Volterra - San Gimigano - Siena

Posted by Cynthia (Gig Harbor, Washington, USA) on 04/14/23 08:37 PM

We are just beginning to plan our May 2024 trip to northern Italy. Which location (Volterra, San Gimigano, Siena) would have the best ambience late afternoon and evening? ( Thinking a stroll around the piazza, lovely dinner hopefully outside with good people watching. ) The plan is to spend three nights in one of the locations and day trip to the other two. Please also suggest any charming hotels close to the town / village center. Since we will have a car, the hotel needs to have secure parking.

Afterwards, we plan to head to Pienza for another three nights exploring that area.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

04/15/23 06:18 AM

1147 posts

Hello Cynthia,

I haven't been to Volterra but I found San Gimignano way too touristy to be a place I'd consider staying for several days. Also keep in mind that Siena is about 10x bigger than either of the other towns so the differences are pretty stark. Personally I'd stay in Siena for the best choice of places to stay, spritzing and restaurants over several days.

If you get up early you could probably do both other cities in a day from Siena since they are in the same direction and decide if either of them deserves more time than that.

My $.02, have a great trip,
=Tod

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

04/15/23 06:39 AM

16133 posts

Strolling, lovely dinners hopefully outside and people watching can be had in all three. Siena is a small city the other two are small villages.. So first you have to decide if you want to be in a big place or a small place. Siena offers more to see so maybe you want to spend more time in the place that will take longer to visit. But some people prefer small villages. Cars and town centers don’t mix well in Italy, as the historical centers are forbidden to traffic and many hotels in the town centers don’t have parking facilities. Security is not an issue in those places, the last time those towns had any kind of crime was during the Middle Ages when they used to kill one another over any dispute.

To find a hotel with parking use Booking or similar website and filter for hotels with parking. Then look at the exact location of the hotel in comparison to the city center using Google Maps. You can also,use Google Street View to get a better idea. Maybe there are some that fit your needs and are within walking distance from the city walls.

Posted by DougMac

Rural Georgia

04/15/23 02:02 PM

2201 posts

We've been to all three. I would choose between Siena and Volterra, based on the kind of experience you are after. Siena would have more opportunities for people watching, but will be a lot busier. We were in Volterra and stayed for the La Passeggiata, or evening stroll. It was in December and there were very few tourists. It was fun to watch the townsfolk step outside the gates and visit during their stroll. We were also treated to a spectacular sunset. We want to return to Volterra and stay in the town for a few days mainly to enjoy the La Passeggiata and follow up with a relaxing meal.

Posted by Cynthia OP

Gig Harbor, Washington, USA

04/15/23 05:04 PM

1869 posts

Thank you all for the insights. I think we will plan for two nights in Volterra with a daytrip to Siena. We will detour a bit and sample San Gimigano early morning, hopefully before the tour buses arrive, then head to Pienza. Any recommendations for hotels in Volterra? Budget doesn't matter, this is a trip for a special anniversary.