San Gimigniano or Voltera or both...

Andre

Have been to San Gimigniano and loved it- spent 2 days. We are going to Volterra this year which I understand is smaller - I know this is not much help but to appreciate either one I would say spend the day. As the addage goes - always assume you will be back( as we are doing this May)

Hello Andre. We visited both places on the same day last September by car. We hired a tour guide for a 3-hr tour in Volterra & she showed us around Volterra and really made it come to life. It was very enjoyable. We then ate lunch in Volterra and headed to San Gimignano for the remainder of the afternoon. We spent more time in Volterra because we had been to San Gimignano on a previous trip.

I would suggest you allow 2-3 hours to visit each town. If I had to choose just one of these towns, it would be a tough decision but I would perhaps lean towards Volterra over San Gimignano only because there's more to do there and San Gimignano is pretty touristy (though I still liked it). There's a great museum in Volterra that contains Etruscan artifacts. I also enjoyed seeing the Roman theater. Have a wonderful trip.

Andre:

In answer to your question - yes, you can visit both in the same day. They are not far apart. Both are definately worth seeing.

If it was me - I would get moving early in the morning, get to Volterra, tour the town - the Etruscan Museum, the Etruscan Gate and the Roman ruins and head to San Gimigniano by lunch.

Spend the afternoon taking in the wonderful ambience of San G and then head home.

Just one traveler's humble opinion. Have fun.

Not having visited Voltera yet (but plan to very soon) I did LOVE San Gimigniano. Yes it may be a bit touristy but its awesome to clime the tower and survey the hills from above! take planty of time to get into the nooks and cranies. I think the other posters have a good plan layed out for you - try it! At least 1/2 day (3-4 hours) per town. Start early to beat the rush and maybe relax late afternoon to stay after the rush in the second!
Also - enjoy the wild Boar salami!

Thanks all of you for your advise! Can you tell me which city is the most popular? in order to start earlier the visit of the most popular and avoid the hord of tourists...like me:)!

Andre

Hi again Andre. I believe that San Gimignano is probably more popular than Volterra but that's just my personal opinion. Volterra is gaining popularity but I felt that San Gimignano was much more crowded than Volterra on the day that we visited. Both places are really great...I'm sure you'll enjoy them both.