Guide of Siena Itineraries Siena : the Siena Chianti Area, Italy

Siena Siena : The Siena Chianti Area, Italy

This itinerary, dedicated to Chianti, offers you some of the prettiest places in the area, that can be visited in 2 or more days. You can use you hotel in Siena as your base, or you can stay in each place, choosing one of the several bed & breakfast places in Chianti, country relais, or a manor house hotel in Tuscany.

Monteriggioni

This village is a few kilometers from Siena and is famous for its ancient walls, a perfect example of Medieval architecture, built around 1200 and which is almost perfectly intact today. A short distance from Monteriggioni, there is also another place that must be visited: The Abbadia Isola, a Benedictine monastery that was founded in the year 1000, and where you can see a pretty Romanesque church.

Colle di Val d’Elsa

The road that connects Siena with the Val d’Elsa is worth a visit just in itself. While driving along the Via Cassia up to the eastern peaks of the Montagnola, you cross oak and holm-oak woods, olive groves, vineyards with wonderful views. Once you have gone past Monteriggioni you arrive at Colle di Val d’Elsa, the ancient village built on the top of a hill from where you will enjoy a breathtaking view. The village is divided into Colle Alta, the Medieval part and Colle Bassa, which is famous for its craftsman-made crystal.

Gaiole in Chianti

This is a very pretty village just a short distance from Siena, surrounded by hills full of olive groves and holm-oak woods and imposing Medieval fortified castles. One of the castles you must visit is Spaltenna, just outside Gaiole, where you can visit the ancient Pieve di Santa Maria, Vertine just two km from the town, the Barbischio Castle, the Meleto Castle and the badia di Coltebuono.