Badia a Coltibuono

Sienna , Italy http://www.coltibuono.com/

39 74 481-0577

The Location: Just an hour’s drive from Florence, this 11th-century abbey in Tuscany’s Chianti region is now a winery and estate. The property, run by six generations of the Stucchi-Prinetti family, is surrounded by formal Renaissance-style Italian gardens—stone walkways that weave in and out of clipped shrubbery—and nearly 2,000 acres of forest dotted with walking trails.

Don’t Miss: Meals, which take place in the refurbished stables, are decadent affairs, with signature offerings like fennel and orange soup, Chianti-braised beef, and chocolate-and-olive-oil mousse. There’s an on-site cooking school too, where you can learn to prepare such dishes together back home.