siena day trips

Whatever you do, learn where the ZTL's are, in Sienna, Florence, etc. If you don't you could be facing some steep fines (over $1K was just reported!)when you get back home!

Staying overnight in old Siena is worth it. It is magical at nite. Pick a hotel that has "on site" parking. We parked our car, and took the bus into Florence...a lot less hassles!

Let my share our experience with driving from Siena for day trips.

We'd read about the wonderful night fun in Siena, walking the evening passeggiata, sipping beers on a balcony overlooking Il Campo in the evening, etc. (and they ARE wonderful), so we booked a hotel right by Il Campo. The hotel doesn't have parking, so we were told to park in the free parking lot behind the Medici Fortezza, outside the limited traffic zone, and walk back to the hotel.

We did enjoy living in downtown Siena, but found the daily 30-minute walk to the car in the morning tiring, and the daily 30-minute walk BACK from the car in the evening even more tiring. So we ended up skipping San Gimignano just because it was too much trouble to go to the car. Instead, we just spent the day wandering downtown Siena...again.

Even if your downtown hotel DOES have parking, you have to drive into the narrow, crowded old town streets every time you arrive or leave, and that is nerve-racking and requires a daily call to the police to explain what you're doing in the limited traffic zone.

So my advice is to either just stay outside the downtown area, and take a taxi downtown when you want to be there, or stay in downtown and take a taxi out to where your car is parked when you want to drive.

Of course, if you take a taxi out to your car, you face two challenges when you return to Siena at the end of the day: finding a parking place, which isn't always a sure thing, and finding a taxi to take you to the hotel.

Hope this helps. Maybe you already know this, but others may not.

we are planning a 5 day trip to Siena and based on my research (and not first hand experience)i suggest: 2 days in Siena, day trip Greve and Castello di Verrazzano (chianti), day trip to San gimignano + Volterra, day trip to Montelpuciano+ Montalcino (brunello). In case you are not actually staying in Florence you can do a day trip there by dropping the last day trip. Hope u have a good time!

Patrick is right on. We stayed at a charming hotel right out of town with gorgeous ground at much lower rate. Free parking and laundry facility. The cab is 8-10 euro to town center. You can wonder around to yor heart's content after dusk when all the daytrippers are gone. Plus you don't have to navigate the extremely narrow, winding, crowded road when driving to nearby hill towns.

We stayed at Hotel Santa Caterina, just outside the Roman Gate, and it was beautiful. The view from our window, and from the patio where everyone has breakfast, was exactly what you go to Tuscany for.

The walk to Il Campo was 15-20 minutes, if you know where you're going. We are fairly fit and trim and could not make it in the 5-10 minutes I'd seen written. That being said, it's a lovely and not too difficult walk. I'd forgo a taxi and take the bus (there's a stop just outside the hotel) if you are pressed for time and need to get to Il Campo quickly.
The hotel even gave us bus passes so it cost us nothing. Get off at Piaza del Mercato, and it's just a 2 minute walk to Il Campo.

We did a day-long tour with Gianni at Walk About Tuscany and had a wonderful, albeit tiring, day. We chose to go on a 6 km hike through Lilliano and enviorns; walking through vineyards and olive groves, stopping to eat the lunch we'd picked up at a market in Siena, along a refreshing stream. In the afternoon we got back in the car and visited Castellina in Chianti, which was absolutely charming, and Montereggioni, a quaint and tiny walled village. Both were worth the visit.

We also visited Pisa on route to Florence. Believe what you've read - it's only worth a few hours stop, but was great fun taking pictures of your loved ones holding up the tower!

The best meal we had in all of Italy was in Siena, outside the Roman Gate and just a 2 minute walk from our hotel. It was at Ristaurante Fori Porta on Via Claudio Tolomei. A little pricey, but fabulous! We ate at the recommended Papei one evening - voted not so good by 3 out of the 4 of us. La Finestra, right next door, was far better IMHO.

Let us know where you end up visiting. A family we befriended at the hotel visited Montepulciano, Montalcino and San Gimignano all in one day and loved it. I don't think you can go wrong anywhere in Tuscany! Have fun.

Siena was beautiful and one of the favorite parts of our trip. We stayed at a wonderful place just outside the city called Borgo Grondaie. They have parking there and we could take a taxi or bus into the city. The "rooms" are more like villas, with mini kitchens. Our quad had 2 bedrooms with double beds and a pull out sleeper sofa. There is a pool and laundry facilities, and the grounds are gorgeous! Very generous breakfast too. Since it is outside the city center it seems easy to drive to hill towns from there. The staff was very helpful and compiled a large binder of day trips, hikes, and bike rides around the area.

Sandy, I was talking about Borgo Grandaie too. Can't agree with you more, a most charming place.

The other option is to actually stay overnight in other towns as you drive through Tuscany and not use Siena as a base. That is the best part about having a car, the flexibility and convenience of driving from hotel doorstep to doorstep with no backtracking. And, single night stays aren't that bad when the towns are close together and you still have all day to explore. The evenings are also when the towns really come to life with locals. If you spend all five nights in Siena, you don't get to experience that in the other places. But, then again, five evenings in Siena isn't necessarily a bad thing :-)

bonnie,
To answer your question:

1.Volterra and San Gimignano

2.S222, the Chianti road, Greve, Castellina, Radda and Gaiole in Chianti

3.San Galgano, Murlo, and Monte Oliveto Maggiore

1. Montalcino, wine tasting at Fattoria dei Barbi, Sant'Antimo

2. Bagno Vignoni. San Quirico d'Orcia, Pienza

"5. Bagno Vignoni. San Quirico d'Orcia, Pienza"

I've been to both Bagno Vignoni and Monticchiello and we liked Monticchiello much more, plus it's within sight of Pienza, so it would be so easy to do both the same day.

Monticchiello and Pienza are two of my favorite places in Tuscany! (I think that's because I prefer quiet towns to busy, crowded cities.)

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE INFO

To Steve - What's a ZTL?

I'm not Steve, but ZTL stands for "Zona a Traffico Limitato" meaning "Limited Traffic Zone". Many tourist towns in Italy designate their old city center as a ZTL meaning, generally, only people who live in that area, and taxis, can drive in that part of town. It's designed to reduce car traffic in places that don't have much room for autos.

Many towns have traffic cameras at the entrances to the ZTL, and they can send you a large traffic fine months later if you drive into the ZTL without authorization. In many cases, if you're driving a rental car and don't pay the fine, they'll charge the fine to the rental car agency, which passes the charges along to you by charging your credit card. Credit card companies aren't likely to write off the charge, since it's a legitimate legal fine.

Exceptions are made if you are staying at a hotel within the ZTL...you're allowed to drive in to drop off or pick up your passengers and luggage. But this generally requires that the hotel call the police to give them your auto license number, time and gateway of entry into the ZTL, and this can be a hassle, plus it doesn't always get done.

Rick Steves advises that people avoid driving into a ZTL since it's not worth the trouble. Instead, find public parking outside the ZTL, then find a bus or taxi to take you into the ZTL, or walk.

We have also stayed at Hotel Santa Caterina - twice. We were there last year, with a car and this year without one. Since you're staying right outside the gate you don't have to worry about ZTL's and the walk is no big deal. I would say 15 minutes tops and if you need it you pass the internet point along the way. Last year we daytripped out. This year we stayed put and spent all our time in Siena. Make sure you get to the Wednesday market. Alot of fun.