I use Expedia.com, compare with the airlines.
Personally I never fly Ryanair, otherwise most are ok. Make sure to see if luggage is included in the prices or not.
Sorry thereās not much I can offer on those locations, except for some minor logistical comments on Siena.
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Note the train station is a fair distance from the city - for some itās too far to walk, for most itās too far to walk with luggage. Linked to this, depending on where you are staying in Firenze and Siena, it might be faster and more convenient to tale the autobus (or rather these inter-city buses are quaintly referred to as āPullmanā). The advantage of the bus is it goes from centre of city to centre of city, with often a small few additional options for stops. Itās listed as around 90 minutes. Travel Planner | Autolinee Toscane
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Have good walking shoes in Siena, as the centre is surprisingly hilly, including facilitating the use of outdoor escalators!
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If the (friday morning?) farmers market is still going in the old market square below Piazza del Campo, then if itās anywhere near still as good, itās well worth going. Overall Iād say best across the board quality Iāve encountered in an Italian market. Conversely the huge (twice-weekly?) one that sprawls across the city is absolutely mahoosive, yet with just a few exceptions, rather average to poor.
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The Piazza del Campo is touristy. If youāre happy in such an environment, it will be fine and a wonderful setting. For me it grated.
Hotels in Florence - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers
Trip to Florence and Rome - Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum - WineBerserkers
Thanks again all. Getting ready!
Where in Siena should we dine???
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Also, can you take a train from Siena to Rome? Easy?
Le Logge
La Compagnia dei Vinattieri
Tre filari for drinks
As far as I know, thereās no direct train from Rome to Siena. Either direct train to Florence and train/bus back down to Siena, or thereās a stop at a town somewhere in between.
Compagnia dei Vinattieri
Great food, superb service and a wonderful wine list.
They didnāt seem to have much stuff of interest by the glass, but the bottle list goes on and on, from very modestly priced bottles to top-shelf stuff. Tons of terrific wines.
Thanks, all. OK, we have a driver taking us from Florence to Siena as we are planning one or two vineyard stops on the way for tours and lunch. I would really like any suggestions on where to stop for a tasting and tour (picturesque over favorite producer in this case).
Fiance suggesting Chianti Castello do Verrazano and Montefioralle. Worth it or super touristy? better suggestions?
I have no experience on either one of them, but at least Castello di Verrazzano seems quite uninteresting based on how the wines are made - they seem pretty generic and modern.
Any reason why these producers?
Not having visited that many producers in the region, itās hard to really suggest good places to go if the winery appearance and its surroundings are the primary reasons for a visit. Furthermore, most producers just pour their wines, not set up a lunch table. It would make more sense to visit a winery first, then go to a restaurant for a lunch.
No reason to go to either of those except my fiancĆ© saw them in a travel book. Iād rather go someplace less modern and good quality but still lovely enough to keep her happy!
If you actually want to have some food to go with the wines, I heartily recommend going to Montenidoli. Theyāre not located in the heart of Chianti but in the outskirts of the region, just a mile away from the picturesque city of San Gimignano.
They donāt offer lunch nor do they have a restaurant at the premises, but they brought us all kinds of snacks, charcuterie, pastries, cheeses etc. to keep a group of people satisfied - and we were just two people!
Also a bunch of wonderful people, the almost 90-yo matriarch of the winery, Signora Elisabetta, is a real force of nature and the wines are some of the best and most honest you can get.
However, if you want to visit places in the heartland of Chianti Classico, I suggest checking out Candialle in Panzano; Tenuta Carleone, Val delle Corti or Fattoria Poggerino in Radda; or Castellāin Villa or San Felice in Castelnuovo Berardenga.
And basically all these places require you to book a visit since most of them are relatively small operations, so they need to arrange somebody to actually take care of you!
Went to both of these last week. Wine lists are deep on both but very little good value to be found right now. Food was OK at both. That said they are basically the only two restaurants worth visiting in Siena.
Whilst we ended up not eating in many, instead having lighter meals at the apartment (as we often do), Siena did rather disappoint us for food, with the exception of the superb weekly farmerās market, and a small place that was closer to the campo than Iād normally eat (being near a major tourist attraction is usually a recipe for overpriced rubbish), but was tucked away just enough. Nothing fancy, good food for lunch, plus some excellent beers that made a good food friendly alternative to wine. Prices high? Yes, banking is strong there, so I daresay it does elevate prices.
I guess we were browsing different parts of the wine list, because I had a hard time on deciding what to drink.
Went with Cantina Terlanās Vorberg 2017, which normally sells at 30-35ā¬ for the new vintage (2022) and it was something around 50ā¬. There were lots of superb wines between the price point of 40-150ā¬ at quite close to retail prices, often with older vintages.
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I think we just have different opinions on good value. I found tons of options at market plus 50%. The better value lists I found (outside Siena) were market or under.
Release price at winery or retail/ secondary market for scarcer wines?
Itās been 20 years since I went but loved Cane e Gato in Siena. Anyone been recently?
I base things on market. If you can find something in a restaurant below auction/market, youāre doing very well. Market + 50% isnāt a bad markup for a restaurant depending on the setting, but not what I would call good value from a wine perspective.