A LUXURY VILLA IN TUSCANY AND SIENA'S FAMOUS PALIO HORSERACE
With included excursions to Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Cortona, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Greve in Chianti and Panzano. Includes pre-race day festivities and dinner with a contrada and your Palio race tickets with reserved bleacher seating for the race and post-race dinner in the gardens of Siena.
June 26 - July 5 (June 2 Palio race) or August 10 - 19 (August 16 Palio race)
9 days/8 nights.
$6665/per person double occupancy
Il Palio is one of Italy’s most spectacular horse events and has been taking place in this medieval town since 1656. It's just as much about pageantry, district identity and Sienese pride as it is about a bareback horse race that lasts, on average, just 90 seconds. Ten horses and bareback riders represent ten of the 17 city districts or ‘Contradas’, each carries their own colors and flags. On this tour, you'll become part of a Sienese contrada and be part of the horse blessings, music, singing, parades, and celebrations surrounding this famous event. You'll also have reserved seating for the race.
We will base at the villa for the week surrounding the Palio events. It's a perfect location for excursions to Florence, Pienza, Montalcino and Montipulciano, Cortona and Arezzo and Chianti.
Please join Tour Director Sandy Gregory for this wonderful adventure through Italy, or contact us to help you create your own independent travel experience in Italy with our Concierge Travel Services.
Join us to experience la bella vita. We know that the decision to spend your valuable time and money traveling is a costly investment. Call on us to create the perfect guided or independent travel custom itinerary. We work closely with groups who want a personalized, private experience. Che Bella Tours is Creative Travel, and the partner you want when planning a remarkable family vacation, destination wedding, trip of a lifetime or other special occasion. Contact us for more information. We'll be happy to send you the detailed itinerary for this tour.
With included excursions to Siena, San Gimignano, Arezzo, Cortona, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano, Greve in Chianti and Panzano. Includes pre-race day festivities and dinner with a contrada and your Palio race tickets with reserved bleacher seating for the race and post-race dinner in the gardens of Siena.
June 26 - July 5 (June 2 Palio race) or August 10 - 19 (August 16 Palio race)
9 days/8 nights.
$6665/per person double occupancy
Il Palio is one of Italy’s most spectacular horse events and has been taking place in this medieval town since 1656. It's just as much about pageantry, district identity and Sienese pride as it is about a bareback horse race that lasts, on average, just 90 seconds. Ten horses and bareback riders represent ten of the 17 city districts or ‘Contradas’, each carries their own colors and flags. On this tour, you'll become part of a Sienese contrada and be part of the horse blessings, music, singing, parades, and celebrations surrounding this famous event. You'll also have reserved seating for the race.
We will base at the villa for the week surrounding the Palio events. It's a perfect location for excursions to Florence, Pienza, Montalcino and Montipulciano, Cortona and Arezzo and Chianti.
Please join Tour Director Sandy Gregory for this wonderful adventure through Italy, or contact us to help you create your own independent travel experience in Italy with our Concierge Travel Services.
Join us to experience la bella vita. We know that the decision to spend your valuable time and money traveling is a costly investment. Call on us to create the perfect guided or independent travel custom itinerary. We work closely with groups who want a personalized, private experience. Che Bella Tours is Creative Travel, and the partner you want when planning a remarkable family vacation, destination wedding, trip of a lifetime or other special occasion. Contact us for more information. We'll be happy to send you the detailed itinerary for this tour.
Day 1. Transfer from Rome or from nearby Florence or Bologna airports to our luxury Tuscan Villa
Our villa is in the hills of Tuscany, conveniently located to all of our excursions, with swimming pool and air-conditioned rooms. Breakfast is included in your price. And since we are in the vineyards ... wine is plentiful!
We’ll enjoy a tasting of the villa’s wine and olive oil with our included welcome dinner.
Day 2. A leisure day at the villa and included cooking lesson
L’arte di non fare niente. This is a wonderful Italian expression which translates as “the fine art of doing nothing.” In Italy, the art of doing nothing - and doing it well - is what vacation is all about. Enjoy the day relaxing. Lounge by the pool. Hike the vineyard. Grab a bike. It’s the perfect day to enjoy your villa. Lunch is available for you at the villa or you can bike or hike the vineyards.
Included cooking lesson. As we look over the Tuscan countryside, we’ll learn how to prepare a four-course meal of antipasti, primo, secondo, and dolce before indulging in the results of your hard work.
Our villa is in the hills of Tuscany, conveniently located to all of our excursions, with swimming pool and air-conditioned rooms. Breakfast is included in your price. And since we are in the vineyards ... wine is plentiful!
We’ll enjoy a tasting of the villa’s wine and olive oil with our included welcome dinner.
