Part Three of our Honeymoon in Italy - Tuscany

I’m sharing the final part of our honeymoon in Tuscany! I’ve got one final post planed for what we packed because I got so many messages about clothing, suitcases, etc. Apart from our time in Capri we absolutely loved Tuscany on our honeymoon. If we went back to Italy we would totally go back to Tuscany (especially Montalcino). I’m splitting up this blog in two parts – Montalcino and Palaia.

After a couple of days in Florence we got a rental car for our drive to Montalcino. In case you didn’t know driving in the city center of Florence isn’t permitted unless you have a ZTL permit. We left our bags at the hotel thinking we could drive our rental car back to pick up our bags…not so easy. Florence has cameras (they look like traffic lights) that will end up issuing you a ticket if your car isn’t permitted in the city limits. Honestly, this makes sense because the city isn’t set up to handle modern day traffic with cars. So we parked outside the city, walked to get our bags, and then walked back to the car on an 80+ degree day. Just keep this in mind if you decide to get a rental car while you’re in Florence. You can read more information here.

Montalcino

We drove to Montalcino where we had reservations to stay at Capanna Suites for a few days. If you’re not familiar with Montalcino, this region of Tuscany is well known for their Brunello wines. This wine is produced with 100% Sangiovese grapes and follow very strict regulations to be classified as a Brunello wine. We didn’t necessary pick to stay in this region because of the Brunello wines, but trust me the wines here are some of the very best.

Where We Stayed:

Capanna Suites – We chose to stay at Capanna Suites because we loved how secluded it was and the great amenities. We absolutely loved the outdoor pool (see photo at the top of the page), spa area, complimentary breakfast each morning, a wine cellar in the room and visiting the Capanna winery. The room we stayed in was a Comfort Room which was very peaceful and spacious. You could honestly spend most of your time at the resort and not leave (for a honeymoon this is really nice).

Where to Eat & Drink:

Il Passaaggio Restaurant – You can see a photo of our dinner here above. This restaurant is located at Capanna Suites and it was one of our favorite dinners on our trip. The different courses were so well done, the food was incredible and we loved the dessert. Even if you aren’t staying at Capanna Suites I would highly recommend making a reservation here.
Casanova di Neri – We stopped here for some wine tasting, and were really impressed with the wines.
Capanna Winery – As I mentioned above Capanna Winery is totally worth visiting. We learned so much about wine in general on this tour.
Castiglion de Bosco – We spent an afternoon at Castiglion de Bosco having lunch and trying wines at the winery. This resort is absolutely stunning!

Things to Do:

Go wine tasting! See above for some recommendations.
Podere il Casale – Visiting this organic farm was one of our favorite things we did on our trip. We did the farm tour and cheese tasting and it was absolutely incredible. Both of us learned so much about organic farming and the process of making cheese. I’ve heard the restaurant is amazing as well!
Take a cooking class – I wish we could have done a cooking class at Locanda Demetra, but it didn’t work in our schedule.

Palaia

After our stay in Montalcino we drove to rural Tuscany and in Palaia at Villa Lena. Villa Lena is a unique place to stay because they offer accommodations, a restaurant and art foundation. Artists (musicians, singers, writers, painters, etc.) can apply for residency through their art foundation. We enjoyed meeting so many talented individuals during our time here. I can imagine as an artist this would be an amazing experience to stay here.

Where We Stayed:

Villa Lena – Like I mentioned above, Villa Lena is located in a rural part of Tuscany. Not much is located around the villa so keep this in mind if you stay here. That being said you really don’t have to leave the grounds because they are so expansive and offer so much to do. They have pools, creative workshops, and a restaurant on site at Villa Lena. We did truffle hunting here (which was amazing), and helped harvest grapes for their wine. Breakfast and dinner was included in our stay, and the farm-to-table restaurant offered great options (many tables are communal seating). I would say this hotel would be great for families or staying with friends (keep in mind some of their rooms have shared bathrooms). I probably wouldn’t stay here for a honeymoon, BUT they really offer so much and we loved the creative workshops.

Where to Eat & Drink:

Antinori – On our way back to Florence we stopped at Antinori for a tour of their winery and lunch at Rinuccio 1180 (the rooftop restaurant). This place was absolutely stunning and we learned a ton on the tour. I would highly recommend making reservations for the tour and lunch.