Siena and the Palio

We were in Siena the day before the Palio and it was a fantastic experience for our family. We saw horses being excercised but no races were scheduled that day. The locals were marching in medieval dress and each neighborhood’s flag/ scarf was available for sale. We had no problems parking or finding a place for lunch. Perhaps someone has been there after the Palio but our experience the day before was wonderful and did not restrict what we wanted to do or see in Siena.

hi Piazza del Campo where Palio is held will be back to normal only some days after the horse race. I'd rather suggest to visit Siena 4/5 days after the Palio If you can.
Piazza del Campo is the heart of Siena from any point of you

My first choice would be to relish the unique opportunity to witness the Palio that just so happens to line up with your original date.

For me that would be a special event and worth dealing with the excess crowds and the like on that day.

Assuming that is not of interest for you, I secondly would love to experience Siena in any of the days leading up to the event. Going the day after the event does not sound appealing. Will still be packed and same prices as the day of the event, town likely hung over, not sure how efficiently all of the garbage and debris would be picked up and cannot imagine the piazza would be cleared off all of the dirt so really could be a mess overall.
I would try to arrange the plans to arrive before not after the race day.

I would strongly suggest going and witnessing the Palio. We’ve been to Europe about once per year for the last 17 years and the Palio stands out as the most amazing day/event that we have had. I talked two other couples to go there with us and they were not sure going in but rave about the experience.
We opted for the cheap seats in the piazza and it was an incredible experience. Please let Mel know if you want additional info.

Last year I arrived in Siena the evening of 30 June and stayed till the morning after the Palio. It was crowded, but the festive atmosphere was lots of fun and I enjoyed most of my time there. The race itself, though, was troubling because of a situation with one of the horses, who refused to line up at the start. They tried to get the horse to line up for about 90 minutes before they gave up and removed him from the race. I'm sure this was highly atypical, but it was terrible watching the poor, frightened animal get increasingly agitated.

In answer to your specific question, I don't see how they could have all the bleachers and barriers removed and the sand/dirt "race track" cleared away from the Piazza del Campo by the next day, so cosmetically the city won't be back to its pre-Palio self, but it was pretty quiet the next morning when I left.

We will be in Siena on 6/29 and leave the next day. I've read on RS guide book that there are practices two days before the race. My question is do they bring in the sand/dirt to the campo for those practice, or do they hold the practice somewhere else? Will sightseeing around the campo be affected? Thank you.

Mei

I attended the practice race the day before the actual race and the Campo was set up the same way as on race day: bleachers, fences, track, and so on.

Melissa,

Did they do the practice race at the Campo? Thanks.