Thanks for the Giovanni recs everyone, just booked a reservation there. We’ve also booked dinners at L’Ortone, Buca Lapi, and Ristorante Buca Mario. Will report back
Unbelievably packed in July, like a college football bowl game. Plus they had record breaking really intense heat wave in 2023.
I was there in September 2023, it was still crowded
in spite of the crazy summer heat.
But you’ll have a great time!
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Get out into the Tuscan countryside if you want to get away from the crowds. Some of the hill towns will get crowded during the day (San Gimignano especially), but usually clear out by the evening. I’ve enjoyed a couple great dinners at Osteria del Conte in Montepulciano, Osteria Leone in Bagno Vignoni, and Enoteca del Duca in Volterra
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I’ll be walking the Via Francigena from Pavia to Rome😀. I’ll get a healthy dose of the Tuscan countryside. If there are any towns along the path that you’re familiar with, I’m happy to note them down to pay extra attention!
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I’ve done a couple of similar treks in Northern Spain and I’m interested in any information on Via Francigena.
Apologies as I’ve no reccos here, but am wishing you well.
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It looks like it goes through Bagno Vignoni. Great little town, there are thermal baths you can swim in and I would do dinner at Osteria Leone mentioned above. Also looks like it goes through Lucca, I have not been there personally but heard good things.
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Lucca is beautiful and well worth a visit. It still has its city walls and is very charming. There is a great piazza defined by the contours of an old Roman amphitheatre: Piazza dell'Anfiteatro - Wikipedia
We had a delicious lunch at Buca di San Antonio.
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Perfect! I’ll be doing a rest day in Lucca, so I’ll certainly want to dive as much in as I can
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Lucca is small enough to roam in one day. The Chiesa di San Michele in Foro church is really beautiful. There is also an exceptional mummy of San Davino inside.
Sounds great, in Tuscany you are going trough many cool places. I am not sure if you will be staying strictly on path or you will have transportation. One restaurant that is right on the path that I highly recommend is Futura Osteria in Monteriggioni.
there is a pilgrim hostel right next to it
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Wonderful!!! Thank you so much!
Good wine tasting inside the walls of Monteriggioni:
The Montechiaro estate is further east of Siena that produces Chianti Colli Senesi, but the family owns this hotel and you can taste their offerings and purchase wine there. I served some of their wines at my wedding in Monteriggioni.
I also really enjoyed Tenuta Villa Trasqua, north of the Autostrada, which is the border of the Chianti Classico zone (Castellina in Chianti subzone):
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I have a couple of rules I follow when traveling in Italy. Number 1 is to follow @Riccardo_Campinoti’s recommendations without hesitation.