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Siena's rooftops, the Torre del Mangia and the cathedral seen from the church of Santa Maria dei Servi

Things to do in Siena: 9 experiences

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Photo: Zairon, CC BY 4.0

Siena is a Gothic city built on three ridges, and almost everything worth seeing sits between two squares: the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, with the town hall and its tower, and the Piazza del Duomo, with the striped cathedral and the old hospital opposite. The Italy page covers the Palio, the horse race run on the Campo twice a summer; this page is the rest of the year.

The city is divided into 17 contrade, the wards that race in the Palio, and they shape daily life far beyond the race: each has its own church, fountain and museum. The two big ticketed complexes, the cathedral sites and the civic museum in the Palazzo Pubblico, each sell their own passes, and the Torre del Mangia sells only on the day, so the order of your morning matters.

9 things to do in Siena

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Inlaid marble panels of the floor of Siena Cathedral

See Siena Cathedral's marble floor while it is uncovered

Piazza del Duomo

2 hours for the cathedral sitesBook ahead

A floor of 56 inlaid marble panels by more than 40 artists, fully revealed only a few months a year.

Tours in Siena
The Facciatone, the unfinished façade of Siena's planned new cathedral

Climb the Facciatone after Duccio's Maestà

Museo dell'Opera, Piazza del Duomo

1 and a half hours with the museumBook ahead

A lone wall from a cathedral the plague never let Siena finish, with the Campo and the hills in one frame.

Tours in Siena
Siena Cathedral and the Facciatone seen from the top of the Torre del Mangia

Climb the Torre del Mangia on a same-day ticket

Palazzo Pubblico, Piazza del Campo

30 minutes up and downNo booking needed

About 400 steps with no lift to the top of a 102-metre tower over the Campo, in groups of at most 25.

Ambrogio Lorenzetti's Effects of Good Government in the City, fresco in Siena's Palazzo Pubblico

Read Lorenzetti's Good and Bad Government in the town hall

Museo Civico, Palazzo Pubblico

1 and a half hoursNo booking needed

Merchants, dancers and farmed countryside on one wall, ruin and soldiers on the other, painted as a lesson for the city's rulers.

Tours in Siena
The frescoed Pellegrinaio hall of the old Santa Maria della Scala hospital

See the hospital frescoes of Santa Maria della Scala

Piazza Duomo 1

About 2 hoursNo booking needed

One of Europe's first hospitals, its men's ward frescoed with doctors examining patients and bread handed to the poor.

The Fonte Gaia fountain at the top of Siena's Piazza del Campo

Read the Campo from the Fonte Gaia down to the town hall

Piazza del Campo

As long as you likeFree

A brick square in nine wedges sloping down to the town hall, where you sit on the brick like everyone else.

Tours in Siena
The small fountain of the Onda contrada near San Giuseppe, at the start of Via Fontanella

Walk the contrade by their fountains and flags

The 17 contrade

2 to 3 hoursFree

17 wards with borders fixed in 1729, each with its own fountain, where flags and lamps change colour as you cross.

Tours in Siena
Rounds of panforte and panpepato in a Siena food shop

Eat Siena's panforte, ricciarelli and pici all'aglione

Historic centre

No booking needed

A dense honey and almond cake mentioned in 1205, soft almond biscuits in icing sugar, and thick hand-rolled pici with garlic.

Tours in Siena
Horses and riders racing round Piazza del Campo during a Palio trial in Siena

Watch the Palio in Siena's Piazza del Campo

Siena, Tuscany

A full day for the pageant and the raceFree

Ten horses and bareback riders, three laps around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, usually no more than 90 seconds of racing.

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    From Florence, regional trains (changing or not at Empoli) and direct coaches both take a little over an hour to an hour and a half. The railway station sits in the valley below the old town, linked to it by a chain of escalators; coaches stop closer to the centre. The nearest airports are Florence and Pisa.

  • Getting around

    On foot, and it is hilly. The historic centre is a limited traffic zone, so drivers should use the car parks outside it; the Santa Maria della Scala museum lists Il Campo, Duomo and Santa Caterina as the nearest. From the Santa Caterina car park, escalators climb towards the centre.

  • How many days

    One full day covers the cathedral complex, the Palazzo Pubblico and the tower if you start early. In must30's view, stay the night: Siena empties of coach groups in the evening, and the next morning gives you Santa Maria della Scala and a walk through the contrade without the crowds.

  • When to go

    Spring and autumn are the best months to walk the hills. The cathedral's marble floor is only fully uncovered for a few months a year, in 2026 from 27 June to 31 July and from 18 August to 15 November. The Palio on 2 July and 16 August fills the city; book months ahead if you want to be there.

Questions travellers ask

When is the floor of Siena Cathedral uncovered?

For part of each year only. In 2026 the uncovering, called Il Sommo Bene, runs from 27 June to 31 July and from 18 August to 15 November. Outside those dates most of the 56 inlaid panels are under protective covering.

Can you book the Torre del Mangia in advance?

No. Tickets that include the tower are sold only on the day, at the Palazzo Pubblico ticket office or the Dear Guests visitor centre. Climbs leave every 45 minutes for at most 25 people, and sales stop when the daily limit is reached, so buy it first thing.

Is Siena a good day trip from Florence?

It works as a day trip by train or coach, but it is better with a night. The day crowds leave in the late afternoon, and the city is at its best in the evening and early morning.

Where do you park in Siena?

Outside the limited traffic zone. The car parks closest to the main sights are Il Campo, Duomo and Santa Caterina; from Santa Caterina, escalators take you up towards the centre.

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