Siena v. Florence

Paige,

My vote would definitely be Florence! There's a lot more to see and do and if you're planning visiting either of the "big" Museums, visiting the Ponte Vecchio or whatever, you'll need time to do that.

One method that might be a more efficient use of your very short travel time, would be to stay in Florence two nights and then take the Bus first thing in the morning to Siena on the way to Rome (I'd have to check on luggage storage options in Siena?). The Bus will drop you in the main part of town.

After touring Siena for the day, take a Taxi to the station and carry on to Rome. I'd recommend buying your rail tickets (and reservations if required) at Firenze SMN before heading to Siena. For example, there's a train departing Siena at 17:43, arriving Roma Termini at 20:40 (travel time 2H 57M, one change, reservations compulsory for one of the trains). That's probably the one I'd choose.

You should be able to time it so that you arrive in Rome in the early evening, just in time for a relaxing late dinner.

Happy travels!

Difficult call. I would chose Florence but only because of easy access to the motorway if you are driving to Rome and the direct train links also.

More travelers sleep in Florence than in Siena and there are reasons for that. You only have two days total for both Florence and Siena, that makes a difference in the decision IMO. One of the reasons more travelers sleep in Florence and day trip to Siena is that many travelers have more Florence sights on their must-see list (museums, etc) than on their Siena must-see list, thus it's better for them to sleep in Florence and do Siena as a day trip. I think many travelers (including me) would feel that only one day trip to Florence is giving short shrift to one of the great cultural/historical/architectural destinations of Europe (Florence, that is). If that is true for you, and since you only have two nights total, if you sleep in Siena you may find you didn't get enough time in Florence. But if that's not the case for you, and you strongly feel you'd like to sleep in a smaller and quieter place, then the decision on where to sleep tilts a bit toward Siena (unless your room in Siena is over an outdoor dining/bar terrace). Some feel Siena is more atmospheric at night.

I would vote Siena. That is what we did. We arrived in Florence via train, toured the better part of the day then took a night bus to Siena. Stayed in Siena for 3 nights and took the bus back to Florence. Toured there a little more before catching a train to Venice. I felt like I got to hit most of the "must sees" of Florence but enjoyed having Siena as a very relaxed home base. Siena is more country and relaxed. Florence has more to do and more urban. The pros for me: taking a cat nap laying Siena square after eating a gelato. Taking a very fine winery tour in Tuscany. The cons: because we didn't know exactly when we were arriving and departing Florence, I didn't have reservations for the Uffuzi and thus was not able to get in. Not such a bad deal however since #1 it gives me a good reason to go back and #2 after having left Rome, I was pretty mush burnt out on museums anyway.

I would suggest Florence. A lot more to see. Siena you can do everything in a day.

I personally love Sienna and wasn't too thrilled about Florence. You are doing some major cities but not some small ones and Sienna might be a good place to go small, but it all really depends on your plans for Florence.

The last time I was in Sienna I felt that doing a day just wasnt enough and I missed out on a number of things because I got lost. If you could fit it in, do some nights in Florence and a night in Sienna.

Ciao!

A side note: Will you have a car? If not, you'll likely need to bus between the two, since the train station in Siena is not near the historic center.

Thanks for the input. Yes, we will be bussing from Florence to Siena.

I was considering doing the "walk about tuscany" by Gianni tour in siena. it's expensive but got good reviews.

Both are remarkable cities, but just to clarify, Sienna is a city. Smaller than Florence but if you stay inside the walls (I recommend it), don't expect a quiet hill town. Siena is a vibrant active place. Il Campo at night has a certain magic, but so too does a night walk through Florence. You really cannot make a bad decision here, although (as others have noted), its a shame your time is so tight. Two nights in each place was wonderful for us. Enjoy...