Looking for easy scenic route Lucca to Siena

San Gimignano and Volterra. Have lunch in Volterra. As you drive up the hill to Volterra you will the entrance to an underground parking garage before you get to the top at town.

Thanks. Those are two of the ones we're looking at. Will study map for best route. Thanks for the parking tip.

The Michelin route planner https://www.viamichelin.com/ has a 'Discovery' option for mapping more scenic routes. From Lucca to Siena, it proposes a fairly direct route on state roads (not autostrade) going past Fucecchio and Certaldo and near San Gimignano - a trip to Volterra would be just a short diversion. I have driven the first half of that route and it's pleasant. I would also recommend a small detour to San Miniato. It's an historic hilltop city famous for truffles with views, evocative streets, castle ruins (of course) and next to no tourists. On a weekend in September you might encounter a chestnut, wine, or food festival (sagra) in one of the small towns - keep an eye out for roadside posters and check online event calendars.

I suggest that you rent a car with a nav system or gps.

Mike: thanks for the great suggestions.
Gio: we will have a GPS. Wondering about saving on the daily fee by bringing ours from home - with Italy maps added.

You can definitely bring a US satnav, European cars are also 12 volt. We use Google Maps on a smartphone with an area map downloaded for offline use, and it works fine whether you have cell service or not.

The town of Vinci (yes, as in Leonardo da Vinci) is a tiny hamlet on a very scenic and hilly route from Lucca towards Siena. In addition to a few ceramic shops - we visited one and spoke to the proprietor who decorates his ceramics on the premises - Vinci is home to the Leonardo Museum which "houses one of the largest collections in the world of Leonardo models, reconstructed on the basis of his precious drawings." For all that, it's a small museum, but fascinating!

http://www.museoleonardiano.it/eng/

The route to Vinci is not via the larger roads that you would take to go directly to Siena and even to San Gimignano. The scenery is incredible. On the day I drove it there was a bike road race, which made it a rather harrowing journey. Without the bikes, you would still want to take it slow and allow far more time than the distance would suggest. Be sure to have your downloaded maps as I recall the turns were not always well signposted. The tiny town center is pedestrian only, with car parking below the town.

From Vinci, you could continue on to San Gimignano, Volterra and then Sienna.

I was thinking Certaldo, so the Via Michelin scenic route might be a good option. It gives you some good options.

We have driven this and stopped at Orvieto fabulous little town, but Vinci is fabulous and the museum there is great! LDaV was a genius in every respect and engineers from around the world have copied and constructed his inventions. He also was an anatomist and drew detailed drawings of the cadavers that he autopsied with fear of being arrested for breaking this law. His drawings are breathtaking and his inspiration came from the beautiful surrounding area. Not as close, but definitely worthwhile stop is the American Cemetry located about 10 miles southwest of Florence.