What to do in Siena

Melanie, See the campo where the palio is run. Palazzo Pubblico, town hall, has Sienese art including Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Good and bad Government. Climb the Torre di Mangia for a breath taking view of the city. The duomo is has a great exterior and is filled with works by Donatello, Bernini, Michelangelo, and Pisano as well as containing the Libreria Piccolomini. Even the floor is covered in art. The bapistry and crypt are beneath the Duomo. Spedale di Santa Marie delle scalla is a 1000 year old hospital that has huge works of art. The archaeological museum under the hospital. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. The above is only part of what you can see in two of the piazza. There is much more.
Siena is a medieval town that can be enjoyed by strolling in almost any part. After the daytrippers have left it can be much more enjoyable.

Just strolling through the town is the highlight for me. I always wonder why people plan to visit places that don't have anything of interest for them. Perhaps you should choose another city for a day trip.... Donna

Depending on when you are going, you might see the various areas of the city decorated with their Palio banners - your 9-year-old may be particularly interested in the horse race, which is run twice during the summer. Monteriggione is a small town completely surrounded by walls - it's only a few kilometers from Siena, good for a couple of hours and your child (with you, of course) can walk part of the medieval walls. It's a child-size version of a medieval town. Great restaurants, too.

Henry, that's great info about Siena. Thanks very much. I wasn't exactly sure what to see and it looks like there is a lot. Donna, I never that Siena didn't hold any interest to me. Just that in Rick's book, the Duomo, and Il Campo were on the "Don't miss" list and everything else seemed to be "Worthwhile if you can make it". I wanted to know what else people could recommend that might not stand out otherwise. Zoe, unfortunately, we will be traveling to Siena just few days after the Palio. Nice to know about Monteriggione, that sounds like fun. We will have to look into that.

I found this site helpful. WWW.COMUNE.SIENA.IT/TURISMO
If you click on Urban trekking they will give you some maps and routes to take describing things to see. We wandered all over Siena with these guides. You can explore other areas of the website. We spent 5 nights there. We also took day trips out of Siena so we weren't there the entire time. Lee

Lee, thanks very much for the website. Lots of good info on there. I translated the site to English, but when I try to download the map, it is in Italian.

You are right, the maps are in Italian. I had to do some looking to find the English versions. I downloaded and printed all of them for our trip so I know they are in English somewhere. From the Home page http://www.comune.siena.it scroll the page down until you see The Tourist box on the right hand side. Click on Urban Trekking here or City Itinerary, as there are walking tours in both pages. Select English version and and you will be given choices in the following pages to download various language versions. These are the walking tours you should find in Urban Trekking or City Itinerary pages. •Trekking for young explorers •Alleys and gardens in the shadow of the Tower •Between art and nature •Looking at breathtaking views •Siena, the backstreets and gastronomy •Siena, the backstreets and crafts traditions •Terzo di Città •Terzo di Camollia
•Terzo di San Martino and Piazza del Campo Have fun! Let me know if you have problems. Lee