Siena, located in the heart of Tuscan hills, is one of the most beautiful towns in Italy and an unmissable stop on any Tuscany road trip. If you are planning to visit Siena and wondering what to do in Siena, here are the best things to do in Siena Italy.
Siena is one of my most-liked Tuscan towns and prettiest places in Tuscany.
Siena is a walled medieval city with a Gothic appearance dating from the 12th to 15th centuries.
The medieval Republic of Siena was a powerful city-republic and a rival republic to the medieval Republic of Florence and the medieval Republic of Pisa.
The historic center of Siena is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you like art, history, and unique places, you will enjoy Siena.
You could spend only one day in Siena to tour its main sights.
However, I bet you will wish to stay more or at least return to Siena after visiting it.
In any case, here is my guide to the best things to do in Siena Italy.
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Contents
- 13 Best Things to Do in Siena Italy
- Piazza del Campo
- Fonte Gaia
- Palazzo Publico (the Civic Museum)
- Torre del Mangia
- Piazza del Duomo
- Santa Maria della Scala
- Dumo di Siena (Cathedral of Siena)
- Porta del Cielo
- The Duomo complex
- Facciatone
- Basilica of San Domenico/Basilica Catereniana
- Enjoy the cuisine of Siena
- Easy trips from Siena
- WHERE TO STAY IN SIENA
- HOW TO GET TO SIENA ITALY
- MAP: TOP ATTRACTIONS IN SIENA
13 Best Things to Do in Siena Italy
Piazza del Campo
Piazza del Campo and the Cathedral are the two major landmarks of Siena.
Il Campo is the main square in Siena and one of the most beautiful squares in Italy.
The main square of Siena is so unique! Piazza del Campo is built in red bricks, shaped like a shell, and divided into nine sections by travertine lines. Its nine sections symbolized the ruling Council of Nine of the medieval Republic of Siena.
Piazza del Campo in Siena is among the most impressive medieval squares worldwide. The square, as we see it today, was made in 1349. Beautiful palaces (palazzi signorili) surround Il Campo. Among them, Palazzo Pubblico (town hall) and its Torre Mangia are the most prominent buildings on the square.
Today, coffee bars and restaurants are in the square. Piazza del Campo is a top place in Siena to sit on the terrace of a coffee bar, order Aperol Spritz, and enjoy the atmosphere of Siena!
Fonte Gaia
Fonte Gaia is a medieval fountain on the Piazza del Campo.
It is one of the most beautiful public fountains in Italy.
Fonte Gaia in Siena was made in 1342. Jacopo della Quercia, a famous Renaissance sculptor and a forerunner of Michelangelo, decorated it in Montagnola marble panels in 1419.
However, Tito Sarrocchi, another well-known Italian sculptor, replaced the original panels with more durable Carrara marble in 1858.
Fonte Gaia in Siena is one of the prettiest fountains in Italy.
The stunning reliefs of the marble fountain show the Madonna and Child, allegories of the Virtues, and episodes from Genesis (The Creation of Adam and The Flight from the Garden of Eden).
Fonte Gaia is in the northwest top of Piazza del Campo.
Don’t miss out on seeing this stunning fountain in Siena!
Palazzo Publico (the Civic Museum)
Once the town hall, the Palazzo Publico is the Civic Museum today.
I highly recommend visiting Palazzo Publico, regardless if you are a history or art lover.
Palazzo Publico, also called Palazzo Comunale, was the Seat of the Government of the medieval Republic of Siena, built from 1297 to 1310. Historically and artistically, Palazzo Publico in Siena is one of the most important buildings in Italy. The building symbolically showed the political power of the medieval republic of Siena.
The palace is made of bricks and stone.
Spectacular frescoes adorn its interior. The frescoes in the Great Council Hall (Sala del Mappamondo) and the Hall of the Nine (also known as Sala della Pace) are a must-see in Siena. The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Hall of the Nine is among Italy’s most spectacular medieval frescos!
You must buy a ticket for the Palazzo Publico (Civic Museum). You can buy it online on site. The ticket office is in the courtyard of the Palazzo Publico.