Day 2. A leisure day at the villa and included cooking lesson
L’arte di non fare niente. This is a wonderful Italian expression which translates as “the fine art of doing nothing.” In Italy, the art of doing nothing - and doing it well - is what vacation is all about. Enjoy the day relaxing. Lounge by the pool. Hike the vineyard. Grab a bike. It’s the perfect day to enjoy your villa. Lunch is available for you at the villa or you can bike or hike the vineyards.
Included cooking lesson. As we look over the Tuscan countryside, we’ll learn how to prepare a four-course meal of antipasti, primo, secondo, and dolce before indulging in the results of your hard work.
Day 3. San Gimignano, wine-tasting tour and lunch in a castle
Today we’ll begin our morning with a visit to the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, where time seems to have stood still. As you stroll through the winding streets, you’ll see what Tuscan hill towns looked like in the Middle Ages. It’s easy to explore this little town, shop for ceramics, linens and olive wood products.
12:30. Our driver will pick us up in San Gimi for your 1:30 included winery tour and lunch at an exclusive, family-run winery where you not only have the private experience of an exquisite wine tasting and Tuscan lunch, but also get to tour the amazing grounds, cellars and tasting room of a castle from the 15th century!
Great wine tastings at Tuscan wineries don’t happen in minutes at a wine bar in a big tasting room, but are more like an immersion into a culture. Tasting the wine is complementary to hearing the histories of their roots and meeting mesmerizing personalities - special encounters and memories that will linger forever! And in Italy, wine goes with food, so your tastings will include bread and their own olive oil, prosciutto and salami, pecorino cheese. You’ll then enjoy ravioli with butter and sage and finish with the traditional conduccini dipped in vin santo, so the best local wines come together with the best seasonal local cuisine. This is a unique experience that you’ll keep with you forever.
Tonight is dinner on your own. You can choose to have dinner at the villa or in nearby San Gimignano.
Day 4. A day to Arezzo and Cortona
10:00. Today we visit Arezzo and Cortona. We’ll start with a walking tour of Arezzo. Arezzo is a medieval city with a beautiful historic centre immortalized by Roberto Benigni in the movie Life is Beautiful.. It’s also known for the production of gold jewelry and of the famous artist, architect and art historian Giorgio Vasari. We'll enjoy a wonderful included lunch in the square.
We’re then our way to Cortona, one of the oldest hill towns in Tuscany. It's famous for its international athmosphere and Etruscan Museum. We'll enjoy a walking tour through the town before enjoying a jewelry-making demonstration where the master will demonstrate the ancient art of lost wax casting.
You’ll have some time to explore the town and experience passeggiata - the evening walk - before we head to our included dinner in Cortona. Transfer back to the villa after dinner.
Today we’ll begin our morning with a visit to the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, where time seems to have stood still. As you stroll through the winding streets, you’ll see what Tuscan hill towns looked like in the Middle Ages. It’s easy to explore this little town, shop for ceramics, linens and olive wood products.
12:30. Our driver will pick us up in San Gimi for your 1:30 included winery tour and lunch at an exclusive, family-run winery where you not only have the private experience of an exquisite wine tasting and Tuscan lunch, but also get to tour the amazing grounds, cellars and tasting room of a castle from the 15th century!
Great wine tastings at Tuscan wineries don’t happen in minutes at a wine bar in a big tasting room, but are more like an immersion into a culture. Tasting the wine is complementary to hearing the histories of their roots and meeting mesmerizing personalities - special encounters and memories that will linger forever! And in Italy, wine goes with food, so your tastings will include bread and their own olive oil, prosciutto and salami, pecorino cheese. You’ll then enjoy ravioli with butter and sage and finish with the traditional conduccini dipped in vin santo, so the best local wines come together with the best seasonal local cuisine. This is a unique experience that you’ll keep with you forever.
Tonight is dinner on your own. You can choose to have dinner at the villa or in nearby San Gimignano.
Day 4. A day to Arezzo and Cortona
10:00. Today we visit Arezzo and Cortona. We’ll start with a walking tour of Arezzo. Arezzo is a medieval city with a beautiful historic centre immortalized by Roberto Benigni in the movie Life is Beautiful.. It’s also known for the production of gold jewelry and of the famous artist, architect and art historian Giorgio Vasari. We'll enjoy a wonderful included lunch in the square.
We’re then our way to Cortona, one of the oldest hill towns in Tuscany. It's famous for its international athmosphere and Etruscan Museum. We'll enjoy a walking tour through the town before enjoying a jewelry-making demonstration where the master will demonstrate the ancient art of lost wax casting.
You’ll have some time to explore the town and experience passeggiata - the evening walk - before we head to our included dinner in Cortona. Transfer back to the villa after dinner.
