GETTING THERE

Tenuta Monaciano

 

Tenuta di Monaciano is located at Ponte a Bozzone, in the heart of the Chianti region only 4 km from Siena. The closest major city to the estate is Florence, which is only about an hour away via car. While Siena is easily accessible by train, and the estate is accessible by taxi from Siena, we do recommend renting a car to allow you to explore the area. Uber is not used in Italy (outside of Rome and Milan) and taxis are requested by phone so they are not the easiest mode of transportation for those who don’t speak the language. When traveling in Italy, we typically take trains between major cities (Florence, Rome, Milan, Naples, etc.) and rent cars for regional/local exploring. 


By train, Florence is only an hour and a half from Rome, 2 hours from Milan, 2 hours from Venice, and 3 hours from Naples. The drive from Florence to the venue is appx. an hour.

  • The closest airport to Monaciano is Florence, which is about an hour from the venue. That being said, flight deals can often be found into Milan, Rome, Naples, and Venice as well. Because these cities are connected by the fast trains, they are worth considering (see travel times below).

    Airport Distance (by car)

    Florence Peretola (FLR) - appx. 1 hr from venue

    Pisa Galileo Galilei (PSA) - appx. 1 hr 45 min from venue

    Rome Fiumicino/ Leonardo da Vinci (FCO) - appx. 2 hr 45 min from venue

    Rome Ciampino (CIA) - appx. 2 hr 45 min from venue

    Venice Marco Polo (VCE) - appx. 3 hr 45 min from venue

    Milan Malpensa (MXP) - appx. 3 hr 30 min from venue

    Airport Distance (by train to Florence – if you plan on taking a train to Siena, tack on 1.5 hour regional train to this time)

    Florence Peretola (FLR) - 20 min tram to city center

    Pisa Galileo Galilei (PSA) - 1 hour bus or train to Florence city center

    Rome Fiumicino/ Leonardo da Vinci (FCO) - 32 minute Leonardo Express train to Rome City center + 1.5 hour train to Florence

    Rome Ciampino (CIA) - short bus ride from Airport to Ciampino city center, 15 minute Regional train to Rome City center + 1.5 hour train to Florence

    Milan Malpensa (MXP) - 1 hr Malpensa Express train to Milan City Center + 2 hr train to Florence

    So which airport should you choose?

    There are generally direct flights to both Rome and Milan from Atlanta and DC. We’ve also found the Delta flights that run through both JFK and ATL to be good options (and JFK connecting flights often leave from DCA!). While Rome is slightly closer to the venue, from DC we’ve had a lot of luck recently flying to Milan, with on-time arrivals and very short customs lines. Please keep in mind that if you book a layover in Europe you will have to go through customs twice. Therefore, we highly recommend flight options with layovers in the US. Charles De Gaulle (CDG) in Paris is notoriously bad for customs lines and losing luggage, so we recommend avoiding at all costs!

  • Trains are an affordable, quick, and relatively easy way to get around Italy. Most major airports have transit connecting to train stations and most major cities are connected by Italy’s high-speed rail. Smaller and mid-sized towns can also frequently be reached by rail; however, these are typically connected by slower regional trains.

    The two main rail companies in Italy are:

    Trenitalia

    Italo

    Both trains are equally nice and offer different deals (ex. If you’re under 30 or over 60; have a family; or are planning to take a certain amount of trips in a certain number of days). Trains do sell out, and booking in advance is cheaper and will save headaches (unless you’re taking an airport express train, in which case it’s easiest to just grab tickets when you land so you have some flexibility – prices for these do not change and they do not sell out). One word of caution: trains are subject to intermittent strikes, but these are usually planned well in advance and are advised on the companies’ websites. Since Trenitalia is state-owned it is much more likely to have strikes. Both websites can be viewed in English, but city names are listed by their Italian spellings (ie Firenze, Roma). To ensure you’re on the nicest/fastest trains select those without changes/transfers.

    The closest train station is in Siena, just a few kilometres from the estate. From Siena’s train station you can reach the Tenuta di Monaciano by taxi. Because you’ll be on a smaller/slower regional train by train, Siena is 1.5 hours from Florence.

    For more information on Italian train Rules/Etiquette check out the travel tips/tricks section here.

  • Renting a car in Italy is relatively painless. The closest rental car locations are in Siena and Florence. We’ve generally used Europcar which has great rates. The biggest thing to be careful of in Italy is not entering a ZTL (Zono Traffico Limitato). ZTLs are only accessible (legally) by residents of a city with a permit and these areas are blocked off to visitors so the cities remain more pedestrian-friendly. Generally, any time you are in the historic center of a city, you’re in a ZTL. To avoid hefty fines, be sure to locate parking outside of the city center. In Siena for example there are a number of parking decks/locations nearby the city center where parking is relatively inexpensive. The Fortezza-Stadio parking lot (Parcheggio) is quite close to the city center.