Gathering the gems worth your time…
Destination guide
Siena
Italy
Siena is a walled city in Tuscany, known for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and a colourful horse race, Il Palio, conducted twice each year in the summer. Siena's centro storico, a , is extremely picturesque, and from high towers, you can see the beautiful countryside that still largely surrounds the…
Introduction quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
At a glance
- Best time to go
- March–May and September–November
- Getting around
- Bus · On foot · Car
- Vetted picks
- 21 places to see, do, eat, and stay
- Real coverage
- 7 vetted creator sources
AI insights
Tripest editorial research (YouTube travel guides, published guides)
Piazza del Campo is a fan-shaped, sloping shell — sit on the brick and look up, then climb the Torre del Mangia for terracotta roofs and Chianti hills.
Buy the OPA SI Pass for the Duomo complex: the striped marble nave, the frescoed Piccolomini Library and the Museo dell'Opera's panorama walkway.
The Palio runs July 2 and August 16; the race itself is 90 seconds, but the city is a shut-down, contrada-mad party for days around it, with accommodation booked out months ahead.
Eat pici — hand-rolled fat spaghetti — with cacio e pepe or wild boar ragù, plus ribollita and cinta senese pork.
Churches enforce shoulders-and-knees covering, and guards will turn you away at the Duomo.
Stay overnight: Siena empties out after the Florence day-tour coaches leave, and the medieval lanes at dusk are the whole point.
How these 21 picks are sourced
3 of 21 are named by a second, independent source — Gambero Rosso, Michelin Guide and Rick Steves' Europe — and each card names its own. The remaining 18 rest on the reference article alone: we list them because Wikivoyage or Wikipedia documents them, not because anyone else vouched for them. We also watched 7 creator videos, 3 of them from local channels rather than visiting ones. 19 of the 21 descriptions are quoted word for word from Wikivoyage under CC BY-SA rather than written by us, as is the introduction above — each of those cards says so. What we add is the checking, the corroboration above, and the choice of which places are worth your time at all.What we can't promise is that it's still true. Venues close, hours and prices change, and we don't re-check them — a place here closed for good and sat on this page for a year before anyone noticed. The insights are AI-written from these sources and can be wrong too. Confirm anything you'd be sorry to be wrong about before you set out. Terms.
Watch first
Ranked by views and how well each landed with the people who watched it, judged against the other coverage of this place — plus a local creator where we found one.
SIENA: COSA VEDERE IN UN GIORNO | Tour da piazza del Campo al Duomo di Siena con tappa al Facciatone
Vittoria Tomasi I Una Penna in Valigia Travel Blog (Una penna in valigia) · 18K viewsLocalit
Siena, Italy: Timeless Sienese Eats - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide - Travel Bite
Rick Steves' Europe · 196K views
Top 10 cosa vedere a Siena
Come si viaggia · 20K viewsLocalit
Siena, Italy: Palio Horse Race - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide - Travel Bite
Rick Steves' Europe · 284K views
COSA VEDERE A SIENA - Cosa fare e dove mangiare a SIENA IN UN GIORNO⏳🏛
PortaleMondo - Viaggi & Racconti · 6K viewsLocalit
Siena, Italy: Piazza del Campo - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide - Travel Bite
Rick Steves' Europe · 127K views
Siena, Italy: Grand Gothic Cathedral - Rick Steves’ Europe Travel Guide - Travel Bite
Rick Steves' Europe · 68K views
Best time to go
Best window: March–May and September–November
Kind weather all year — there is no month to avoid.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
IdealGoodOkayOff-season
Rated from ten years of daily temperature and rainfall recorded at this destination, via Open-Meteo's ERA5 reanalysis. Hover a month for its real numbers.
Getting around
By bus
Google maps shows the location of all bus stops within the city. If you zoom in and click the bus symbol on the map, you will get a list of bus routes serving that stop.
On foot
Siena is a city (a small city, yes, but it isn't like one of the tiny hill towns) and the attractions away from the Campo/Duomo area are spread out on three steep hills, so walking is a necessity.
By car
The centre of Siena is accessible only on foot. Cars (other than taxis, police, etc.) are strictly prohibited; motorcycles and scooters are OK, though.
