Sienna as a base for Tuscany

Siena makes a good base if you have a car to explore the Tuscan countryside. The drive from Siena through Val d’Orcia is probably the most scenic journey in Tuscany and there is no other way to experience it without renting a vehicle: https://lovefromtuscany.com/scenic-drives-in-tuscany/. Good stops along the way are Pienza’s old town and Montepulciano. Another scenic drive is to San Gimignano, a hill town that deserves a half day visit. From San Gimignano drive to Volterra which is more forestry and quite scenic.
If you don’t rent a car Florence makes a better base. Good day trips from Florence are Milan, Pisa, Lucca and Bologna.

Thanks, @MaryPat - I have heard that is a lovely drive. However we will not have a car, and Sienna will be the base, with a side-trip to Florence - and hopefully some other places.

You’ll have to rely on buses and trains and not many Tuscan hill towns are served by trains
Because of where Siena is, it is on its own train line so a lot of the routes you might need will take you back thru Florence.

Larger towns like Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo are doable by train

Do a search here for “Tuscany towns by bus” or something like that, try diff similar terms
I know there was a post that listed options, maybe a year or so ago

There are car rental agencies in Siena, a days rental would get you to many places. Driving in Tuscany is really delightful…if you change your mind.

Or consider a driving tour with ToursbyRoberto.com —most of those leave from Siena

RS guide book also has info on seeing Tuscany without a car

From Siena, by bus, you can easily see Monteriggioni, San Gimignano, Colle Val d’Elsa, Buonconvento (also by train). Montepulciano and Pienza are also reachable by bus.

Obviously a rental car would be best.

Consider the Flix Bus as an option.

Thanks everyone - I appreciate your thoughts!
And good reminder on Flixbus! I notice it isn't mentioned much in Rick's books - at least I don't remember seeing it. I find it's website easier to navigate than the AT website (I saw another discussion from last December that went into some tricks of how to navigate for someone else who was having trouble with it, so know I am not alone, lol.) And I can see there are fairly regular buses, including on Sunday, using Flixbus from Sienna to Florence, which I had been worried about, as it is looking like we may want to do that.

Ciao Linda. Over the past six years (except 2020) we have stayed in Siena for seven or eight weeks each year and always use public transportation to visit other parts of Tuscany. The website for www.at-bus.it/it is not difficult to use. On the site you can plan bus trips throughout Tuscany. I recommend you look at it before your trip. If you look under "lines and timetables" you will see "travel planner" where you can type in the town you would like to visit. Use the correct spelling (Siena is the city, and sienna is the color). It will give you all the information you will need. Siena is a wonderful place. We seem to learn something new every year. Because the annual horse race, the Palio, is so important to the city it is worth the time to learn about the Contrada (neighborhoods) and the Palio. Two of the more obscure places to visit are the "State Archives", which is amazing, and this year we visited the museum of water, https://museoacqua.comune.siena.it/ . We hope that you enjoy Siena as much as we do. Happy traveling.

Note correct spelling:Siena

Ack! The spelling :) Thank you @Suki and @charylm!
Siena, the city; sienna=the color - duly noted. :)
And Charlym - thanks for your thoughts. The best trips we've ever had, we settled into smaller places and hung out, exploring more slowly. Your longer explorations of Siena sound lovely!

Sienna is also a car model made by Toyota. If you rent one (or similar model) and use it as your "base", you'll be able to visit a lot more hill towns more efficiently.