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Florence to Siena by car

My husband and I will be going to Italy in October and are not taking a tour. I have planned this trip myself and am happy with the itinerary I've put together.
We will be in Florence with our next stop in Siena. I have looked at various ways to get to Siena with the train being the most convenient. I have tried to find a one-way bus tour but unless I hire a private driver (too expensive), all the tours I've found are round trip.

I am contemplating renting a car in the south end of Florence in order to drive at a leisurely pace and do some site seeing along the way in San Gimignano, Volterra, etc. My concern is that I've heard driving in Florence is pretty crazy and I don't really want to add too much unnecessary stress. It looks doable but I'd like to hear from others who have done it whether this is a more ambitious idea than practical.

Posted by
11052 posts

San Gimignano and Volterra are not "on the way" rather to the west. San Gimi is not too far but Volterra is. They are worthwhile. Perhaps visit them on another day by rental car.
Take the Chiantigiana, historic route SR 222 from Florence to Siena, passing by or near Chianti villages such as Greve, Panzano, Castellina, Radda, etc. A rental car is needed to tour around Tuscany, for more easily visiting different towns, villages.

Posted by
940 posts

Last year my family and friends (6 in total) visited Florence and then drove through Chianti, staying in a B&B 20 km north of Siena. We rented a car at the airport and dropped it off in Siena. Getting out of Florence from the airport was straightforward. We stopped along the way to our B&B, having lunch and tour at Castello di Verrazzano: https://www.verrazzano.com/. We then did wine tasting in the Chianti region, traveled to Bagno Vignoni hot springs, and Siena.

Other than trying to find parking with a huge van on market day in Siena, it was easy driving and navigating. I would do this again next time I visit Tuscany.

Sandy

Posted by
23177 posts

Driving is not the issue. Parking is !!!! We had a car in and around Florence for driving to various sits. Our son the driver had an app that showed public parking. This was in easy May and parking was a big issue. A lot of the lots are particularily big so you drive from lot to lot looking for that one slot. And sometimes a long hike into town. It worked for us, but it did have a level of stress for all.

Posted by
2380 posts

We took the bus to Siena where we spent a few days. While we were there we rented a car for a day and drove around Tuscany. We went to San Gimignano, Montalcino and San Antimo. It is easier to rent a car in Siena.

Posted by
19 posts

I wanted to rent a car on our way out of Florence. Our hotel in Siena has designated parking for their customers for a small fee so we're all set there.

I have rented a car in Siena and will be driving from there to Assisi, which is our next stop. On the way, I would like to visit Pienza and Montepulciano. However, I was hoping to get in one more day of touring Tuscany, rather than having to deadhead to Siena via train or bus.

My husband is the one who is nervous about renting a car in Florence. I had heard it wasn't an easy place to drive in but it sounds like it might not be too bad as long as we're heading to the countryside and not back into Florence.

Posted by
8091 posts

The best way to see Siena is by bus. You'll find them to the right of McDonalds across from the train station--and around the block behind McDonalds. They take you into the center city, where the train takes longer and drops you off on the edge of town where you'll have to catch a city bus into the center city.
I advise against going into Siena by automobile as parking is difficult to find, and the streets are very congested. The city is also up on top of a big hill with apartment complexes all over the place.
You could arrange to pickup a rental car in Siena as you're leaving, and San Gimignano and Volterra are good, easy drives from there.

Posted by
1573 posts

David,

Did you read the OP's additional information just above your reply? She said they had reserved parking at their hotel in Sienna.

Posted by
11052 posts

We picked up our rental car in Florence one time on Borgo Ognisanti and getting out of town was not difficult at all.

Posted by
10 posts

Actually parking in Florence isn't as bad as you might think. Been there multiple times and used parking garages below the street level. Parking in Siena is harder because the city is build between several hils but you can park at the soccer stadium at 4 Piazza S. Domenico. From Florence i would suggest to take the highway no A1 to Figline Valdarno and from there the SP 16 Chiante route). This takes you Greve in Chianti. I you realy want a special souvenir take a very short detour to Via Sant'Andrea, 11, 50063 Figline e Incisa Valdarno FI, Italië. It is a very small shop owned by Sting (singer of the police) called Tenuta Il Palagio Farm Shop
From Greve in Chianti take the SR 222 to Siena.
You can either stay in Siena but why not make it a round trip?

When leaving Siena for Florence i would really take some time to visit Volterra. It is a little over an hour driving but for me absolutely worth the time.
From Volterra take the SR 439 and the SR 429 to Castelfiorentio. From there back to Florence. Roads are curvy but easy to drive.
Hope this helps and if you need more info, contact me.

Regards,

Jerry

Posted by
540 posts

Congratulations on planning your upcoming trip.

We stayed in Florence for 4 days. On one of those days, we took an early bus to Siena, picked up the car rental in Sienna, drove around Tuscany for the day, returned the car to Siena, and then took the bus back to Florence. We had a wonderful day tooling around Tuscany and got back to Florence around 7-8pm.

The bus is more convenient than the train, I think, for the Florence to Siena journey.