San Gimingiano and Siena

Tuscanyfan1

New member
I will have a free day from a package tour to travel outside of Florence. No car. Is there any sense in trying to see San Gimignano and Siena by bus in the same day, or do I need to choose just one (and if just one, which would you recommend)?
 
If you only have the one day and want to do it on your own (in the sense of not joining another tour that would include both towns), I would suggest choosing Siena over San Gimignano. It is easier to reach (direct bus from Florence with no stops) and there is lots to see!

If you want to see both, then I would recommend a tour - you can either do a group tour
or a private tour to get you the private transport between each of the towns (although it is pricey).
 
Tour of Siena and San Gimignano

We will stay in Florence for 4 days. And we would like to join a tour of San Gimignano and Siena.Is it too tight to include Assisi for the same day.
Thank you.
 
Assisi and Siena

Hello Dino -

Assisi is definitely a stretch when you are visiting Siena and San Gimignano. Assisi & Perugia, even add in Lake Trasmineo, would all work together for a one day tour but the distances alone make it impossible together with the other two cities.

Siena and San Gimignano offer so much to see that even putting the two of them together will have you rushing thru them all the same. Be sure to check out the inside of the Duomo in Siena, the floor is absolutely beautiful.

Buon Viaggio
 
Siena and San Gimignano

Thank you for the reply. We have moved our Assisi trip when we get to Rome. From Florence, we plan to go to Siena and San Gimignano only. Yes, that is a stretch but would like to optimize our time.
Our question, is the best Bus route to go to Siena first and then San Gimignanao and not the other way around?

So our planned route will be from Florence to Siena to San Gimignano and back to Florence. It seems going back, one of the stops will be Poggibonsi? Is this correct? Initial plan is spend whole morning until after lunch in Siena and late afternoon in San Gimignano and back early evening in Florence.

Does it makes sense. Thanks for any assistance.

Regards,

Dino
 
travelling from Siena to San Gimignano

Buongiorno,

Have a a look at this link for the time schedule for Florence Siena (practically a non stop trip)

You can check out this link for the departure times from Siena to San Gimignano

This link will give you some practical info for making the trip: http://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/tourist-info/getting-to-siena-without-a-car.html

However you might also want to look into an organized tour which will give you more time to enjoy the cities and less time worrying about organizing your transport.

Buon Viaggio

Donna Denise
 
Thank you

Thank you Donna for the suggestions and will take a look at the links you provided.

Regards,

Dino
 
When in May 2016 is Medieval Festival Serremaggio will be held.

Hi, first of all thank you for the Forum Lourdes. I am planning a trip to Italy next year and like to see Tuscany for the first time. Besides beautiful villages and amazing view I am very intersted in history and related Festivals. I saw your writing on Serremaggio in Serre Di Rapolano[SUB][/SUB] and like to plan my trip to coincide with this. Please tell me if you know when it will be held in 2016 thank you so much.
 
Serre di Rapolano

Buongiorno,

Normally the event takes place during the two weekends in the middle of May. Many times these events are established dates depending on the first, second, third or last Saturday and/or Sunday of the month. However, I have not found any specific indications for the Serremaggio. In addition, the first weekend of May 2016 is only a Sunday so it makes a bit difficult to know for sure. Looking at past events it seems to be the second and third weekend of May.

When the offices open again on Monday, I will try to contact them for more information and then update the article online with more details: http://www.discovertuscany.com/crete-senesi/serre-di-rapolano.html.

Buon Viaggio.
 
You can also keep tabs by checking the Serremaggio site here: http://www.serremaggio.it/
and follow their FB page to get updates closer to the dates: https://www.facebook.com/Serremaggio

Of course, to better plan your trip to likely match the festival, I would suggest making sure you include a weekend in the first half of May 2016, for example May 13-16th as that was one of the weekends from last year ;-)
 
Serremaggio 2016 start on 7 to 15 May

You can also keep tabs by checking the Serremaggio site here: http://www.serremaggio.it/
and follow their FB page to get updates closer to the dates: https://www.facebook.com/Serremaggio

Of course, to better plan your trip to likely match the festival, I would suggest making sure you include a weekend in the first half of May 2016, for example May 13-16th as that was one of the weekends from last year ;-)

I wrote an email to serremaggio@gmail.com and received a response back from Francesco Croci telling me that the festival will be from May 7th to the 15th in 2016.
 
Which Medieval Festival do you reccomend

My husband and I will be in Tuscany for about a month and a half in May and June 2016. Your comments on Serremaggio made me search for any other Medieval festivals going on during this period and I found a few more: Cortona -Giostra del Archidado; Malmantile -Festa Medievale; Serravalle Pistoiese - Festa medievale; San Gimignano - Ferie delle Messi. If it were up to me I would attend all, but my husband might have a problem with that. I was wondering if you could help me prioritize a bit among these 5 festivals so I can make a better plan for our trip. I appreciate your help. Julie V.
 
San Gimingiano and Siena by train

We would like to do a day trip to Siena and San Gimingiano from Florence. Which is the best means of transportation - bus or train. If we go by train, can we buy a ticket to Siena and get off for a while at San Gimingiano or do we have to buy separate tickets to each city?
 
bus from Siena

Buongiorno,

The bus that goes to Siena does not pass thru San Gimignano, you will need to get another bus and another ticket from Siena to San Gimignano. Here is more info on how to get to Siena from Florence. This article will give you information on how to get to San Gimignano.

However, that is a lot to do in one day and you might find that just visiting Siena will fill your itinerary.

Have a look at the different off the beaten track things there are to see in Siena at this link: http://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/walks-in-siena.html

Buon Viaggio,
Donna Denise
 
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