Florence/Siena 3 days?

You can't get to Rome from Siena by public transportation. (an exageration but not much of one) It is 90 minutes by train from Florence and tedious involving transfers from Siena. If going by car of course it would work fine and not be a terrible idea. With only 3 nights/two days for Florence, I would probably forego Siena although it is one of my favorite cities -- just too much to see in Florence.

If you are doing this by public transport then stay in Florence and if you must see Siena, do a bus trip day trip.

If you are driving from Siena to Rome consider stopping in Saturnia to swim in the free outdoor hot springs waterfall. You will smell weird for days but it is worth it.

Siena to Rome http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html

Same thoughts as Jane - do a day trip from Florence. With three kids you will lose a lot of time check into and out of hotels in Florence, then in Siena and really not gain much. Better use of time to just take the bus to Siena and return at your pace..

Thank you all. We are staying in an airbnb in Florence, sop fairly easy to get in and out. I dislike the backtracking (from Siena back to Florence before heading to Rome), but perhaps the bus from Siena to Rome would be worse...

I think if we stay a night in Siena, we may rent a car in Florence and drive to Rome. That would give us 36 hours (if we used all the time) to drive from Florence to Rome, stopping for the night in Siena.

We can also arrive in Florence midmorning Monday, which would add some time there if wanted.

I keep reading about Siena being a favorite. Its become like a Syren call. But I know skimming isn't desirable either--

Thanks again,
Jessica

First - just what do you want to see in Siena? I agree with others about staying in Florence and day tripping by bus to Siena. The train between Florence and Rome is easy. bussing to Siena from Florence is easy. If you are only going to stroll through il campo, have lunch, and do the Duomo complex in Siena - then, I would definitely daytrip. There are other things in
Siena. So, do some sightseeing research first.

I would stay put in Florence for your 3 nights. Take the bus to Siena for the day, about 1 hr 15 min. Train from Florence to Rome makes the most sense.

Thank you all. Its been very helpful to have you as a sounding board, and especially to ask myself what I want to see/do in Siena. Mainly, the end of my trip (2 of 5 weeks) is all in cities, and I am trying to inject more balance between the bustle and sightseeing pace of cities, with slowing down in a smaller town. The way my itinerary worked, unfortunately, was to do a lot of smaller towns (through southern France, and then the CT) and then cities. So, a day trip is now what Im thinking IF I find I still have the urge for that once there.
Also, because we are taking the train or bus though out Italy, I can lengthen or shorten my time in each place by ½ day depending on when I take the trains.
....which leads me to another question that I will post as a stand alone

Thank you all very much

Jessica