My daughter and I will be in Florence for a brief time and we Really (!) want to glimpse Siena and the Tuscan countryside. We considered a tour from Florence but just don't have enough time (please no lectures on spreading ourselves too thin. We want to do this one thing). Our next best-thing-alternative is to take the Sita bus in mid afternoon to Siena and eat dinner, then stay in a lovely hotel (already reserved) and see lovely Tuscany at night. The next morning, back to Florence. My question (after this ramble LOL) is will we see the countryside from the bus and from the town w/o having to take a proper "tour" ? Is it hard to buy the Sita tickets? Grazie!
Posted by
Santa Rosa, California, USA
28 posts
We took a day trip by bus from Florence to Siena for lunch and touring. Not much country to see between Siena and Florence by bus. Lots of traffic and congestion leaving/entering Florence. While there is much more to see in Siena in a partial day, we got ourselves totally filled up on this charming town and all its history and historical buildings, plus getting to see the inlaid marble and mosaic floors of the Duomo (only available to see the entire thing several times a year.)
Posted by
Toledo
653 posts
Staying the night in Siena will give you a beautiful sense of the real city. I have always found the bus trip between Florence and Siena interesting, but not breathtaking in the same way that the Amalfi Coast is. It's only about an hour for the trip, anyway. How do you plan to see Tuscany at night?
Posted by
St Louis
411 posts
Annabeth
The bus to Siena is very simple- the bus station is just around the corner from the Santa Maria Novella Train station. Make sure to take the "fast bus" which takes 75 mins rather than the slower local. I've taken that trip several times and don't recall it being all that scenic. We took a five hour winery tour out of Siena that was quite scenic and cost 35 euro and was a total delight. We picked up the tour in Piazza Gramasci in front of the Irish pub at 2 and we got back around 7:30 in time for a nice dinner.