Tuscany: Vespa Tour with Chianti Winery Lunch & Wine Tasting

4.83

(614 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We climbed into the minivan just off Via dei Pandolfini, still shaking off Florence’s morning noise. It only took half an hour before we were standing in the middle of quiet green, the kind you see in postcards but never think you’ll actually touch. The air smelled like cut grass and something sweeter—maybe wildflowers? Our guide, Paolo, handed out helmets and grinned at my nervous grip on the Vespa handles. “Don’t worry,” he said, “everyone wobbles at first.” He was right. I did wobble. But after the lesson, I was zipping along behind him, hair whipping under my helmet and sun flickering through cypress trees.

The roads twisted and dipped through those Tuscan hills—sometimes so narrow that I wondered what would happen if a tractor came around the bend (it didn’t). We stopped more than once just to stare out at lines of grapevines rolling away into haze. Someone tried to take a selfie with their helmet still on and almost dropped their phone; everyone laughed, even Paolo. There was this moment where all you could hear was cicadas and our engines cooling down in the shade. I didn’t expect to feel so far from everything else.

Lunch happened at a family winery tucked behind olive trees—nothing fancy, just big wooden tables and food that tasted like someone’s grandmother had made it. There was fresh bread dunked in peppery olive oil, pasta with tomatoes so sweet they almost felt wrong, glasses of Chianti poured by the owner herself (I tried to pronounce her name—she smiled politely). The tour of the cantina felt easygoing; barrels everywhere, cool stone underfoot, smells of fermenting grapes mixing with dust. After that meal—and maybe one too many sips—I felt sun-heavy and happy in a way I can’t quite explain.

I keep thinking about that stretch of road where everything went quiet except for wind and distant church bells. If you’re looking for a day trip from Florence that feels like stepping sideways out of time—well, this Tuscany Vespa tour is probably it.