Day 5. Private sightseeing in Siena, final test race and street dinner with a contrada
Our private walking tour will take you through the winding streets of the contrade (neighborhoods) to learn about the passion of Siena’s famous Palio horse race and the striped grandeur of St. Catherine’s Cathedral.
You’ll have the afternoon for lunch on your own and to stroll through the winding streets and absorb the city’s rich medieval history. It’s a fun, vibrant town with some very good shopping. Beautiful ties, paper, fabrics, terracotta, gold jewelry, tapestries and wine are all produced locally in Siena. Via di Città is the main street of the city and has plenty of good shops selling bags, purses and leather items.
We'll then gather to witness the final test race before the big event and enjoy included dinner with a contrada (neighborhood); each contrada stages a sumptuous banquet to “rehearse” their surefire victory celebration. Leaders, members, guests and a few lucky tourists attend a banquet in honor of the pageant. The neighborhood identity is all-important to the Sienese. Each contrada is held together by its residents' common emotions and devotions; every important event - baptisms, deaths, marriages, church holidays, victories, even wine or food festivals - are celebrated by the contrada, surrounded by a hierarchical social structures, colors, banners and rituals.
Day 6. Palio Day!
For the Sienese, the Palio is not just a horse race. The months, days and weeks leading up to the race actually represent the history and pride of the 17 competing contrades. April 26th marks the opening of parade season. Throughout the next four months, each contrada stages colorful processions to celebrate its patron saint.
Only ten horses run each race. After they are tested and evaluated, they are assigned by lot to each of the ten contrade who have been chosen to participate in the race. In the morning of the race, each horse is led into the contrada church to be blessed. The parade then begins through the streets, and at 4:30, 50,000 people file into the middle of the square. Guests of Che Bella Tours will be among the lucky ones who will take our reserved seats on the bleachers in front of the 15th-century palazzi that line the perimeter to watch the race. We can also make arrangements for your group to be on one of the balconies on the Comp, complete with catering and private restroom facilities.
Dinner in Siena is included after the race.
Check out this video from 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_yGZhZItVo
Our private walking tour will take you through the winding streets of the contrade (neighborhoods) to learn about the passion of Siena’s famous Palio horse race and the striped grandeur of St. Catherine’s Cathedral.
You’ll have the afternoon for lunch on your own and to stroll through the winding streets and absorb the city’s rich medieval history. It’s a fun, vibrant town with some very good shopping. Beautiful ties, paper, fabrics, terracotta, gold jewelry, tapestries and wine are all produced locally in Siena. Via di Città is the main street of the city and has plenty of good shops selling bags, purses and leather items.
We'll then gather to witness the final test race before the big event and enjoy included dinner with a contrada (neighborhood); each contrada stages a sumptuous banquet to “rehearse” their surefire victory celebration. Leaders, members, guests and a few lucky tourists attend a banquet in honor of the pageant. The neighborhood identity is all-important to the Sienese. Each contrada is held together by its residents' common emotions and devotions; every important event - baptisms, deaths, marriages, church holidays, victories, even wine or food festivals - are celebrated by the contrada, surrounded by a hierarchical social structures, colors, banners and rituals.
Day 6. Palio Day!
For the Sienese, the Palio is not just a horse race. The months, days and weeks leading up to the race actually represent the history and pride of the 17 competing contrades. April 26th marks the opening of parade season. Throughout the next four months, each contrada stages colorful processions to celebrate its patron saint.
Only ten horses run each race. After they are tested and evaluated, they are assigned by lot to each of the ten contrade who have been chosen to participate in the race. In the morning of the race, each horse is led into the contrada church to be blessed. The parade then begins through the streets, and at 4:30, 50,000 people file into the middle of the square. Guests of Che Bella Tours will be among the lucky ones who will take our reserved seats on the bleachers in front of the 15th-century palazzi that line the perimeter to watch the race. We can also make arrangements for your group to be on one of the balconies on the Comp, complete with catering and private restroom facilities.
Dinner in Siena is included after the race.
Check out this video from 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_yGZhZItVo
Day 7. A day of winetasting: Montalcino, Montepulciano and Pienza
Montalcino is a small walled town that is perched on top of a hill in Val d’Orcia and the home of the famous wine called Brunello. Brunello wines are considered one of Italy’s best and most expensive wines and is the only Tuscan wine that is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. At our winery, we’ll be pleasantly immersed in the harmonies of Mozart music, played across the rows of vines through a hundred speakers, in ecstasy with nature. This is not something born to amaze the visitor, but rather the result of serious agronomic and scientific research concerning the beneficial effects of musical frequencies on the vines (Vitis Vinifera), supported by the Universities of Florence and Pisa, the center of agronomic research of Arezzo, and sponsored by the prestigious company BOSE, specialized in the production of audio systems.