There are two types of tickets for Torre Mangia.
Visitors can buy a combined ticket for visiting the Civic Museum, which allows a visit to Torre Mangia. And a combined ticket for visiting Torre Manga and Santa Maria della Scala. I bought a combo ticket for visiting the Palazzo Publico, Torre Mangia, and Santa Maria della Scala.
Torre del Mangia
Torre del Mangia is an 87-m-high tower of Siena that adjoins the Palazzo Publico. It is one of the tallest towers in Italy.
The gigantic tower symbolized the power of the medieval Republic of Siena. Torre del Mangia provides 360-degree views of Siena and its surroundings. Luckily, visitors can climb it today. There are more than 400 steps to climb to its top. But the views from the top are spectacular! Seeing Siena and its countryside from the top of Torre Mangia is absolutely one of the best things to do in Siena Italy!! If you are visiting Siena for one day only, I recommend booking climbing the tower for the last time slot. Let climbing the Torre del Mangia be the ‘cherry on the top’ of your Siena itinerary!
A note: The tower got its name after its first bell ringer. He was a glutton who spent his salary on eating in the taverns of Siena. Therefore he was nicknamed Mangiaguadagni (Eat the Earnings), or, for short, Mangia. Hence, the name Torre Mangia means The Tower of Eater.
Piazza del Duomo
Piazza del Duomo, along with Piazza del Campo, is one of the most important squares in Siena.
You will see crowds on Piazza del Duomo as soon as you approach it. Piazza del Duomo is home to Duomo di Siena (with its famous Piccolomini Library, the Crypt, Baptistery, and Opera del Duomo) and Santa Maria della Scala.
The Duomo di Siena (Cathedral of Siena) and Santa Maria della Scala face each other on the Piazza del Duomo.
Santa Maria della Scala
The Santa Maria della Scala Museum was once a hospital. It was built across the Cathedral of Siena on the Via Francigena pilgrimage route in the 9th century and enlarged into a complex in the 12th century.
The hospital looked after pilgrims, the sick, the poor, and kids. Siena’s Santa Maria della Scala is one of the first hospitals in Europe.
Santa Maria della Scala Hospital became part of Siena University in the 18th century. In the 20th century, it became a museum. The museum complex has a big Etruscan, medieval, Renaissance, and modern art collection. It covers the artworks of a thousand years of history of Siena.
The museum complex has several levels. The Pilgrim’s Hall (Sala del Pellegrinaio), with 15th-century frescoes (including the frescos by Domenico di Bartolo), is a must-see. Other parts of the museum complex are the Old Sacristy (the Sagrestia Vecchia) with paintings by Lorenzo di Pietro, Mantle Chapel (the Cappella del Manto), the Church of the Santissima Annunziata, and Chapel of the Virgin Mary (the Cappella della Madonna).
In the museum, you can see the original sculptures done by Jacopo della Quercia for Fonte Gaia.
The National Archeological Museum is within teh complex too. It is on the underground levels of Santa Maria della Scala.
The museum receives about 250.000 visitors each year.
Dumo di Siena (Cathedral of Siena)
Dumo di Siena is a landmark of Siena. The 13th-century Duomo of Siena is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Italy. It is the finest example of the Italian Romanesque-Gothic architectural style.
Giovanni Pisano (one the most prominent Italian artists of the 13th/14th century) was its master architect. In addition, the Cathedral of Siena has the impressive artworks of Nicola Pisano, Donatello, Pinturicchio, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Bernini.
The alternating white and greenish-black marble stripes, with some red marble stripes, are the most distinctive features of its facade. The white and black stripes symbolize the white and black horses of Senius and Aschius, the founders of Siena, sons of Remus, and nephews of Romulus (the founder of Rome). A column with a She-Wolf sculpture stands before the entrance to the Cathedral of Siena. The cathedral’s facade holds many elaborative sculptures of prophets, apostles, philosophers, and patriarchs, with extravagant mosaics.
