Chianti Day Trip from Florence: Greve and a Winery

Greve’s triangular Piazza Matteotti and Montefioralle’s stone lanes give you two different faces of Chianti before the gardens, cellars and wine tasting at Castello di Verrazzano. This is a full-day excursion from Florence and back, using a car with a driver who does not drink, or pre-arranged driver transport.

The programme leaves out Panzano in favour of unhurried village time, a sit-down Tuscan lunch and the reserved winery visit. The detour from Greve and back would add about 18 minutes of driving, and allowing roughly half an hour there would require around 50 extra minutes. Adding Panzano before the winery means cutting time from Greve or lunch to keep the reserved appointment.

Transport and tickets

Village bus

Autolinee Toscane 365A: Firenze HUB Montelungo → Greve Parcheggio; direct, no interchange

First outward bus, Monday–Friday

06:00, during school terms and school holidays

First outward bus, Saturday

07:00, during school terms and school holidays

Bus seasons

Separate summer and winter timetables

Winery ticket to reserve first

Castello di Verrazzano Classic Wine Tour: €36 per adult

Included

Guided Renaissance gardens and historic cellars; assisted tasting of estate organic wines

Reservation

Mandatory in advance

Afternoon starts

15:00 and 16:00; this day uses the earlier appointment

Reserve the Classic Wine Tour before arranging the rest of the day. It is the paid experience around which the village visits and lunch fit. Choose your visit date and the earlier afternoon appointment in the estate’s booking system. The driving programme leaves the morning for Greve rather than a second winery.

The bus reference is for a different kind of outing: spending your time in Greve. Its boarding point is HUB Montelungo, not the Santa Maria Novella departure point used by the driving itinerary. Do not treat the village bus as transport for the complete winery route.

Car, bus or organised tour

Use a car or pre-arranged driver for the Greve and Verrazzano day. Use the direct bus for a Greve-focused outing. From Florence Santa Maria Novella, the outward drive to Greve takes about three quarters of an hour. The return from the programme’s final village stop, San Casciano in Val di Pesa, takes about 35 minutes. Driving links the separate villages and estate without making the winery visit depend on an onward bus connection.

For an independent driving day, choose a driver who will not drink at either lunch or the tasting. Decide this before reserving the winery, rather than leaving someone to make the decision at the cellar door. Pre-arranged driver transport is the alternative when everyone in your party wants to taste. Arrange the return as part of the same day.

An organised excursion exchanges control over your stops for transport and a set programme. The Chianti Wine Tour from Florence listed by Visit Tuscany includes round-trip transport from central Florence, making it an option when you want to return to the city without anyone in your party driving.

As a separate example of what a winery excursion can contain, Florence Wine Tour offers a guided visit to a family winery dating from the 12th century, including its cellars and vineyards. Its guided tasting covers regional red and white wines, extra-virgin olive oil and local honey, followed by a multi-course Tuscan lunch with wine. These are separate tour programmes, not the Greve and Verrazzano itinerary below: choose between following your own village-and-estate day and joining an excursion with its own stops.

The Greve and winery day

From Florence, Greve’s Piazza Matteotti makes Chianti worth the day for more than wine alone. The triangular square and its arcades reveal the village’s market-town character: browse regional foods, crafts and Chianti wines, then explore the adjoining centre without adding a museum visit.

Leaving Greve, Montefioralle adds surviving defensive walls, stone gateways and closely packed stone houses. Follow the narrow lanes to see how the medieval settlement fits inside its fortified core. This is the optional morning visit to drop if walking becomes uncomfortable.

Back in Greve, Via Roma and nearby Piazza Trento offer sit-down lunch beyond the main square, including La Cantina for Tuscan dishes and Fuoripiazza for table service. Ribollita is a hearty bread-and-vegetable soup, while cured meats and pecorino, sheep’s-milk cheese, suit a lighter meal. Allow roughly €20–35 per person, depending on courses and drinks. Keep the driver’s meal alcohol-free.

After Verrazzano, the optional stop at Piazza Orazio Pierozzi in San Casciano is for the Torre dell’Orologio, the clock tower marking the entrance to the original castle. Its clock dates from the 19th century.

Once you are back in the city and all driving is finished, aperitivo in Florence can add a drink and snacks before dinner.

Castello di Verrazzano

After lunch in Greve, Castello di Verrazzano shifts the day from village streets to the estate behind the wine. The guided cellar visit gives the tasting context, connecting the historic spaces with the wines you encounter afterwards. Let this be the afternoon’s main experience rather than fitting another winery around it.

The Classic Wine Tour is available in English. The estate welcomes visitors daily from 10:00 to 18:00, but admission for your guided visit follows the reserved appointment rather than an unscheduled arrival.

Set your GPS to Via di Citille, 32A, Località Greti, 50022, the visitor arrival address leading to the wine shop and property entrance. Use this approach when setting off from lunch, rather than navigating only to the castle’s name.

Walking and seasonal conditions

Montefioralle’s steep, narrow lanes have stone or cobbled surfaces, with uneven footing uphill and downhill. Drop this optional walk first in strong heat, rain or uncomfortable walking conditions, as driving between villages does not remove the slopes within them. Wear grippy shoes, carry water and sun protection, and take a waterproof layer in wet weather. In shorter daylight, keep outdoor browsing ahead of the cellar visit.

At Verrazzano, the historic cellars contain stairs and present difficulties for visitors with mobility disabilities. The estate offers waiting in the tasting room with a glass of wine as an alternative. Do not assume the cellar tour is step-free.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: opening hours, services, and key figures. Route times and distances were calculated from geolocated stops.

• Castello di Verrazzano — opening hours
• GAIOLE-RADDA-GREVE-FIRENZE | Autolinee Toscane
• 365 A GAIOLE–PANZANO–GREVE (VIA FERRONE/VIA STRADA)–FIRENZE — winter timetable
• 365 D GAIOLE-PANZANO-GREVE (VIA FERRONE/VIA STRADA)-FIRENZE
• Visite Guidate Chianti – Castello di Verrazzano
• Comune di San Casciano in Val di Pesa — key figures
• Useful advices for the visit
• Tuscany Region (Visit Tuscany) — service
• Florence Wine Tour — service