san gimignano or volterra

I stayed in Volterra in 2007 and would recommend it. Lots to do there. For cheap and good eats, try the small pizzeria on the wide pedestrian street.

We've been to both places in June 2008 on daytrips. San Gimignao is very pretty, I just loved those towers! It's centrally located but quite touristy and crowded. We really loved Volterra for its history and id didn't seem so crowded. But it is a bit out of the way.

Our solution was to stay in a quiet AND centrally located agriturismo and do daytrips all over Tuscany from there. You do need a car for that option but it worked great for us.

Cannot comment on Volterra as we have never been there, but San Gim' is indeed a neat place to visit. We walked around town for several hours and took a walk outside the city (as suggested by the TI) for great vistas and photos looking up at San Gim. We are pretty ardent tourists and interested in art and history but I would be hard pressed to spend more than a day in San Gim. We did a day trip by bus from Siena and it was perfect as the bus departs central Siena and drops you at the gates of San Gim. I see you have posted other inquiries; our experience after a month in Italy was to learn to think about the bus system...extensive, convenient and cheap.

We went to both and while we enjoyed each of them, Volterra really stood out. Much less touristy.

We loved Volterra. Go for it.

Volterra - far less touristy!