However, the Duomo of Siena is even more impressive from the inside. The white and black marble-striped columns dominate its interior. However, the floor of teh cathedral is a true masterpiece. Several Sienese artists and Renaissance masters worked on the marble music inlay and graffiti floor for over five hundred years. The Cathedral of Siena has lots of artwork masterpieces, like the pulpit by Nicola Pisano, the statue of St Joh the Baptist by Donatello, the paintings of St Jerome and St Mary Magdalen by Bernini, and the dome’s gilded lantern by Bernini.
Piccolomini Library inside the Cathedral is a true treasure. Colorful frescoes by Pinturiccchi cover the library. These stunning 16th-century frescoes show the life of Pope Pius II, divided into 10 frescoe panels. The library displays a collection of rare manuscripts and books of Pope Pius II that he collected on his travels.
There are three types of tickets for the Duomo of Siena. Visitors can buy tickets only for the Duomo, the Opa Si Pass pass (which allows visits to the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Crypt, and the Opera del Duomo Museum), or the Porta del Cielo pass (which includes visiting the Porta del Cielo and all other sites of the Duomo complex – more about this later).
Porta del Cielo
The Gates of Heaven (Porta del Cielo) in Siena provides a top experience of Siena Cathedral. It offers spectacular bird’s-eye views of the interior and exterior of the cathedral. A guided visit takes up to 90 minutes. It starts with climbing a spiral staircase to an upper hall and an outdoor terrace and then crossing the nave through a passage.
Visits to the Porta del Cielo are limited and divided into time slots. It is hard to get a ticket to Porta del Cielo in the Duomo’s ticket office on the same day of the visit. I strongly recommend buying it online in advance!
The Duomo complex
Besides the Piccolomini Library, the Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista, the Crypt, the Opera del Duomo Museum, and the Facciatone are parts of the cathedral complex.
The 14th-century Baptistery of San Giovanni Battista belongs to the Cathedral complex. The baptistery is famous for its baptism font and the frescoes. The 15th-century frescoes cover its walls. They are the artwork of several Renessaince masters, like Lorenzo di Pietro, Matteo Lambertini, Benvenuto di Giovanni, and Pietro di Francesco degli Orioli.
Some of the most appreciated frescoes in the baptistery are the frescos by Lorenzo di Pietro. He painted the famous Twelve Articles of the Christian Faith fresco on vaults of the baptistery, The Assumption of the Virginia Glory with Angles, and a few scenes of Passion of the Christ on the apse.
But, a true treasure of the baptistery is a baptism font, a masterwork of Jacopo della Quercia, Lorenzo Ghiberti, and Donatello.
The Crypt is a part of the cathedral complex. It is a room underneath the Cathedral, entirely covered in the 13th-century frescos. The masterpiece frescoes show the scenes of the Old Testament and New Testament.
The Opera del Duomo Museum belongs to the Duomo complex. The museum hosts the artwork from the cathedral. Original sculptures of Giovanni Pisano, Donatello, and Jacopo della Quercia that were in the cathedral once are in the museum. Like sculptures by Giovanni Pisano from the facade of the Cathedral, Madonna del Perdono by Donatello, the stained-glass rose window by Duccio di Buoninsegna, and the famous altarpiece called Maestà by Duccio di Buoninsegna.
The Opera del Duomo Museum is in the right nave of the so-called New Cathedral, on the right side of the Duomo.
A visit to the Opera del Duomo Museum finishes with the Facciatone, one of the best panoramic viewpoints in Siena.
Facciatone
The Facciatone is a part of the ‘new cathedral’, meant to be built to enlarge the cathedral of Siena, but remained unfinished since the plague came off.
Faccatione has two levels from which visitors can see some of the best views of Siena. Seeing the panoramic views from the Facciatone is one of the best things to do in Siena. Getting to the Facciatone is worth every penny!
Facciatone is accessible only by buying the cumulative Opa Si Pass pass (which allows visits to the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Crypt, and the Opera del Duomo Museum) or the Porta del Cielo pass (which includes visiting the Porta del Cielo and all other sites of the Duomo complex).
