Monteriggioni & Our Tuscan Farmhouse Dinner

As part of an optional excursion on the Globus Italian Tapestry Tour, we had the opportunity to visit Monteriggioni and then go for dinner at a Tuscan Farmhouse. This part of the trip was our highlight of being in Siena and for that reason we were very happy we signed up to see it and its stunning Tuscan views.

Monteriggioni makes a strong first impression before you even pass through the gate.

A Comprehensive Short Stop

Monteriggioni is small. That is the thing that makes it so charming. It's one of the smallest walled towns in Italy and only has about 50 residents.

Within an hour you can see the whole village and not feel like you've missed a thing. As you arrive at the bus stop, you have to climb a short hill to get to the walls and enter the town. When you enter the walls, there is a large piazza that basically extends to the other wall. Then there are a few streets inside and many a quaint souvenir shop. There is a church inside the walls and even a restaurant.

   Globus' Italian Tapestry tour was truly a rich medley of unique experiences that would have been impossible to plan ourselves. We saw so many cities, landmarks, and landscapes with premium access to travel opportunities you can't get anywhere else. Globus handles the transport, the hotels, many activities & all the logistics for relatively affordable prices. You can even book this trip directly with TourRadar.

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When you walk through the town, it's as though you were transported back in time. You can look up and see the walls surrounding you, and if you walk from the entrance all the way across the town to the other side, there is a beautiful view of the rolling countryside, complete with olive and cypress trees. It's a magical little stop that will stay with you after you leave.

The Wall Walk Might Not Be Open

One of the things many visitors hope to do in Monteriggioni is walk along the walls. During our visit, this was not possible. The access to go up on the walls was closed at the time, so the view had to remain imaginary. However, Monteriggioni had enough charm at ground level. The walls are impressive from below, and the countryside still shows itself from different edges of town and from the areas just outside the gates.

If walking the walls matters to you, check locally when you arrive. Hours can vary by season, maintenance, weather, or staffing. Not being able to do the wall walk changes the visit. In some ways, it keeps the focus on the village itself. Instead of climbing up and moving on, you spend more time noticing the square, the shop windows, and the way the town sits inside its old defensive shell.

Buying Leather Notebooks

An hour at Monteriggioni was tons of time without the wall walk. We found ourselves entering many small shops and looking for souvenirs. We found one shop that had bound leather notebooks. I think we paid about 25 Euro for each, but this souvenir fits the place so well. It's like an old world memento that you can use to jot down memories of the place or make sketches.

How Much Does Entrance to Monteriggioni Cost?

Because it's an actual town, visiting Monteriggioni is free. Parking costs around €5.00 for 24 hours. The wall walk is also €5.00 if you're lucky enough to get the chance to do it. There are also guided tours from Siena and Florence that you can find on GetYourGuide. 

Off to the Tuscan Farmhouse

Just as we watched the sun set from Monteriggioni, we headed back to our bus for a short drive to a Tuscan Farmhouse for a 5 course dinner with a very inventive menu. Not for picky-eaters like myself, this dinner included artisinal legume soup and salad I couldn't eat. However, I think there was pork and potatoes at one course.

Almost everyone from our tour was at this optional event. They packed us into 4 long tables and then the wine started flowing. I think there was at least 4 different bottles of wine that night, paired to the courses. It seemed like a family run business, but there were dozens of servers and we all got lots of attention from the waitstaff to answer questions about the food and drink.

Later that evening, we went to the farmhouse gift shop and found more drinks we could buy. By this point it was dark out, and our drive back to Siena felt long. Checking into the hotel, we must have fallen asleep almost immediately, because I don't remember anything else except that we were on our way to Rome the following day.