Greve area May 21-27

H

Hyde

Member
Hi :)

My husband and I have booked an apartment in Greve for May 21st to 27th (Wednesday to Tuesday) this year. I am wondering if anyone could give us some ideas of places we need to see while we are there.

We are taking a tour on the 21st that will include San Gimignano and a little of Chianti on the way to the apartment. I do love wine but he doesn't drink. We love food!!

We will be hiring a scooter for most of the time we are there so we are mobile. Is Pisa a viable day trip? That's the furthest place of interest for me at this point and I mainly wanted to explore the small towns around Greve and maybe get to Siena.

But I am also being told that this is supposed to be a 'holiday' and my husband does not want to rush from place to place.

We intend to visit the market in Greve on the Saturday.

We are on a low to midrange budget.

Thank you for any suggestions.

Heidi
New Zealand
 
Ciao Heidi!
your trip is starting soon! If you have booked an apartment in Greve you'll be able to visit most part of the CHIANTI CLASSICO area, which is a lovely wine making area, rich with lush vines and olive groves.
Since you are getting to Greve at the end of May check the following website belonging to the wine producers, in the past years they have arranged CLASSICOE' (wine tastings and special openings) at the end of May:
http://www.chianticlassico.com/territorio/mappa/

Here you find the map of the wine estates and you may decide according to the distance you want to cover where you can arrive by your scooter. I don't know if you are familiar with driving a scooter but the streets in Chianti are lovely, panoramic but i am afraid you will not manage to cover pretty long distances, such as reaching Pisa.

Places to visit close to GREVE:
- PANZANO IN CHIANTI
- LAMOLE & VIGNAMAGGIO ESTATE
- CASTELLINA IN CHIANTI
- GAIOLE IN CHIANTI
- RADDA IN CHIANTI
- SAN CASCIANO
- the wonderful quaint romanesque chucrch of SANT'APPIANO
- PARCO DELLE SCULTURE DEL CHIANTI - http://www.chiantisculpturepark.it/

It is an open air museum where you can stroll among oak trees and find modern art sculptures along a pleasant walk.

Lots of castles!!!!!! Most of them have been transformed into resorts or wine making estates such as Brolio, Badia a Coltibuono, Vistarenni - if you search by name, you can find hours of when they are accessible to the public.

When you get to Greve, you can find a detailed local map about the roads and decide what your priorities are. I am sure that Chianti will keep you busy most of the time not only with wine!
Most wine making estates arrange extra virgin olive oil tastings with Tuscan bread or appetizers with cheeses and meat curds.

If you wish to get to Siena, I would suggest you to test your driving resistance first on a pleasant day in the surroundings like MONTEFIORALLE and as far as BADIA A PASSIGNANO then you can decide whether to reach Siena by scooter or (maybe better!) by bus.

Let me know if there is anything else I can point out for you
have a safe trip to Tuscany
a presto
elena :-)
 
Hi
We are in Greve and it is beautiful. We were told at the tourist office that no buses go to Siena from here and I can't gind a website to confirm this. Can I ask for a link if anyone knows for the buses?
Grazie
Heidi
 
Ciao Hyde,

Unfortunately it is true - there are no buses that connect Greve all the way down to Siena.
The reason seems to be because Greve is part of the province of Florence, and Siena is in another province :confused:.... doesn't make sense but that's how it seems to be.
While there are buses from Greve that take you down to Panzano/Castellina and some buses from Siena that reach Castellina and some near Panzano, the schedules don't match well. You are better off returning to Florence and then catching the direct bus from here to Siena, it will be faster!!

This is the bus line that goes from Florence down to Greve and Panzano, sometimes to Castellina:
http://www.acvbus.it/orari/365.pdf
and this the bus between Florence and Siena: http://www.discovertuscany.com/attachments/SITA_Firenze-Siena.pdf
 
I support any efforts to slow down - something I try to get across to many with this forum is to try to do a little less and you'll end up enjoying what you do see and do more just because there is so much and it takes time to see a lot of it!!

Italy is small compared to the US, for example, but it is CONCENTRATED with things you can see and do - as I'm sure you're discovering every day :) Have FUN!
 
Thank you! We ended up hiring a scooter and riding it down to Siena. Thanks also for winery advice. Today we went to the market and brought (way too much) street foos. And porchetta for dinner. Yum!! Now I have a question about walking but will check threads first.
 
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