Planning a trip to Siena

Siena planning FAQ: How to get there, get around, and other practical information

• Planning your day: Siena deserves a good, long full day. In fact, its riches of sights really make it hard to do in a single day, so you're better off spending the night here—that way, you can squeeze in some sightseeing on the first afternoon, and some more on the second morning. Couple that fact with Siena's central location in Tuscany, and it makes a lot of sense for Siena to be one of the overnight stops on your tour of Tuscan hilltowns.
• Tourism information in Siena: The Siena tourist office is at Piazza del Campo 56 (tel. +39-0577-280-551; www.terresiena.it).
• Admission to sights—Cumulative tickets: The city offers a multitude of cumulative tickets for various grab-bags of sights around town. For more information, visit www.terresiena.it. You can also get the Siena Cathedral Combo Pass that covers entry to the Duomo, Crypt, Baptistery, Museo dell'Opera, and Oratorio of San Bernardino.
• How to get to Siena: For once, taking a bus from Florence makes more sense, as they tend to be more frequent, slightly faster (75 min. on the rapide/express; 95 min. on the diretto/direct), and they stop up in town—as opposed to the Siena train station, which is down in the valley. There are also a half dozen daily buses from Rome’s Tiburtina station. Siena's bus station is on Via Tozzi, near the north end of town just to the east of the stadium (the ticket office is in an underground passage below La Lizza, the northern extension of Via Tozzi, tel. 0577-204-246, www.sitabus.it and www.trainspa.it).
• Siena city layout: Siena is splayed along ridges in a rough inverted "Y" shape, with the main Piazza del Campo at the junction of all three, and as such is divided into three major neighborhoods called terzi ("thirds"), each string roughly along a major street.
  • The Terza di Camollia to the north runs from the Florence-pointed Porta di Porta Camollia down busy (with strolling pedestrians and shops) Via Banchi di Sopra to the center.
  • The Terza di Città to the southwest along touristy, shop-lined Via di Città is home to the Duomo (cathedral).
  • The Terza di San Martino to the southeast is a quiet neighborhood along Via Pantaneo and Via Salicotto to the battlemented Port Pispini city gate.
• If you do arrive by train: Siena's train station is two miles outside town, requiring a city bus to run you up to the center (about 5 min.). There are hourly trains direct from Florence (88 min.). There are trains once or twice and hour from Rome (3–4 hrs.), though they always require a train change either at Chiusi/Chianciano Terme or Grosseto.

A sign marking the entrance to the ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitato) of Siena.
• If you drive to Siena: Do not attempt to enter the historic center in your car. It is now all a ZTL (Zone of Limited Traffic); only residents with passes may enter. This is enforced by traffic cameras, so the fine will find its way to you eventually via the car rental company with additional fees added on).
  
  Just park in one of the big garages on the edges of town (www.sienaparcheggi.com) and either walk or take a public shuttle bus in. This closing of the center is actually a good thing. I've driven through the streets of Siena's centro storico before (back before they closed it to traffic), and it is a harrowing, stressful experience you do not want to have.
• Book a tour: Prefer to leave the driving and arrangements to someone else? Take a tour of Siena that leaves from Florence with our partners at Viator.com.
  
       • Siena and San Gimignano Small Group Day Trip from Florence (8 hrs)
       • Private Tour: Siena and San Gimignano (8.5 hrs)
       • Siena and San Gimignano Day Trip from Florence (8.5 hrs)
       • Tuscany in One Day Sightseeing Tour (12 hrs)
       • 5-Day Best of Italy Trip (5 days/4 nights out of Rome; also hits Florence, Venice, Assisi, Bologna, Montepulciano, and Padua)
• Near Siena: San Gimignano (45–60 min.); Florence (75 min. by bus; 88 min. by train).
• Music in Siena: Siena's Academia Musicale Chigiana (Via di Città 89; tel. +39-0577-22-091, www.chigiana.it) puts on concerts in various venues around town, no spaces more evocative than the rococo stuccoed indoor theater and medieval open courtyard at their headquarters, the 14th century Palazzo Chigi-Saracini.
  
  The medieval hospital complex of Santa Maria della Scala (Piazza del Duomo; tel. +39-0577-224-811) also hosts many intimate concerts, recitals, and academic conferences.
• Palio horse race: One of Europe's most famous medieval contests and festivals, a bareback breakneck horse race around the central Piazza del Campo. Reserve seats. » more

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