Page 65 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

Eating & Sleeping

Florence 1 Montalcino 7
5 Il Santo Bevitore Tuscan €€ 5 Ristorante di Poggio
(%055 21 12 64; www.ilsantobevitore.com; Via Antico Modern Italian €€€
di Santo Spirito 64-66r; meals €40; h12.30- (%0577 84 92 00; www.poggioantico.com;
2.30pm & 7.30-11.30pm, closed Sun lunch & Loc Poggio Antico, Montalcino; meals from
Aug) Reserve or arrive dot on 7.30pm to snag €50; hnoon-2.30pm & 7-9.30pm, closed
the last table at this ever-popular address, an Mon summer, closed Sun dinner & Mon winter)
ode to stylish dining where gastronomes eat by Located 4.5km outside town on the road to
candlelight in a vaulted, whitewashed, bottle- Grosseto, the Poggio Antico vineyard makes
lined interior. The menu is a creative reinvention award-winning wines, conducts tastings and ITALY 3 TUSCAN WINE TOUR
of seasonal classics: purple cabbage soup with offers guided tours. Its fine-dining restaurant
mozzarella cream and anchovy syrup, acacia is one of the best in the area, serving a menu of
honey bavarese (firm, creamy mousse) with Vin creative, contemporary Italian cuisine.
Santo–marinated dried fruits.
4 Hotel Vecchia Oliviera Hotel €€
(%0577 84 60 28; www.vecchiaoliviera.com;
Badia a Passignano 4 Via Landi 1; s €70-85, d €120-190; paWs)
Chandeliers, elegant armchairs, polished
5 Osteria di Passignano Tuscan €€€ wooden floors and rich rugs lend this converted
(%055 807 12 78; www.osteriadipassignano. oil mill a refined air. The pick of the 11 rooms
com; Via di Passignano 33, Badia a Passignano; comes with hill views and a jacuzzi, the pool is
meals €85, tasting menu €80, with wine €130; in an attractive garden setting, and the terrace
h12.15-2.15pm & 7.30-10pm Mon-Sat) Badia a has wraparound views.
Passignano sits amid a landscape scored by row
upon row of vines, and the elegant Michelin-
starred eatery in the centre of the village has Montepulciano 8
long been one of Tuscany’s most glamorous
dining destinations. Intricate, Tuscan-inspired 5 Osteria Acquacheta Tuscan €€
dishes fly the local-produce flag and the (%0578 71 70 86; www.acquacheta.eu; Via
wine list is mightily impressive, with Antinori del Teatro 2; meals €25-30; h12.30-3pm &
offerings aplenty (by the glass €7 to €35). 7.30-10.30pm Wed-Mon) Hugely popular with
locals and tourists alike, this bustling osteria
4 Fattoria di Rignana Agriturismo €€ specialises in bistecca alla fiorentina (chargrilled
(%0558 5 20 65; www.rignana.it; Via di Rignana T-bone steak), which comes to the table in huge,
15, Rignana; d fattoria €110-120, without lightly seared and exceptionally flavoursome
bathroom €95, d villa €140; piWs) A slabs (don’t even think of asking for it to be
chic, historic farmhouse with its very own bell served otherwise). Book ahead.
tower rewards you for the drive up the long,
rutted road. You’ll also find glorious views, 4 Locanda San Francesco B&B €€
a large swimming pool and a very decent (%0578 75 87 25; www.locandasanfrancesco.
eatery. Choose between elegant rooms in the it; Piazza San Francesco 3; d €180-250;
17th-century villa and rustic ones in the fattoria paiW) There’s only one downside to
(farmhouse). It’s 4km from Badia a Passignano this B&B: once you check into the supremely
and 10km west of Greve. welcoming, 14th-century palazzo, you might
never want to leave. The feel is elegant but also
homely: refined furnishings meet well-stocked
bookshelves; restrained fabrics are teamed
with fluffy bathrobes. The best room has superb
views over Val d’Orcia on one side and Val di
Chiana on the other.
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