Chianti tourist information - visitors' guide to the Chianti area of Tuscany

“Chianti”, usually refers to the Chianti Classico wine region of the province of Tuscany, Italy, located between the “art cities” of Florence to the north and Sienna to the south. “Chianti” is the name of the wine region but the wine from Chianti is known as Chianti Classico, to distinguish it from the other Chianti wines that come from areas of Tuscany outside Chianti the region. If you like wine, then one of the great pleasures of a visit to Chianti is to taste wines at the wineries where they are produced as well as to take advantage of the selections available in supermarkets to accompany your meals with an interesting (and inexpensive) bottle of Chianti Classico.

The Chianti countryside is famous for its gentle hills and characteristic combination of vineyards, olive groves and forests, dotted with red-tiled farmhouses, mediaeval churches and towers, abbeys, castles and magnificent villas. In addition to great places to stay, Chianti offers a wonderful range of things to do including wine tours, hot air ballooning, hiking, horseback riding, cycling, shopping, photography and so on and on.

Here in our Chianti sightseeing and tourist information portal we present an ever-increasing range of useful information about the main attractions, sights, food and events of Chianti as well as access to the best accommodations in Chianti. Tourist information offices are to be found in the larger towns and the equivalent in smaller places is a “Pro Loco” office.

On-line since 2001.

All about Chianti

What to see and do in Chianti

• Because of its comparatively small area and central location within Tuscany, the Chianti area has multiple advantages as a base for your vacation in this part of Italy. Whether you stay in the country or a small village or in a large town or city, the sights and events in both town and country will be within easy reach.
• Sights in rural areas include the countryside itself, encompassing the beautiful forested Chianti hills as well as the iconic vineyards and olive groves. Chianti is dotted with interesting rural parish churches, monasteries, abbeys, villas and castles, often accessed via dirt roads known here as strade bianche, “white roads”, which are lightly travelled and suitable not only for cars but also for bicycles and hiking. The Chianti farmhouses themselves are often extremely attractive examples of “vernacular architecture”, built as they frequently are around the remains of a mediaeval watch tower or even a castle.
• The main annual events in the cities of Florence, Sienna, Pisa, Arezzo and Lucca are easily accessible from Chianti, and definitely worth attending if they take place during your visit to Chianti. Check our calendar of the festivals of Tuscany and mark them into your agenda.
• As all over Italy, Chianti is home to numerous annual festivals. These are usually genuine popular events, with participation by the whole village or town, often in costume. Many of them are agriculturally themed with grapes, wine, chestnuts, onions and so on being prominent. Many are of religious origin although fewer than among the festivals of Umbria to the south, and others are historical re-enactments with combat in mediaeval costume, jousts and music.

• Many towns and villages have a weekly open-air market. These are mostly strictly functional, supplying fruit and vegetables, cheese and roast meat, as well as clothes, shoes and household items to the local residents. You can buy your own supplies here if you are renting self-catering accommodation and of course the weekly market provides a genuine view of genuine local Chianti life.
• Other things to see and do in Chianti include Tuscan cooking lessons, perhaps at your rural vacation accommodations, excursions by horse-drawn wagon or e-bike, and, of course, wine tasting tours.

Where to stay in Chianti

It’s best to have clear in your mind the kind of location and what type of vacation accommodations you prefer before booking and to book before departure, to avoid losing your valuable vacation time searching for a place to stay. Similarly, it’s recommendable to select a base and stick to it. Changing your accommodation every 3-4 days can wipe out a whole day with each change.

The types of holiday accommodation offered in Chianti are well described here – in summary: hotels, villa hotels, villas, farmhouses, apartments and rooms, including B&B rooms. There is sometimes confusion about what constitutes a “villa” in Chianti. A true villa is a large structure with numerous rooms, while a family-sized, stand-alone house is basically going to be a farmhouse, a casa colonica. What type of accommodation you pick for your stay in Chianti basically hinges on how many of you there are, on whether you want a swimming pool and/or garden or not and on your budget. Beautiful accommodation is available in the towns and countryside of Chianti. You can expect to rent a comfortable village or rural self-catering apartment accommodation with a private swimming pool for less than the price of a hotel room in a city. In addition, there are rooms with and without breakfast available at wineries and in towns and villages throughout Chianti, Italy.

Location, aside from the town you want to be near, is basically a choice between town or countryside. Your mode of transport will play a role in this decision, as will whether you plan to eat and spend your evenings where you are staying or to be out and about.

Dining out in Chianti

Dining out in Chianti is inexpensive compared with most other tourist destinations in Europe and if you stay in the country or rent an apartment in town, your accommodation will most likely be self-catering. This doesn’t mean you have to cook a dinner from the ground up every night. Supermarkets, other speciality food outlets and weekly open air markets offer a very good range of freshly cooked food as well as a large range of cold cuts and cheeses that you can take home for dinner on your own terrace.

Chianti Villa Vacation Rentals

Chianti Agriturismi (farm stays)

Chianti Wine Tasting Tours

Chianti Bicycle Routes

Wild Orchids of Tuscany

Chianti Vacation Apartments

Chianti Bed and Breakfast rooms

Wines of Chianti and Tuscany

Chianti Castles Route

Chianti Parish Churches

Click here for the best accommodation options in Chianti, Italy!

Chianti tourist information