As a stopover on my way from San Gimignano to the Val d'Orcia I had an hour or so to kill in Siena. I had been before twice, but still looked forward again at the chance to have another peek at Siena.

The previous time I had visited my original plan had been to also tick off San Gimignano the same day. But when faced with the choice on skipping on the Duomo in order to catch my train to San Gimignano or staying in Siena for the rest of the day I fortunately went all in and stayed. It was well worth it and I would encourage you to do the same.

Siena to me is the quintessential Tuscan city world heritage site. Pisa may have the most iconic construction in the Leaning Tower and the Piazza del Duomo, Florence the greater collection of individual sites in the Duomo, the Uffici and the Ponte Vecchia, San Gimignano and Pienza the more picturesque location. But none offer anywhere near the same level of consistency or size that Siena offers all the while not being short on stellar sites itself: the Duomo of Siena, the Campanile, ... there is plenty here to take in. Interestingly, Siena feels a lot less touristy than any of the other Tuscan cities. I would guess it's a combination of the relatively large size and the lesser publicity it gets.

Getting There

Siena is connected by train to Florence and Pisa. On weekdays there are also direct busses to San Gimignano. Alternatively, you can take the train to Poggibonsi and catch a bus there. Via Grosseto you should also be able to get to Tarquinia.

If you plan to head to Val d'Orcia and Pienza there are some busses but these don't run all that frequently, especially on weekends and holidays. In my case I took the train to Buonconvento where I stayed for the night before taking the first bus to San Quirico the next morning.

The Siena train station is quite far outside of the city center, up the hill, then down the escalades. Plan sufficient time to get there (20min).