Planning a trip in oct. Will fly into Rome then probably take a bus to Siena. We will be in Siena 4 nights so we thought we would take a private guided tour from our B&B to and from Florence on one of the days. I know there is a lot to see in Florence and thought this would be best to hit the top sites. There are 4 of us in our group. Does this seem reasonable? Any thoughts?
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
209 posts
I've stayed in Florence and taken a day trip to Siana. That worked well. No reason you couldn't do it in reverse. The Florence sites are all within easy walking distance of the train station/ bus station. Take the bus, it's faster and cheaper and leaves from closer to Siena old town. But if you want to see the Uffizi or the Academia reserve in advance, or you will spend the whole day trip standing in line. There is far too much for you to see in a day in Florence, but that's no reason not to see some of it.
Posted by
Toledo
653 posts
Diane, I prefer Siena to Florence as a base. Since many people daytrip into Siena, it tends to get back to "normal" at night, and is more interesting to wander around. Definitely get reservations for the museums you want to see, and keep in mind that a lot of museums are closed on Mondays. For me, top sights would include: the Accademia (go to the Pinacoteca upstairs if you like medieval and renaissance painting), Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, Museo di San Marco (used to be a Dominican convent, not very touristy), the Duomo, Bell Tower and Baptistery, and the Piazza della Signoria. You may need to pare down this list (or other recommendations); the main squares mentioned and the Ponte Vecchio are on the way to other sights, so you'll be seeing them anyway. This would be a long day trip (about 10 hours if you don't linger or have to wait in lines). Be sure to check the bus schedules for your return bus to Siena, sometimes the schedules have variations on different days of the week/weekends.