Walking from Florence to Siena

KDerksen

New member
Hi there,

My husband and I are planning a walking holiday in September. We would like to walk from Florence to Siena, trying to stay off roads and use mostly trails. I am having a hard time finding a guide book or books that provide detailed trail maps. I have found lots of tour guide companies that offer itineraries but these usually have some form of transport. We want to backpack the route, ideally starting in Florence where we could leave our luggage and walk to Siena in legs, I think it will take 5-7 days, then train back to Florence to collect our luggage.

Any suggestions or recommendations would be really helpful! And if you have done this walk, or a portion thereof, would love to hear about it!

Kate
 
walking to Siena

Buongiorno,

You definitely aren't the first to hike through Tuscany, all the way back to the 800's, thousands of pilgrims have trekked through the amazing countryside of Tuscany to reach Rome and ask for pardon.

Have a look at this trail, called the via Francigena. It has recently been updated with signs and maps - which are easy to follow. It doesn't start in Florence - but you can pick-up it in Lucca or San Miniato, both of which are accessiable with a train from Florence, so you can still leave your luggage there and train it back from Siena. The section that you are looking at can take anywhere from 5 to 7 days depending on how much you want to hike each day and it will take you through some of the most pictureseque areas of Tuscany - on a trail that is mainly free of cars. In addition, it is organized in a way that each section of the walk leaves you in an area where youwill find restaurants and accommodations.

https://www.discovertuscany.com/iti...ia-francigena/via-francigena-15-sections.html

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
I will add my support for doing the walk along the Via Francigena, and you'll find a good amount of guide books on it, the legs and where to stay along the way such as this one. Make sure to read the official site which has maps and GPS routes: https://www.viefrancigene.org/en/piedi/
Consider also companies such as sloways provide luggage transport, so you could organize to have your luggage taken to Siena by the end.

If you want to hike through Chianti and its towns (the Via Francigena works its way west of Chianti, not through it), that requires more planning because there isn't a direct path - but it's doable!

I have not seen a book or guide that connects Florence to Siena with info, but do have several books that suggest hiking in the area, many ring roads, etc. I've done some of those, so not what you're looking to do.
You would have to construct your own path down -- the trail maps you want to look for are by Edizioni Multigraphic - Firenze, they make trail maps for hiking in a scale of 1:25.000

You might need map 510 and 512, not sure they cover the entire area however:
http://www.edizionimultigraphic.it/...idx=3&page=casa-editrice-catalogo.php&lang=it

You can contact them and ask! :D
 
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