Bologna or Siena for a day trip?

I always hate myself if my time in Italy doesn't include at least a day (preferably 3) in Siena. Easy to get to, by bus, from Florence with a very nice countryside drive.

You can't go wrong with either, but I agree with the first replier: Siena

Yes, Siena. Amazing cathedral and baptistry. Bologna was a good place to base for day trip to Ravenna (mosaics) and eating.

Have been both and love both, but as a foodie i cast my vote for Bologna and maybe plan on seeing Siena as part of a Tuscany trip. But there's no wrong choice here.

What kind of food is Siena known for/what are some must try dishes? I know Bologna is known for bolognese sauce and lasanga (and tortellini)

Bologna didn’t excite us, but we’ve loved our times in Siena. For food in Siena, something with wild boar is good. We’ve had wonderfully fresh pizza there, too.

Go to Bologna. Siena is crowded with people.
Go to Siena. How much can "a foodie" savor on just a day trip when you have to get a scheduled train back?

Bologna is much less touristy and has wonderful streets to wander. And the food. . . 😋

The most famous dishes of Siena:

FIRST COURSE
Pici all’aglione (handmade spaghetti with tomato and garlic)
Gnudi (lit. Naked ravioli, basically without the pasta around, just the filling)
Zuppa Senese (similar to the Florentine ribollita, with garlic bread and cannellini beans soup)

SECOND COURSE
Tagliata di Cinta Senese (pork steak stripes)
Scottiglia (mixed grilled meats)

SIDE DISH
Fagioli all’uccelletto (stewed cannellini beans with sage, garlic and a bit of tomato)

DOLCI (desserts)
Panforte
Cavallucci
Ricciarelli

The names of dishes look more elaborate in Italian than in English for some reason

You're a foodie, the answer is clear, Bologna. The first time I visited...I ate two dinners in one night there.

How many more cathedrals, piazzas and statues can you see? Admittedly, after the first week of a trip, I'm tired of seeing churches, paintings and town plaza's. Italy is full of preserved history over a broad arc of time, BUT, when one mentions Italy, food is what's #1 and Bologna is the epicenter of many familiar foods.

The flip-side, you'll only be in Tuscany for 3-days, not sure where you're coming from and going but, with three days, and if you're there to explore and seek-out all of Tuscany, Siena is a beautiful town that rivaled Florence for centuries. Bologna is on the other side of the Apennines in Emilia-Romagna, a different region all together from Tuscany, perhaps saved for a different trip to explore, Parma, Ravenna, and Ferrera.

For context, I'll be coming to Florence from Rome, and I'll be leaving Florence and going to Venice. The total trip is 8 days (3 of which will be in Florence).

Definitely Siena

goitre:

If I were you, and I had just three days in Florence, I'd forget both Bologna and Siena and spend all that time in Florence.

You won't even scratch the surface of Florence with the time you have now. Focus there and enjoy. Why spend more time on buses or trains during your trip? You'll be doing enough of that during your brief stay in Italy.

You don't need to go to Bologna to get a good meal, especially for one day; Florence has plenty of wonderful options, enough to satisfy any "foodies" (irritating word) palate. And if you go to Siena for a very brief look-see you'll only be among the one-day hordes who jump off the buses, crowd the campo, jump back on the bus, and declare that they've "done Siena."

Both Bologna and Siena deserve more of your (anyone's) time. I've stayed in both cities as sort of the hub of my trips.

1. I agree with others that you barely have time for Florence only.
2. In my personal ranking of day trips from Florence I would certainly place Siena before Bologna.
3. If you feel that going to Bologna for a short visit and a meal is a must (as if Tuscany had bad food!) you can still stop on the way to Venice for a few hours, store the luggage at the Bologna Centrale station, and eat as much you wish for lunch (which is the most important meal in the Italian tradition). All trains from Florence to Venice, stop in Bologna.

I would like to thank Roberto for bringing up gnudi!!!

I have had some DELICIOUS gnudi at the Spotted Pig in NYC, and I had never known about such deliciousness! (though it might have been an Americanized version) I will definitely be looking for it in Tuscany! (and definitely Siena!)

Here is a recipe for the “gnudi”, or “malfatti”.
“Gnudi”, in Tuscan, means naked (in Florence we call them gnudi). In Siena they also call them “malfatti” (badly made).

After giving some more thought and while planning our own 2019 Italy trip, I'd like to change my vote to Siena. I !ove both, but Siena is first.

I took a cooking class in Lucca last September, and one of the dishes we made was gnudi- delicious! The class was “Extra Virgin Cooking Class”.

Over the past decade, I've spent about 3 months in Siena, and only a week in Bologna - but neither will disappoint you.

As far as food is concerned, I've not had a bad meal in either.

How anyone could say that Bologna is boring is unbelievable.

Thanks for the recipe, Roberto -- will get spinach and ricotta to try it.
Agree with all who suggested longer stays in BOTH locations -- maybe next trip.

I vote you stay in Florence and not miss out on its unbelievable beauty! Rushing to get another town into your itinerary is not the way to enjoy Italia! As far as foodie places, I'd put Firenze way ahead of either Siena or Bologna. And the history! The art!!!! the architecture!!! And strolling!!! I strongly urge you to make fewer side trips and soak in the beauty of your primary cities.