Basilica of San Domenico/Basilica Catereniana
Basilica of San Domenico, along with the Cathedral of Siena, is one of the most important churches in Siena.
The Basilica of San Domenico is also called the Basilica Cateriniana. It is a famous pilgrimage place in Italy.
Basilica of San Domenico in Siena is a 13th-century church of friars of Saint Dominic and the church in which St Catherine of Siena attended Holy Mass and prayers daily in the 14th century.
St Catherine of Siena is a saint patron of Italy along with St Francis of Assisi.
St Catherine of Siena is also a patron saint of Europe. Her remains (her head) are in an urn in a chapel in the Basilica of San Domenico. Tombs of her family members are in the Crypt of the Basilica.
The basilica is colossal. However, its interior is not as elaborate as the interior of the Duomo of Siena. The Chapel of St Catherine is the most beautiful part of the basilica.
The Basilica Cateriniana Is on a hillock between Piazzale San Domenico and Via della Sapienza, a 10-minute walk from the Piazza del Campo in Siena. A viewpoint next to the basilica provides some of the best views of Siena.
Enjoy the cuisine of Siena
Siena is known for its tasty traditional cuisine, besides its rich history and art. Try local food in Siena for an authentic experience.
Here is a typical Sienese menu I recommend.
Start with the Sienese liver crostini, prepared with chicken or pork liver as an appetizer (antipasto). Then continue ordering traditional pappardelle pasta with hare sauce or the vegetarian ribolita soup as a first course.
If you are a huge meat lover, try traditional Sienese wild boar stew prepared with rosemary, cloves, bay leaves, nutmeg, and juniper. It is a meat delicacy of Siena.
You might enjoy the Sienese pappa al pomodoro if you are not a carnivore.
Do not forget to order a glass of local Chianti wine to enjoy the cuisine of Siena at its best.
And finally, take the famous panforte cake or ricciareli biscuits for dessert!
Easy trips from Siena
Siena is located centrally in Tuscany, and the province of Siena is one of the most beautiful parts of Tuscany.
The landscapes of Siena province are picture-perfect.
The famed Chianti area belongs to the Siena province.
Places like Castellina in Chianti and Radda in Chianti are within 50 50-minute drive from Siena.
Gorgeous medieval towns like San Gimignano, Pienza, Montepulciano, and Monteriggioni are in the Siena province. Monteriggioni and Colle di Val d ‘Elsa are within a 30-minute drive from Siena, while San Gimignano is a 50-minute drive from Siena.
Pienza, Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano are within one hour drive from Siena. Visiting these beautiful places in the Siena province makes great trips from Siena.
WHERE TO STAY IN SIENA
Palazzo Ravizza is a beautiful historic hotel in the heart of Siena. The hotel has a stylish setting and the rooms are elegantly furnished. Its garden provides breathtaking views of the green hills of Tuscany! The hotel offers free private parking and an exceptional breakfast.
HOW TO GET TO SIENA ITALY
Siena is easily reachable from Florence and Pisa in Tuscany.
Florence Airport and Pisa Airport are the nearest airports to Siena.
Siena is an hour and 15 minutes by car from Florence. It is also about one hour and a half by bus from Florence. Many day tours run from Florence to Siena. This San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni, Chianti Day Trip with Lunch & Wine Tasting tour is among Florence’s most popular day trips. However, the best option is renting a car at Florence Airport and exploring Siena and Tuscany on a road trip independently.
Siena is also easily reachable from Pisa. Siena is one hour and 50 minutes by car from Pisa. 20 trains run from Pisa to Siena and Siena to Pisa daily. However, these are not direct trains. You need to make a train switch. A train ride from Pisa to Siena with a train switch takes one hour and 45 minutes in total. However, don’t miss out on an opportunity to rent a car at Pisa Airport and explore Siena on a road trip. Check out affordable car rentals at Pisa Airport here!
Siena is also less than three hours by car from Rome. Check out rental cars at Rome Fiumicino Airport here. Siena is 2 hours and 45 minutes by bus from Rome.
MAP: TOP ATTRACTIONS IN SIENA
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