classic Tuscan hills

World-famous Montepulciano awaits you today. This medieval and Renaissance hill town, sitting high on a limestone ridge, is a major producer of food and wine and you'll learn all about this and its history on a two-hour guided tour, before a short drive to Pienza which you can explore at your own pace and grab a bite to eat. Then it's back in the minivan for a scenic drive through those iconic green rolling hills of the Val d’Orcia which feature on an untold number of calendars and posters. You'll have time to pause for a wine-tasting in a farm near Montalcino: home of the celebrated Brunello. The memories of the day will stay with you on the drive back home.

Inclusions: Visits to Montepulciano, Pienza and Montalcino, guided tour of Montepulciano, wine-tasting

Meals: Breakfast, wine-tasting

 

Day 10 – Farewell Chianti, hello Florence

This morning you’ll be taken to nearby Castello Vicchiomaggio for a guided tour of the vineyards, the historic cellars and the castle’s Italian Gardens. After the tour, lunch will be served in one of the castle’s Renaissance dining rooms and you’ll enjoy a tasting of “the four classics”: Chianti Classico, Chianti Classico Riserva, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione and golden nectar limited edition extra virgin olive oil with special Tuscan casalingo bread. Then you’ll return to Florence for some free time at your own leisure. As the day draws to a close, you'll meet up again with your fellow travellers over an aperitivo and the chance to share memories and anecdotes from your wonderful adventure under the Tuscan sun. The conversation can continue over a final dinner in yet another lovely Florentine restaurant and a final glass of one of those amazing local wines.

Inclusions: Transfer to Florence by private minivan, aperitivo

Meals: Breakfast, dinner.

 

Day 11 – Final farewells

This is your last morning in Florence. Your hosts will be available to assist in your transfers to the airport or the rail.

Meals: Breakfast

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Download the tour itinerary here.

 

For further information, or to book a Viaggio Italia An adventure under the Tuscan sun tour, click here or contact us directly - you'll find our contact details here​.

 

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