Walking and hiking in Chianti

Walk, enjoy the scenery, capture odors, forget the internet, the mobile phone for a few hours!

Many writers, at all times, have  praised walking and  hiking:  Petrarch Jean Jacques Rousseau, Flaubert, Rimbaud, Proust, Colette Stevenson, Thoreau, Nietzsche and also, more recently, David Lodge and Jean Christophe Ruffin who also  wrote inspiring  pages on this  simple and profound experience describing it  in all its aspects

You too can experience the wonderful pleasure of walking and hiking at Villa le Barone, in the heart of the Tuscan countryside. Tuscany is well known to be a paradise for walkers and hikers!  Arriving at Villa Barone, guests will find detailed descriptions of these hikes.  Ranging from a half day to a full day, they follow trails through the forests, vineyards and olive groves, with panoramic views on the magnificent hills of Chianti. They also allow to discover charming little medieval villages and hamlets. Villa le Barone will be happy to provide you with a picnic that you will enjoy in the shade of a holm oak or of a chestnut tree!

Let us describe one of the hikes, the one that goes from Villa le Barone to Greve in Chianti, a 2 hours and a half to 3 hours walk. The walking tour allows you first to discover Panzano and its church which dominates the village. Then the path provides superb panoramic views on the rolling Tuscan hills and   further reveals to the eyes the beauty of the olive cultures on centennial  dry stone terraces. Afterwards, the path goes under oak and cypress treesand will guide you at the ancient wash-house of  Montefioralle, a  small walled medieval village, listed as one of the most beautiful in Italy. You will enter the village by a small staircase and browse through its narrow streets. Maybe you want to have lunch in the small Trattoria overlooking the valley, or you will continue your way to Greve in Chianti and arrive in the hometown of Giovanni da Verrazzano, who was the first to discover the Hudson Bay and who gave his name to the famous New York bridge. His statue lies on the triangular square of Greve in Chianti, surrounded by shaded arcades. It is possible to walk back to Panzano but it is also possible to take a bus. Then you can have a drink and enjoy  one of the many  terraces of Villa Barone.

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