Always reserve ahead, there never seems to be enough restaurant seats
around most of the year. Take a serious menu translator to enjoy a full dining
adventure. Here are some favorites.
Enoteca (wine
tasting hall) of Gallo Nero has a restaurant highly recommended. Inexpensive.TEL: 47154
Al Marsili Tel 47
154 Via del Castoro 3 between Duomo and via del Citta. Roast Boar/Riboletta
soup/spaghetti/mushrooms/veal scallopine/wide wine selection/excellent. Closed Monday.
Trattoria IL Carraccio
Tel: 41 165 In Siena face the town hall at the Campanile: point out your right arm to one
o’clock: head in that direction walk down the passage(Caseto di Sotto) Authentic, and
popular with the locals with almost no English spoken. Nice people: be gentle! Closed Wed.
Da Guido Vicolo Pier
Pettinaio 7 Tel: 28 0042 Closed first 3 weeks. July/Mon.Fashionable neighborhood, gorgeous
decor, old oil paintings, 15thC archways. Charcoal grills. Risotto. Pecorino cheese,
fabulous Chiant wines. Closed first 3 wks. July/Mon.
La Logge Via del
Porrione 33. Tel: 48 013 Rustic trattoria. Try Sienese bean soup, crostini, game, some
with truffles. Caciotta chesse, home produced. Avoid house wine. Reserve ahead. Closed
Sun.
Tullio ai Tre Cristi
Vicolo Provenzano 1/7. Tel: 28 06 08 Central but hard to find: ask for directions. Try
Riboletta, risotto with onions, omelets. Closed Mon/holidays.
Costa Piazza del
Campo 37. Tel: 280 614 Try the pizza della casa. Light snacks. Closed Wed. |
Outside of Siena to the north
ltri Tempi Dell’Hotel Villa
North of Siena 3 KM. Tel: 41 442 Villa terrace with views, cool garden
Fresh fish salad, tagliatelle.
Scacciapensieri Via
di Scacciapensiere 24 Tel: 41 442. 3 km. north of city center, using Siena Nord exit. Pici
alla senese. Hotel dining at its best. Closed Wed.
Osteria Gattton Bigio
Fonterutoli on the west side of the S222 near the castle. This is on
the road leading from Siena to Castellina-in-Chianti. Tel: 740 212. This small, simple
place has ravioli stuffed with fresh sage that is a trip to herb heaven. Closed Tuesday
and March.
Vignale Via XX
Septembre 23, Radda-in-Chianti. Tel: 738 093. Droves of visitors jam this upscale place in
Radda. Book early, dress smart. Closed Thur.
La Cantoneira di Vescine
On the road between Castellina-in-Chianti and Radda-in-Chianti.
Impeccible service, white tablecloth place. English spoken well. Fine dining. Closed
Monday.
La Torre Abbazia di Monte Oliveto Maggiore
(Buonconvento go S on the Via Cassia S2 go east from Buonconvento) LA TORRE
restored 16TH C tower simple and good. RESERVE 0 577 707 022 inexpensive S2 south of
Siena. Also splendid monastery to visit, illuminated manuscripts, see Grande Cloister with
frescos. |
| Choosing a Self-Catering Property
in Tuscany (back to top) Houses for Hire represents and offers the best of
the property management companies in Italy, each having a special area of operation: among
them Tuscan Enterprises, Posarelli, Casa Club and the largest, Cuendet (essential if your
search is wide-ranging.) Catalogs are free with the exception of Cuendet, which charges
$15 (payable to Houses for Hire). Although these companies each have their own specified
booking fees, Houses for Hire does not add anything to the listed cost of the rental: the
cost to you is the same as if you booked directly with the company. We also handle some
very special privately owned and managed properties including the dependencies at Calcione
Castle and several terrific rentals in the Chianti countryside north of Siena.
In Tuscany property rentals are of very high standard and of course they are priced in a
predictable way: you pay for what you get. There are excellent options in each price
range, however: mostly determined by amenities like pools and whether the property is
shared or completely private. Self-catering rentals include various choices: free standing
villas, part of an owner’s house, apartments on a farm estate, and holiday villages
where virtually everyone is on holiday. Knowing what to expect in each situation may help
you to define your preference. For more information see Choosing a Vacation Rental.
