My 4-year-old son and I recently spent a morning exploring the farm at La Palagina on a guided visit.
If you’re traveling to Tuscany and seeking ‘touch the land’ experiences for your family, this is a great spot to begin!
La Palagina is a small farm located in the hills between Chianti and the Valdarno. It’s just a 20-minute drive from Greve in Chianti and a 10-minute drive from Figline Valdarno.
The farm is the perfect spot to spend a morning with your family…
- saying hello to the sheep, cinghiale, and other farm animals
- learning about the bees and sampling their honey
- sampling grape juice and vino (for the adults)
We had a lovely morning exploring the farm, along with other families from the US, UK, Australia, and Italy.
Let’s take a look at our morning at La Palagina’s farm.
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Table of Contents
Explore the Farm – Basics
Location – The tour takes place at the La Palagina farm, located in the hills between Greve in Chianti and Figline Valdarno. Meet the group here.
Buying Tickets – You can purchase tickets on La Palagina’s website. The activity is called ‘Explore the Farm.’
Visit Timing – We spent 2 hours exploring the farm
Language – Our visit was in English, but you can sign up for a visit in many other languages
Format – Walk around the property, stopping occasionally.
Recommended Ages – Our group had babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers, elementary age kids, parents, and adults (one couple visiting without kids). My 4-year-old had a blast, and it seemed the others did as well. I know my 7-year-old would have enjoyed the visit, and my almost-11-year-old probably would have (but wouldn’t have been as enthusiastic as the other two). This is a great activity for families with kids of different ages, and the guide was good at asking age-appropriate questions and getting everyone involved. If I had to pick an ideal age, I’d say pre-school to early elementary.
Includes – Stops all over the Palagina farm, including feeding animals, sampling honey, and trying grape juice and wine
What We Saw & Did on Our Farm Visit
10:00 – Arrived, parked, and walked to playground where we saw other families gathered
10:05 – Sophie, our guide, introduced herself and explained that the kids would be visiting the farm by looking for clues at each stop. The clue would take the group to the following stop. The stops on the farm included:
- Mixing breakfast for the baby calves (the adorable baby cows were just 20 days old!)
- Feeding the sheep
- Feeding the wild boar
- Saying hello to the ponies
- Walking up (100 meters total) to the shaded terrace to guess herbs and spices by sight and smell (fennel, pepper, etc)
- Walking back down and checking out the beehives
- A kids’ run through a mini maze
- Sampling honey
- Saying hi to the geese and the vineyard
- Walking back up to the cantina to taste grape juice and wine (adults). At this point, the tour finished. We stayed around to check out the shop and purchase some wine and grape juice to bring home.
- Getting a ‘Farmer for the Day’ certificate
12:00 – The tour was finished. We stayed a little longer to play at the playground and then made our way to the parking lot.
Tip: Wear sneakers or comfy shoes that you don’t mind getting a little dirty. You’re walking on a farm (mud, grass, animal poo, etc).
Tip: Do a tick check after your visit. We do have ticks here in Tuscany. They’re not all over, but I’ve had to remove two from our boys in about 11 years.
Tip: Add on a little extra time before or after the farm visit for your kids to play at the little playground.
Family Logistics for the Farm Visit at La Palagina
Strollers – You can’t use a stroller on the entire visit because you’re sometimes walking on paths (mud, grass, dirt, etc). You can use a stroller to walk up to the cantina and terrace. A baby carrier would be easier. That being said, we did see a couple of families with a stroller who used it except for the initial part when we walked around and fed the animals.
Amount of Walking – We probably walked 200-300 meters during the visit.
Toilets – You can use the bathroom above the farm, near the covered terrace area. It has a changing table.
Snacks – You can bring your own snacks for the tour. There’s also a picnic area next to the playground. There’s a restaurant on-site, but it wasn’t open when we were there.
Hygiene – There’s a water spout to rinse your hands after feeding the animals, but you may want to bring hand sanitizer.
Kids Who Don’t Want to Participate – If someone in your group doesn’t feel like visiting the farm (or gets tired or restless partway through), you can play at the playground.
How to Get to La Palagina
You’ll meet the group right next to the playground. From there the visit begins.
Car – The easiest way to get to La Palagina is with your own car. You can reach it from Chianti (what we did) or via the A1 Autostrada. Park your car in the small dirt lot.
Bus – During summer months, you can take a shuttle bus from the Figline train station (see photo of schedule above). Confirm with La Palagina that the shuttle is running.
What to See & Do After the La Palagina Farm Tour
Explore Chianti Villages – You’re not far from Greve in Chianti (20 min), Radda in Chianti (30 min), Panzano in Chianti (35 min), Gaiole in Chianti (40 min), San Casciano Val di Pesa (40 min), and Castellina in Chianti (40 min).
The Mall Outlet – If you have shoppers in your family, sneak of to this luxury outlet (25 min). They often have activities for kids (reserve ahead).
Castello di Brolio – Explore the castle grounds, and mom and dad can try the Ricasoli wines (about an hour away). Read about Visiting Castello di Brolio with Kids.
Cooking School – Join sisters Simonetta and Paola at their in-home cooking class in Chianti. Read about Our Experience at Toscana Mia.
