Why should you take tours from Florence to Tuscany?
Today I want to review what I think are the best three tours from Florence to Tuscany countryside. Italy (especially the northern part and Tuscany in particular) had a different urban development than any other country in the world. Here, in the Middle Ages, cities flourished thanks to trading, and the result is that every few kilometers you can find a historical city, that once was rich and powerful. Certainly, Florence came out as the winner, and it shows in its ridiculous number of amazing historical attractions, but all of Tuscany has countless other great cities and villages which are worth a visit. Add to this that Tuscany has the most beautiful countryside landscape in Italy, and it’s clear that visiting Florence without taking a look at the surroundings means wasting part of your trip. If you are looking for specific destinations inside Tuscany, I wrote articles about Pisa and Siena tours from Florence. For other destinations outside Tuscany, like the Cinque Terre, you can find more information in my page about day trips from Florence.
I was doing some keyword research to write this article on day tours from Florence to Tuscany, and I realized that people makes a lot of searches about “Florence to Tuscany distance” or “distance from Florence to Tuscany”. It would be the same as searching for “distance from San Francisco to California”. There is no distance between Florence and Tuscany: Tuscany is one of the twenty Italian regions and it’s the region that contains Florence, and Florence is the capital of Tuscany. Here is a link to Wikipedia about Tuscany, where you can clarify any doubt.
All this said, knowing the distances between the cities is useful to plan your tours from Florence to Tuscany: some agencies tend to fill their tours with too many things: don’t get in love with tours offering everything and then come back leaving one-star reviews because you didn’t have enough time in one place or another. The distance from Florence to Siena is about 60 Kilometers traveling South and the distance from Florence to Pisa is about 70 kilometers traveling to East. Both cities can be reached with a 1.5-hour drive, assuming you’re traveling on a coach. The Chianti area, famous for wine, is between Florence and Siena. Chianti is not an official region, it’s just the ancient name of this rather undefined area and, of course, the name of the wine that is produced in this same area (and that is well defined by law). The village of Greve in Chianti is considered the capital of the Chianti area, it’s a village built around a beautiful triangular square which once was a very important market. The three top tours from Florence to Tuscany countryside that I’m going to describe have in common a stop in this wonderful village, where you can explore the typical shops in the main square. Don’t miss the opportunity to buy typical cold cuts of pork at one of the most famous Tuscan butcher’s: the Antica Macelleria Falorni. If you join one of these tours on Saturday, you will have the added bonus of the weekly market in Greve in Chianti, another opportunity to shop around.
#3: Full day wine tour from Florence to Tuscany
Wine lovers, this is for you. It’s the best of the wine tours from Florence to Tuscany and allows you to see all the main areas of production: Greve and Castellina in Chianti, Montepulciano and Montalcino (home of the Brunello, the most famous Italian wine). You will taste six samples of wine in two different sessions, and will have (included in the price) a typical Tuscan lunch with fresh ingredients. Add that all of this will happen in wonderful landscapes and that the group is limited to eight people: in other words, it’s a five-star tour from Florence to Tuscany. It is expensive, if compared to other tours from Florence to Tuscany, but well worth it.
A minibus will pick you up at your hotel (if in central Florence), or you can join the group in Piazza Della Repubblica, the tour starts at 8:30 am. The first stop is in Greve in Chianti, the village I described in the introduction to this article. Then with a short drive you will reach Castellina in Chianti, where you will be offered a visit of a historical wine cellar, getting to know the particulars about wine production. You will then be headed to a vineyard for wine tasting with samples of local food… and we are not even half way! The next stop is a farm in the Val d’Orcia hills, a UNESCO site featuring the most typical Tuscan landscape. It’s time for your second wine tasting of the day, including the famous Brunello di Montalcino, accompanied by a regional lunch. After visiting the cellars of the farmhouse, you will head to Montalcino, home of the Brunello wine, where you will have time to walk and eventually shop around, and then to Montepulciano, yet another gorgeous village (and another wine production area) where I suggest you taste some pecorino (not included), the famous Tuscan cheese, in one of the many groceries. Finally, you will get back to Florence around 7:30 pm. The bus will drop you off at Piazza Della Repubblica, where the tour started, or at your hotel, if in central Florence, at around 7:30 pm. If you are anxious to know everything about wine in a wonderful landscape, book this tour now!