Transport notes from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What to see
Duomo di Siena
Single sourcePiazza del Duomo, 8· Cheap
Siena's magnificent black and white Italian Romanesque cathedral includes the Libreria Piccolomini, with splendid frescoes by Pinturicchio, the lovely Baptistery (separate entrance and charge), and an attached museum (separate entrance and…
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo
Single sourcePiazza del Duomo, 9· Cheap
This museum includes the famous Maestà by Duccio and many other great works by Sienese masters.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Palazzo Pubblico
Single sourcePiazza del Campo, 1
This striking structure has functioned as Siena's City Hall for almost 800 years and is probably the building that most recognizably represents Siena.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Fonte Gaia
Single sourceIl Campo, 21
The fountain sculpted in 1419 by the great Sienese sculptor, Jacopo della Quercia, is a focal point of the piazza.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Palazzo Piccolomini
Single sourceBanchi di Sotto
One of the most popular sites on the Piazza del Campo, it was built in 1459 by the well-known architect Bernardo Rossellino, disciple of Leon Battista Alberti.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Palazzo Sansedoni
Single sourceIl Campo, 58
Opposite the Palazzo Pubblico, it is another beautiful Gothic building on the Campo.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to do
Places are listed from Wikivoyage and our own sourced research. Worth it means a second, independent source names the place too; “3 sources agree” means three or more do — and each card names them, so you can check. Single source means the opposite, said plainly: the reference article lists it and nothing else we checked does.
Palio Horse Race
Worth itAlso recommended by Rick Steves' Europe
A horse race like nowhere else, between the 17 contrade of Siena, is run in the Piazza del Campo on July 2 and August 16.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
What to eat
Antica Trattoria Papei
Worth itAlso recommended by Gambero Rosso and 1 other
On Piazza del Mercato since 1936 — pici cacio e pepe, Senese tripe, and grilled Chianina.
Vetted sources
Osteria Le Logge
Worth itAlso recommended by Michelin Guide and 1 other
A former grocer's shop turned osteria, with 40-day-aged Chianina bistecca and a wine cellar dug into an Etruscan tunnel.
Vetted sources
Osteria Sotto le Fonti
Single sourceVia Esterna Fontebranda, 114
Restaurant off the beaten path, with owners who serve you personally; the waitress speaks fluently English & German (very rare in Italy) and knows how to recommend you wine, as she is also a…
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Osteria del Gatto
Single sourceSan Marco quarter· Moderate
Not far from the above Nonna Gina. Menu will be in Italian but the waiters and the cooks will be available for a translation "on the fly". Fish is served one week a month.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Bar Pasticceria Nannini
Single sourceVia Banchi di Sopra, 24
A bakery and cafe with an excellent selection of Tuscan pastries: Ricciarelli, Cavalucci, Cantucci, Panforte, etc.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Trattoria la Torre
Single sourceVia Salicotto, 7
This is also an excellent restaurant, in the contrada of the same name.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Ristorante Sansedoni in Birreria
Single sourcePiazza Il Campo, 58
Best priced drinks and food in Il Campo. Sit outside at a table in the central Piazza.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
The Walkabout Pub
Single sourceVia Pantaneto 90
Cool pub with Australian ambiance doing cool music.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Where to stay
Albergo Bernini
Single sourceVia della Sapienza n°15 (just down the street from San Domenico) (use Italian or simple English if you email) - dated but clean rooms in a tiny, centrally-located inn.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Siena Colleverde
Single sourceThe campsite can be reached by taking bus 8 from the city centre and asking to be let off at camping Colleverde (the stop itself is actually quite near the entrance to the site, there's a good and cheap pasticceria/bar nearby as well). You can walk but it's quite strenuous to do so.
About 3 km east from the city centre and up the hill from the rail station. It is quite a large campsite and has all the facilities and a swimming pool.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Agriturismo Monaciano
Single sourceTenuta di Monaciano, Ponte a Bozzone
Tuscany self catering accommodations in the Chianti hills 7 km from Siena with swimming pool, ping-pong and a romantic park.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Montagnola
Single sourceStrada della Montagnola 39, Sovicille
Beyond the small village of Sovicille about 12 km from Siena with regular bus connections. It's a decent site with basic facilities but quite friendly and helpful staff.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
La Villa di STR
Single sourceViale Vittorio Veneto, 11· Expensive
3-star hotel that offers free shuttle service for the Spa San Giovanni Rapolano Terme.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Santuario S. Caterina
Single sourceVia Camporegio, 37· Expensive
Run by a nunnery, this modest hotel near the Basilica di S. Domenico provides sanctuary to weary travellers. Curfew is 23:00.
Description quoted from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA
Vetted sources
Build your day
Pick the places you want in Siena, Italy and we will put them on a map in an order that does not cross the city twice.
Where to next
Nearby cities in Italy we’ve vetted too.
- FlorenceRenaissance art capital and Tuscan gateway.
- PisaThe Leaning Tower and a lively student city.
- LuccaIntact Renaissance walls you can cycle around.
- PerugiaUmbria's hilltop capital of chocolate and jazz.
- AssisiSerene medieval town of St. Francis and pink stone.
- RiminiAdriatic beach resort with a Roman past.
Travel content from Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Encyclopedic context from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Videos via the YouTube Data API.