Archive for 'Localities'

Once you have browsed our gorgeous array of villas in Chianti, among the rolling green hills and endless vineyards, the pretty little villages and the famous wine areas for which this beloved destination in Tuscany is so well-known, you will likely be looking forward to experiencing Tuscan wine for yourself. And what an experience awaits!

From delicious wines with your meals in restaurants, to excellent bottles picked up while on a regular supermarket run to be enjoyed by the pool in your villa with a swimming pool in Tuscany, to wines sampled in a guided tasting at a vineyard, there are endless ways to appreciate the lauded wines of the region.

In fact, many years ago, a local told me that while lots of Italian wine is exported, the best Italian wine rarely leave the country. Instead, it is kept to be sold and enjoyed by Italians themselves. So, if you really want to sample the best of the best when it comes to wines in Chianti and at a lower price point than you can expect elsewhere (they haven’t needed to be imported somewhere else after all) then you have to enjoy them while in Tuscany.

Of course, once you’ve scheduled your visit to a winery (or two or three) and experienced it for yourself, then you might want to share this experience with loved ones or your favourite neighbour who watered your plants while you were away. Or you might simply want to stock up for the future. In either scenario, you might be wondering if it is possible to bring wine home from Chianti?

As fall draws closer, we have been thinking about ways to get cosy and really slow things down and relax on holiday in Tuscany. For those who book one of our villas in Tuscany, we recommend not only enjoying the harvest delights of delicious food and wine, hiking the gorgeous landscapes and exploring the beautiful towns and villages while the temperatures turn pleasantly mild and perfect for such excursions, and making the most of the smaller tourist crowds and queues at famous attractions but also heading to a spa town. Tuscany abounds in gorgeous spa towns and destinations with natural thermal springs and we have listed many examples in the past but today’s pick is Terme di Petriolo, an easy spot to add into an itinerary if you are staying in a vacation rental in Siena.

Oasi Di Benessere Bio is perched on a hill, 4km from the centre of Sassofortino, a tiny medieval hilltop village with a population of under a thousand, in the comune of Roccastrada, in the province of Grosseto. Boasting sweeping panoramic villas over the surrounding area - the rolling green hills and valleys for which Tuscany is so well-known, vineyards, olive groves, a patchwork of fields, and mountains in the distance – but a location that is just a short drive from nearby conveniences and incredible amenities and facilities, it is the ideal place to get away from it all in style and comfort. Leave the stresses and worries of daily life far behind but not all of civilisation: be able to readily head out and explore the wider region, and have the most stunning base to return to every day at the magical Oasi Di Benessere Bio.

Italy (and Tuscany, in particular) is a destination that has been renowned for spa breaks since ancient times due to the number of thermal springs located throughout the country. Those looking to properly unwind, relax, and soak their worries away, therefore, should book a villa in Tuscany as they will have several thermal spa towns to choose from during their time in the region. Among these, one that we have not mentioned at length yet is the pretty town of San Casciano dei Bagni.

Nestled in the famously beautiful and iconic Tuscan scenery of rolling green hills and golden valleys that distinguishes the Val d’Orcia as one of the most idyllic parts of the world, the town of San Casciano dei Bagni has famed waters. These thermal waters have been used for thousands of years for their therapeutic properties and attracted aristocrats from all over Europe in search of cures and relief for all sorts of ailments for centuries. This flow of wealthy visitors into San Casciano dei Bagni over time has also left a visual mark on the pretty town, endowing some buildings with elaborately decorative and especially lovely exteriors, further adding to her charms!

Have you still not yet managed to book a perfect vacation for this summer? Or are you thinking of an escape to Tuscany in September? Well, if either applies, we have the answer: Villa I Portici! This wonderful gem of a villa is a very pretty Tuscan property that has been renovated in recent years to an incredibly high standard with impossible attention-to-detail, care, and great taste. It boasts a private pool and air-conditioning, can sleep up to nine guests in three bedrooms with two bathrooms, and is conveniently located right in the heart of the pretty Chianti town of San Donato.

Not far from a large number of the most popular tourist attractions and destinations in Tuscany, Villa I Portici is just 40km from Pisa and her famous Leaning Tower, 41km from the gorgeous medieval walled town of Lucca, 43km from the town of San Gimignano with its ancient towers, 45km from Florence and her extraordinary museums, and 56km from Greve in Chianti. The Tuscan Coast is, furthermore, an easy distance away for readily planned day-trips. So, if you are really looking to make the most of your time in Tuscany, this incredible villa in Tuscany is a perfect base from which to explore the wider region.