La Bandita

Top choice in Val d'Orcia

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Sophisticated urban style melds with stupendous scenery at this rural retreat in one of the most stunning sections of the Val d'Orcia. Owned and operated by a former NYC music executive and his travel-writer wife (non–Lonely Planet, we hasten to add), it offers spacious rooms, amenities galore (we love the Ortigia toiletries), communal dinners (set menu €45 per person) and personalised service.

Put simply, this is the type of retreat we all fantasise about owning, but probably can't afford. It's also the perfect base for exploring nearby Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena) is a medieval church, now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, completed between 1215 and 1263, Siena, Italy; Shutterstock ID 1027666891; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Duomo

    29.44 MILES

    Consecrated on the former site of a Roman temple in 1179 and constructed over the 13th and 14th centuries, Siena's majestic duomo (cathedral) showcases…

  • Piazza del Campo, Siena, Italy - stock photo Pictured is the Torre del Mangia and town hall building which also houses the Museo Civico

    Museo Civico

    29.34 MILES

    Entered via the Palazzo Pubblico's Cortile del Podestà (Courtyard of the Chief Magistrate), this wonderful museum showcases rooms richly frescoed by…

  • Facade of Orvieto Cathedral at dusk

    Duomo

    28.09 MILES

    Nothing can prepare you for the visual feast that is Orvieto's soul-stirring Gothic cathedral. Dating from 1290, it sports a black-and-white banded…

  • Siena, Italy - 08 01 2017: View of Piccolomini Library inside Siena Cathedral; Shutterstock ID 1053389615; Your name (First / Last): Anna Tyler; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: destination-image-southern-europe

    Libreria Piccolomini

    29.45 MILES

    Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, archbishop of Siena (later Pope Pius III), commissioned the building and decoration of this hall off the north…

  • Pinacoteca Nazionale

    Pinacoteca Nazionale

    29.28 MILES

    Siena's recently renovated art gallery, housed in 14th-century Palazzo Buonsignori since 1932, is home to an extraordinary collection of Gothic…

  • Siena, Tuscany, Italy. Piazza del Campo.

    Piazza del Campo

    29.38 MILES

    Popularly known as 'Il Campo', this sloping piazza has been Siena's social centre since being staked out by the ruling Consiglio dei Nove (Council of Nine…

  • Necropoli di Sovana

    Necropoli di Sovana

    26.17 MILES

    At Tuscany's most significant Etruscan tombs, part of the Parco Archeologico 'Città del Tufo', signs in Italian and English guide you around four…

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Nearby Val d'Orcia attractions

1. La Foce

1.15 MILES

Built in four stages between 1924 and 1939, these formal gardens were commissioned by Anglo-American expat Iris Origo and her Italian husband Antonio…

2. Chiesa di San Biagio

4.43 MILES

Designed by Antonio da Sangallo (Sangallo il Vecchio) and constructed in the late-16th century, this splendid Renaissance church in the valley below the…

3. Duomo

4.6 MILES

Montepulciano's 16th-century duomo is striking, largely because its unfinished facade gives the building a stern, heavily weathered look. Inside, don't…

4. Piazza Grande

4.62 MILES

Elegant Piazza Grande is the town's highest point and main meeting place. If you think it looks familiar, it might be because it featured in New Moon, the…

5. Palazzo Comunale

4.63 MILES

Built in the 14th century in Gothic style and remodelled in the 15th century by Michelozzo, the Palazzo Comunale still functions as Montepulciano's town…

6. Via Ricci

4.65 MILES

From the central Piazza Grande, Via Ricci runs downhill past Palazzo Ricci, now home to the European Academy for Music and Performing Arts. The street…

7. Museo Civico & Pinacoteca Crociani

4.66 MILES

It was a curatorial dream come true: in 2011 a painting in the collection of this modest art gallery was attributed to Caravaggio. The work, Portrait of a…

8. Palazzo Ricci

4.66 MILES

Built for Cardinal Giovanni Maria Ricci in the 16th century, this handsome palazzo has a rear loggia with a stunning view of the countryside. Home to many…