A copy of Michelin Map 420, Central Italy will
help you get oriented. The trick is to find a location that has the feel of Tuscany
without getting too mired in remote-access. Using your map study the curvy lines that mark
roads. You can be sure that the road to Volterra, for example, is a torturous switchback
in all directions. Hence Volterra is a haven for those wanting to avoid the traffic laden
high season but anathema for earnest sightseeing.
On a clock face, picture Florence in the center
and Siena at 6 o’clock. The Autostrada from Rome comes toward Arezzo at five
o’clock and continues straight to Florence. San Gigmignano, on the west, is at eight
o’clock. Drawing a triangle between these points roughly defines the Chianti Classico
region. Pisa lies at 9 o’clock, Lucca at 10 o’clock (with a muddled suburban
mass in that slice). Pisa and Lucca locations are advantageous but partly off the map of
our traditional notion of Tuscan landscape.
The A1 toll road connects Rome to Florence. It
enters Florence from the east side of the Chianti and along the route straddling Orvieto,
Montepulciano, Cortona and Arezzo. The A1 runs through the Val di Chiana: in itself wide
and undramatic. But it is a convenient location for touring these fascinating towns.
Scenery to the east of this point, the Appenines, is dramatic. On the west side of the A1
is Monte San Savino, with an Alpine character. The Rome-Florence train line services this
corridor as well, with excellent connections to both.
Bordering Chianti on the west is another major
highway, the toll free superstrada between Florence and Siena, a sixty mile stretch with
evocative hill scenery. Although the train service here is awkward, (Siena, Castellina
Basso, Poggibonsi, Certaldo, with a change to Florence), good bus service covers the
Chianti region. Commuting lanes into Florence are reserved to speed up bus travel. Siena
to Florence by bus is less than one hour.
If Florence plays a major role in your
touring agenda, stay close to the superstrada, perhaps no further south than the Sambuca
exit of the superstrada. The huge IPER COOP supermarket at Poggibonsi north exit is the
only reason to visit this otherwise unattractive industrial town. The infrastructure at
Poggibonsi is terrible: turns onto main roads from feeder secondary roads downright
dangerous. Avoid this area.
Places in the Florence suburbs are on offer with
various companies. Most are close to the city bus service. Short of staying in a hotel or
taking an apartment in downtown Florence, these rentals can’t be beat for travelers
wishing to immerse themselves in the considerable cultural charms of Florence while
avoiding the intense tourist atmosphere and frequent pollution. To add access to the
Chianti villages, stick to the southern suburbs of Florence.
Visualizing the scenery in the film Stealing
Beauty (made in Brolio) or The English Patient (Arezzo), you might want
to stay in the pristine Chianti countryside somewhere in the area of Greve (the largest
village), Radda, Gaiole, and Castellina. Vagliagli is a charming and gorgeous location for
remote privacy. All of these characteristic villages are within a 20-30 minute drive of
the superstrada and additionally have direct secondary roads to Siena. This is classic
Chianti countryside: hills covered with olive groves and vineyards, spectacular views with
each turn of the road, and virtually every property sits on a hill and has cosmic views.
Look for the word views in property descriptions if you want a ring side seat. Scattered
throughout are country inns and trattorias with outdoor dining under the stars.
Another good base is west of Florence in the
direction of Pisa Sud near Empoli, particularly south of this highway. Empoli has frequent
train service, while Montelupo has two morning trains (about 8:50 am and 10:50am, last
return at 8:05pm). These trains take 40 minutes to Florence and cost about $5 round trip.
Once arrived, Florence Centro Historico is within walking distance. This southern
route to Pisa also allows quick access to typical postcard perfect countryside and to San
Gigmignano, Siena and the Chianti, which are not so easily reached from Lucca and the
north. One of our properties, Castello di Montegufoni, sits
just outside Montespertoli and it enjoys perfect views and a super location.
Although not positioned well for visits to
southern Tuscany, Lucca is in itself an attractive walled town. From it one can
conveniently drive to the Versilian coast beaches at Forte di Marmi and to Pisa. The toll
road Florence-Lucca-Pisa runs east-west slightly to the north from Florence, with
Montecatini Terme, the famous European spa town, sitting in the mountain above.
Finally, I must mention the unique Sienese hills
that are carpeted by a green, velvety grass. Trees are rare in this region, which lies
south of Siena and runs west to Volterra. It has a beauty all its own and marvellous for
adding Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano wines to your tasting trips, but also
mysterious Etruscan ruins and scenery straight from a Tuscan mural at your local
trattoria! |