Montepulciano is a lovely Etruscan Tuscan town. As early as in Roman times, the Gauls were known to have travelled all the way down in the Italian peninsula to Montepulciano to enjoy their excellent red wines. Montepulciano reached its peak of fame and splendour in the 16th Century, with estates designed by the most famous Florentine architects. Their wines were served at the table of popes, cardinals and the Medici family and gained the fame of a very elegant “noble” red wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which literally means Noble Wine from Montepulciano. Your walking tour will include the most beautiful architectural gems such as the Duomo, the Palazzo Pubblico, Palazzo Contucci and Tarugi overlooking Piazza Grande before we enjoy an including wine tasting and lunch.
After lunch we're on to one of my favorite Tuscan hilltowns, Pienza. It's one of the prettiest little towns in Italy and the perfect ending for those of us who love history, architecture and food. The city wall offers a wonderful walk around the perimeter of the town - perfect for our afternoon passagiata. You'll then have time to explore the layrinth of streets and find a little cafe or restaurant for dinner (not included) before we are transferred back to the villa.
Day 8. A Day at the Villa and an Evening in Chianti.
Enjoy a day at the villa and think about joining one of our optional activities:
- a day in San Gimingnano
- Cinquecento! A guided driving tour of the Tuscan Countryside in a vintage Fiat 500
- hike the vineyards
- enjoy a spa treatment.
This afternoon, we'll explore more of the small hill towns of Tuscany, including a stop in Greve in Chianti and included farewell dinner with Dario, the Mad Butcher of Panzano. Our stop in Greve will include the largest enoteca (wine shop) in Chianti with more than 140 wines available for tasting using the innovative enomatic wine serving system. It guarantees quality control, quantity and the temperature of the wine distributed, and gives us the opportunity to sample myriad wines at an accessible price. Each guest will purchase their own wine card and explore the wines they want to try.
Day 9: Transfer from the villa for flights out.
Or continue your Italian adventure. Think about Rome, or Florence, Lucca and the Cinque Terre, Bologna and Modena with an afternoon of Ferrari, or the Amalfi Coast.
Montalcino is a small walled town that is perched on top of a hill in Val d’Orcia and the home of the famous wine called Brunello. Brunello wines are considered one of Italy’s best and most expensive wines and is the only Tuscan wine that is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes. At our winery, we’ll be pleasantly immersed in the harmonies of Mozart music, played across the rows of vines through a hundred speakers, in ecstasy with nature. This is not something born to amaze the visitor, but rather the result of serious agronomic and scientific research concerning the beneficial effects of musical frequencies on the vines (Vitis Vinifera), supported by the Universities of Florence and Pisa, the center of agronomic research of Arezzo, and sponsored by the prestigious company BOSE, specialized in the production of audio systems.
Montepulciano is a lovely Etruscan Tuscan town. As early as in Roman times, the Gauls were known to have travelled all the way down in the Italian peninsula to Montepulciano to enjoy their excellent red wines. Montepulciano reached its peak of fame and splendour in the 16th Century, with estates designed by the most famous Florentine architects. Their wines were served at the table of popes, cardinals and the Medici family and gained the fame of a very elegant “noble” red wine called Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, which literally means Noble Wine from Montepulciano. Your walking tour will include the most beautiful architectural gems such as the Duomo, the Palazzo Pubblico, Palazzo Contucci and Tarugi overlooking Piazza Grande before we enjoy an including wine tasting and lunch.
After lunch we're on to one of my favorite Tuscan hilltowns, Pienza. It's one of the prettiest little towns in Italy and the perfect ending for those of us who love history, architecture and food. The city wall offers a wonderful walk around the perimeter of the town - perfect for our afternoon passagiata. You'll then have time to explore the layrinth of streets and find a little cafe or restaurant for dinner (not included) before we are transferred back to the villa.
Day 8. A Day at the Villa and an Evening in Chianti.
Enjoy a day at the villa and think about joining one of our optional activities:
- a day in San Gimingnano
- Cinquecento! A guided driving tour of the Tuscan Countryside in a vintage Fiat 500
- hike the vineyards
- enjoy a spa treatment.
This afternoon, we'll explore more of the small hill towns of Tuscany, including a stop in Greve in Chianti and included farewell dinner with Dario, the Mad Butcher of Panzano. Our stop in Greve will include the largest enoteca (wine shop) in Chianti with more than 140 wines available for tasting using the innovative enomatic wine serving system. It guarantees quality control, quantity and the temperature of the wine distributed, and gives us the opportunity to sample myriad wines at an accessible price. Each guest will purchase their own wine card and explore the wines they want to try.
Day 9: Transfer from the villa for flights out.
Or continue your Italian adventure. Think about Rome, or Florence, Lucca and the Cinque Terre, Bologna and Modena with an afternoon of Ferrari, or the Amalfi Coast.
