I'm traveling to Italy during the first week in March. I'm set up with hotel in Rome for the first three nights, and I have a place to stay the last two. However, in between there are three nights, and I was thinking of 3 nights in Florence with a day trip to Siena. Or I could reverse it?
Any suggestions from those folks that have been there? Thanks. Tom
Have you read Rick's book? He reccomends staying in Siena, and we found that to be an excellent idea. We did this based on RS, and the advice of some friends.
Siena is magical at night; the old town that is only open to pedestrians is lively and fun, and you can walk to everything fom your hotel. Lodging is lo cost and plentiful. Restaurants are numerous. Of all the cities that we have visited in our travels in Italy, Siena is our favorite.
The bus between Siena and Florence is great: fast convenient and clean. We used it in our travels between the two cities.
I think you've got the correct plan.
It's great that you get to see both. For us, Florence was the better choice to stay.
For your trip to Siena, one suggetion is that Grayline has a tour from Florence to Siena with a one-hour stop in San Gimignano. We’ve taken this tour and it was very nice. The cost was 52 Euro each (probably more Euro now). I believe that the SITA express fare is about 30 Euro so when you add in the entrance fee to the main church in Siena and a fee for a city tour, you get close to breaking even.
Grayline tours in Florence are offered by CAF Tours. They are located at Via San Antonio 6R (Red). From the front of the Florence SMN train station, you are about 1,500 hundred feet from the CAF Tours ticket office.
There is more to see in Florence than Sienna. The Grayline tour sounds good. San Gimignano is great.
The only problem I see is lodging in Florence. It is the worst and most expensive in Italy. I would normally assume we had picked the wrong hotel. Literally every visiter (multiple countries) we talked to said the same thing, however, so I don't think it is an isolated opinion.
If possible, a place outside of Florence with easy public transport into the city may be your best choice. Be sure to get reservations to see the Uffizzi and Academia. We got our reservation when we arrived for the next day.
Try Soggiorno Battistero in Florence. It is right across the street from the Baptistry and church. Lovely location. All B&B's/hotels/hostels are around 100 euros. I think we paid 93 cash in euros in October. Light breakfast is served in the room but right in the middle of town. It took about 10 minutes to walk from the termini.
Residenza Il Villino was about the most perfect B&B that we've ever chosen. It's a small family-run place close in and very affordable. Sergio and Elizabeth will make you feel like family. It ranks near the top on tripadvisor
Do your prefer city or countryside?
Siena has a nice rural feel around it - Rick recommended a stay at Frances' Lodge in Siena and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Very sweet couple.Helpful with wine tours and restaurant recommendations
If you prefer city - Florence is the way to go. Much to do, but you also get the vagrants and other stuff that comes with a city. We stayed at the Loggiato dei Serviti which was a nice location, but the area was a little seedy. It's also really hard to see Florence on a day trip - there is much to do and see there.
Enjoy!
Don't miss Siena, it is wonderful and at night too as another poster replied. Florence is the rival to Siena (as in the past, the knocked most of their towers down when it was all about the towers)...and I won't go anywhere with that one too!
Anyway, your plans for 2 nights in Florence and 1 in Siena is great. I was there 3 years ago this summer and will be there in April for a singing tour. I'm digging out my notes and will repost - went to a wonderful RS recommendation in Florence for dining along the Arno and stayed in a little hotel outside Siena (walking distance) with a huge pear tree out our walk out window. Will send more info..but don't miss Siena.
You can't go wrong staying in either Florence or Siena. But if you want to visit the Uffizi and/or Academia this trip, staying in Florence gives you more flexibility on entry times and your hotel will likely offer to reserve tickets for you. If you stay in Siena, you'll probably need to secure your own reservations.
I think I'm in the minority here, but I preferred Siena. There are some cool things to see in Florence, but the city is dirty and full of panhandlers. Siena was beautiful and the city center was charming, especially at night. I was uncomfortable at night out and about in Florence. We stayed at the Hotel California (yes, really) in Florence, close to the Academia, the Duomo and the Uffizi, but down a dark street that felt threatening at night.
I'm conflicted in whether or not to post this reply or not, because I'm happy to keep as many tourists away from Siena as possible. :>) I second the recommendation about making Siena your base. We stayed in Siena 3 nights and did day trips from there. We took the train up to Florence and were able to see its sites that way. Siena feels much cleaner and safer, as Laura said, but it also has a lovely atmosphere -- the best square in Europe and one of the best places for an evening stroll!
This depends on whether you're an art or Medici buff. If you're not either of these and you're staying in Florence instead of Siena then you're just wasting 40% of your money. Siena is far less expensive to sleep and eat with 10 times the charm. It's much more relaxed and slow-paced. It's not as cluttered or dirty. And there is a very regular bus that will take you from the center of Siena to the train station in Florence.
Okay, I will have to see Siena, and now the tourists level will go up and soon Siena will be Florence, lol
Sorry, couldn't help saying that, but honestly, hadn't thought of Siena and only focused reading about Florence, so thanks!
Eli
We loved staying in Siena! In fact it was one of our favorite places. The bus ride to Florence for the day was easy, we liked going back to Siena for the evening- much different pace.
The best part about that bus is that you tend to ride it with people who are commuting from Siena to Florence for work. It was really interesting to be sitting on a bus at 7:00 AM with a bunch of busy commuters. You get to see a side of the modern (or post-modern?) Italy that places like the Cinque Terre don't exactly give.
Thomas,
We stayed in Florence and booked a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano and it was fantastic. I was so glad I went. I booked through expedia.com, found that was the cheapest price.
