Osteria del Leone
What to order: hand-made pici with piennolo tomato and pecorino, and the Cinta Senese shoulder with saba
geocalia
Day itinerary · 43.08° N · 11.68° E
A day of abbey and Brunello, with dinner beside the water square.
Two and a half hours from Rome: the Romanesque abbey of Sant'Antimo, a tour with a Brunello tasting at Castello Banfi and the hot-water square of Bagno Vignoni.
Leaving from
Direct flight to Florencia fromBarcelona 1 h 45San Sebastián 2 hBilbao 2 h 15Madrid 2 h 15Asturias 2 h 30
Part of Val d'OrciaFilm locations
Add to my trip
Total time12 h
By car2 h 30 each way
From Rome2 h 30 by car
TastingBanfi public tour, €60
BookingBanfi and lunch
DifficultyEasy
Best timeApril – June · September – October
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Rome 2 h 30 by car
Along the A1 and the Cassia towards Montalcino; whoever has not tasted should drive back
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1
Sant'Antimo Abbey and its Via della Luce tour
The Romanesque church in the countryside · video guide at the entrance
- 30 min by car
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2
Castello Banfi cellar and vineyards in Montalcino
Castello Banfi · public tour with tasting, €60 · booking compulsory
+39 0577 840111
- 45 min by car32,7 km
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3
Osteria del Leone
Handmade pici and cinta senese · book and confirm hours
Via dei Mulini, 3, 53027 Bagno Vignoni, San Quirico d'Orcia · +39 0577 887300
Restaurant €€€Book - 3 min on foot
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4
Bagno Vignoni and the Parco dei Mulini
The water square and the Parco dei Mulini · free
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Back home
In Rome around eight
Approximate cost
About €95–120 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Sant'Antimo Abbey and its Via della Luce tour
The other half of the Val d'Orcia, the wine half: Montalcino and its vineyard hills, with a Romanesque abbey at the bottom of a valley and one of the great Brunello wineries in a castle. To finish, the square of Bagno Vignoni, where thermal water fills the pool that serves as the main square. It is a long day from Rome and involves wine: decide beforehand who drives back.
The day, hour by hour
7:30 · Leave Rome. About two and a half hours to Castelnuovo dell'Abate, the hamlet beside the abbey.
10:30 · Sant'Antimo Abbey. A Romanesque church of pale stone among olive trees and cypresses, with no village on top. Walk the nave with the video guide hired at the entrance. If you book La Via della Luce beforehand, you also go up to the galleries and see the Carolingian chapel and the crypt. From November to March it opens from 10:30 to 17:00.
12:00 · Tasting at Castello Banfi. South of Montalcino, in the castle of Poggio alle Mura. The public tour lasts roughly an hour: the estate and the winery, following the guide in your car for about 4 km, and a tasting in the enoteca. €60 per person, booking compulsory; you see the exact time when you book. Arrive 15 minutes early.
14:15 · Lunch at the Osteria del Leone. In Bagno Vignoni, a few steps from the water square. Handmade pici with tomato and pecorino, cinta senese shoulder or, if there are two or more of you, bistecca by weight. The website does not publish opening hours: confirm when booking.
16:15 · The water square and the Parco dei Mulini. Walk round the pool in the square and go down through the park, where the water falls down the hillside to some warm pools.
17:15 · Return. In Rome at about eight.
With children
Sant'Antimo, with the video guide, and Bagno Vignoni work; the winery bores little ones. With children, swap Banfi for more time in the pools of the Parco dei Mulini or for the thermal pools of La Posta if they are 14 or older.
Time1 h
Change the route
If the Osteria del Leone is not open that day: La Porta, in Monticchiello, is only closed on Thursdays:
Osteria La Porta
If you stay the night: an afternoon at the La Posta thermal pools, from age 14:
La Posta thermal pools in Bagno Vignoni
If you walk: a stretch of the Via Francigena from San Quirico:
Via Francigena from San Quirico d'Orcia to Radicofani
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Osteria La Porta
What to order: pici all'aglione della Val d'Orcia on the terrace, and the cheek braised in Vino Nobile
Takeaway and markets
Caseificio Cugusi, Montepulciano
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Val d'Orcia
All year, with the Banfi visit booked beforehand: the days and times of the public tours are shown in its booking system. At harvest time, September and October, the valley is at its best.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Book Banfi in good time
Booking is compulsory and the times are shown in its system.
- 2Let the one who is not tasting drive
The roads round Montalcino are full of bends.
- 3Confirm lunch
The Osteria del Leone does not publish opening hours.
If it rains
Sant'Antimo and the winery are under cover; swap the walk in the Parco dei Mulini for an afternoon in the thermal pools.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the Banfi tasting cost?
The public tour with tasting, €60 per person, with booking compulsory.
Do you pay for Sant'Antimo?
The church is visited with a hired video guide; La Via della Luce is booked separately.
Do you need a car?
Yes: you have to drive between the three places and the Banfi tour is followed by car.
Where do you eat?
At the Osteria del Leone, in Bagno Vignoni; if it is not open, at La Porta, in Monticchiello.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/italy/tuscany/val-d-orcia/itineraries/rome-val-d-orcia-wine-day-sant-antimo-banfi-tasting
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.