What to do

Apart from the on-site activities, swimming, tennis, boules, walks or lazing by the pool or in the garden, there is a wealth of historic places, beautiful countryside, villages and wineries to explore.

Within easy reach are the many hill towns and villages for which Tuscany is famous. Just 10 minutes away is the busy little fortified town of Castellina in Chianti, a centre for wine production, with several good restaurants and food shops selling fresh local produce. All around are farms and wineries, any of which will happily sell a bottle or case of their own Chianti Classico wine or home produced extra virgin olive oil.

  • The pool and swings at La Bagnaie

  • The walled village of Monteriggioni is only ten minutes away. Its towers still “stand like soldiers” as Dante wrote eight hundred years ago.

  • Castellina in Chianti, our local village, is one of the ancient Chianti League towns at the heart of Chianti Classico winemaking. It is only 10 minutes away, with a variety of small artisan shops, restaurants, bars, supermarket and a prize winning gelateria. There are often concerts in the Piazza on summer evenings.

  • San Gimignano, clearly visible from our garden, is only 20 miles away. Famous for its towers that make it look like a mini Manhattan as you approach. A magnificent, typical, fortified hill top town built in the ninth century on a site lived on since the time of the Etruscans.

  • Colle di Val D’Elsa is 10 miles away. A fortified town spread along a high and narrow ridge. Its new town has been developed at the foot of the ridge and is now a major centre for high quality crystal glassware.

  • Florence is a living a museum, to be visited and escaped from at the end of the day. More architecture, churches, paintings, statues, souvenir stalls and incredible shopping than almost anywhere in the world.

  • Siena, just 12 miles away, with its black and white cathedral and its unique shell shaped piazza ‘il Campo’. This is where twice yearly, the famous ‘Palio’ bare-backed horse race is held. Siena has excellent shopping and dining in its ancient, shady streets.

  • A little further away, but within easy reach, are Arrezzo, Cortona, Greve, and the hill towns of southern Tuscany. Montalcino, famous for its Brunello wine, Montepulciano, Pienza and more.

See our location page for more places within easy reach