Private Day Trip Leonardo's Birthplace from Florence + Lunch

Luigi, our guide, was so friendly and went out of his way to make sure we enjoyed our day. He gave us some Leonardo facts and history on the about 1 hour drive from Florence to Vinci. Vinci was beautiful, and the museums and house were lovely. We then went to a vineyard and really enjoyed the wine tasting (a sparkling rose, two chiantis, a merlot, and a dessert wine) with bread, pecorino cheese, olive oil, etc - a perfect little light lunch! (We are vegetarian, so the meal was adapted for us - I think it normally includes some meats too). The lady at the vineyard was great, she was very happy to show us around the wine cellar that had some lovely picturesque wine barrels. The whole place was beautiful too. On the way back to Florence, Luigi gave us some tips on good restaurants, which was helpful.

Sooo...very surprised focal point of trip (Leonardo) accounted for 1.5 out of 5 hours! We were not guided on the tour, really only provided a driver. Museum grounds quite confusing and we spent a bit if time trying to figure out where to go. Focus is largely on inventions and engineering which was a bit disappointing for art lovers. By Anchiano there is an artworks chronology of reproductions that is very informative, which our driver pointed out, but was not even part of the tour. We had romantic notions of walking through Leonardo's village of his youth but you don't even tour or really access the town. Lunch in a Tuscan farmhouse with cellars and wine tasting is really lunch at a golf club...we passed and will request a partial refund. Unfortunately for this tour company we had an exceptional private tour the previous day which really contrasted this tour's deficiencies. I would not take this trip. Uber to Vinci yourself and have a wander, it will be better. I will say our driver Stefano was very nice and we appreciated him and his idea about the art add-on.

Thank you to Francesco ( our driver) for the informative tour and beautiful memories that we will treasure. We had a beautiful sunny day out to Leonardo Da Vinci's birth town and to view his amazing machines he invented. I would highly recommend this tour as you come to understand what a truly amazing man Leonardo was.