We will be spending 2 days in Florence looking around. On the third day, I'd like to explore Tuscany. Is this too much for that day: rent a car and drive to Volterra via San Gimignano, then drive to Siena in the later afternoon for dinner, and then back to Florence, arriving around 9 PM ? I'm thinking of just exploring San Gimignano and Volterra, then going back to Florence. Or, just spending the day in Siena.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
No, you can do this itenerary by car. Make sure you have good maps and know how to get to the main highway between Florence and Siena. And you should expect a chorus of responses here telling you to watch out for the limited traffic zone in Florence.
Posted by
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
705 posts
It really depends on how much you want to 'wander' in each place. I would find this rather ambitious but that's my personal view. I tend to like wandering the streets, exploring the shops as well as seeing the major sights. I would suggest either Siena for the day or SG and Volterra for the day. I think doing all 3 would be exhausting and I'm not sure you would feel you had seen anything properly.
Posted by
Meteghan, N.S., Canada
152 posts
Hi Dan. Aside from the issues of driving in Florence, I think you'll find this to be an awful lot for one day. All three spots are quite busy. Just the arrival in each place, finding parking, sorting out where you are and getting oriented was, at least for us, a little stressful and certainly time consuming. The idea of doing that three times in one day and then driving back to Florence makes me shudder. We loved Volterra and Siena. Either would make for a wonderful day, so it depends what you want to see. I'd probably vote for a leisurely drive through Chianti country down to Siena. A visit to Il Campo and the Duomo. Volterra is smaller and easier to access, with amazing Etruscan history and some nice outisde eateries. Ah decisions, decisions....Enjoy....
Posted by
Cleveland
25 posts
I also think that this is a bit ambitious, but as others have said, it really depends on how much you want to wander the streets.
Three pieces of advice: Most restaurants won't open for dinner until at least 6pm (more likely 7:30pm), so keep that in mind for your planning purposes.
Consider a GPS system (especially for driving after dark which you will probably be doing).
In Siena, don't waste your time looking for a convenient parking spot (hard to find). Instead, head directly for the stadium parking lot noted in the RS book. It was 1.60E/hr "pay and display", and made for a very easy walk into the town. But take some time to find it on the a real map (e.g., Google maps) before you go there, as I found Siena a bit confusing to navigate with only the RS map.