#2: Chianti tour from Florence with wine tasting
This is a tour for who loves wine, countryside landscapes, and small historical villages. It’s a small group (up to eight people) relaxing tour, slow paced, with not too much time spent traveling on the minibus, because it won’t go too far from Florence. It will give you a chance to taste Chianti wine in the area where it is produced, and to also see other aspects of life in a small village. Compared to the other top tours from Florence to Tuscany countryside, this one doesn’t include lunch, but it’s less expensive than the previous tour and because of this it deserves the number two spot in my comparison. It is shorter than the other two tours from Florence to Tuscany, but this is not necessarily bad: a very long tour will wear you out, even if it’s very interesting.
You will join your group in Piazza Della Repubblica (central Florence) from where the tour starts at 9 am. The minibus will stop for the first time in Impruneta, a village famous in all the world for his production of terracotta, which lasts since the 11th century. You will visit a workshop open since the 1700s that will illustrate the details of the production process. Your next stop is Montefioralle, an oval-shaped fortified village on top of the hill that will project you back to the Middle Ages. It is few steps away from Greve in Chianti, where you will explore the wonderful central square and then you will visit a local vineyard enjoying your first wine tasting of the day. Lunch is not included, but you have the option to have it at the vineyard itself. In the afternoon, the minibus will drive you to see more ancient villages and landscapes, before stopping at a famous vineyard for your second wine tasting experience of the day, while admiring the Tuscan countryside once again. Around 5 pm, you’ll be back to Florence, in Piazza Della Repubblica. Intrigued by the Medieval way of life? Choose this tour!
#1: Food and wine full day tour from Florence to Chianti
This is a tour focused on wine and food, and in my opinion it represents the top among the tours from Florence to Tuscany countryside. It’s a small group tour (up to eight people), and the wineries and groceries included in the tour make up for the price themselves, without considering the landscapes and places you are going to visit. This tour also offers a professional guide, expert of wine and food, that will be with you all day along with the driver.
The small group will meet near the Santa Maria Novella train Station to start at 9 am. Your private 4×4 minibus will drive you to a castle between Florence and Greve in Chianti, owned by a family of wine producers since nine centuries. In the estate, you will be told about the details of the winemaking process, you will visit the vines, the cellars, see how extra-virgin olive oil is produced and you will also climb on the tower of the castle, from where you can enjoy a breathtaking landscape. In the same castle, you are going to have your first wine tasting, with three samples of wine and two of olive oil. After leaving the castle, your next stop is at a cheese factory to taste the pecorino, the locally produced cheese. Now, prepare to go offroad with your 4×4 minibus, in the ancient paths of Tuscany, across woods and hills, to reach a typical restaurant where you will be served a regional lunch that will be one of the highlights of the tour. Don’t eat too much, because your next stop is Greve in Chianti where, after exploring the square and the shops, your guide will lead you to a famous butcher’s shop to taste samples of cold cuts of pork. After leaving Greve, you will reach a smaller and less famous vineyard that produced award-winning wines to get your second wine tasting and a sweet sample. You’ll be back in Florence at the departure point around 7 pm, and I bet you won’t have dinner that night! If you want to taste all Tuscany has to offer while traveling in a beautiful landscape, book this tour!
- Tuscany Winery Tour and Sightseeing
- Price: $161.81
- Private Tuscany Cycling Tour from Florence
- Price: $64.61
What other suggestions can you find in this section?
- The best Florence tours and activities reviewed by a tour guide
- Walking tours
- Uffizi tours
- Florence in one day
- Duomo tours
- Vasari Corridor tours
- Inferno tours
- Skip-the-line David tours
- What to do on Mondays
- Tours of Florence from Rome or Venice
- Florence outdoor activities
- Florence food tours
- Wine tours in Tuscany
- Cooking classes
- Wine tours in Florence
- Day trips from Florence to Tuscany countryside
- Day trips from Florence to Pisa
- Day trips from Florence to Siena
- Day trips from Florence to Cinque Terre
- Day trips from Florence to Rome
- Day trips from Florence to Venice
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