What is Siena known for?

Bareback horse race in Piazza del Campo on 2 July and 16 August, ten of the seventeen contrade competing, run since at least the seventeenth century. Marble cathedral in black and white bands begun 1226, with sculptures by Donatello, Pisano and Michelangelo and Pinturicchio's Piccolomini Library frescoes. Historic centre inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, a preserved medieval city built around the merchant republic that rivaled Florence until 1555.

When is the best time to visit Siena?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the dry months in central Tuscany: mild days, full openings at the museums, the Campo busy but not packed. The Palio runs on 2 July and 16 August: the city stops for the four days around each race, the trial races fill the piazza twice a day, and accommodation books out a year ahead. July and August are otherwise hot and crowded with day-trippers from Florence. November through March is quiet. The contrade go about their internal life, the museums stay open, and Piazza del Campo on a cold morning with no one in it is the Siena that pre-existed the photograph everyone takes.

Siena is a comune in the province of Siena, Tuscany region of Italy, about 78 kilometers from Firenze.

How do I get to Siena?

From Firenze, Siena is roughly 78 km by road.

Siena, Siena

Known for

PALIO
Bareback horse race in Piazza del Campo on 2 July and 16 August, ten of the seventeen contrade competing, run since at least the seventeenth century.
DUOMO
Marble cathedral in black and white bands begun 1226, with sculptures by Donatello, Pisano and Michelangelo and Pinturicchio's Piccolomini Library frescoes.
UNESCO MEDIEVAL CITY
Historic centre inscribed by UNESCO in 1995, a preserved medieval city built around the merchant republic that rivaled Florence until 1555.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Siena sits on three hills fifty kilometers south of Florence, with which it fought a defining rivalry through the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The historic center has been UNESCO World Heritage since 1995, preserved as a medieval city that worked deliberately to differ from Florentine urban planning. Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped square at the meeting point of the three original hills, fans out toward the Palazzo Pubblico, whose construction began in 1297.

The Torre del Mangia next to it, built between 1338 and 1348, stands 87 meters tall, the exact height of the Duomo, a deliberate equality between church and state. The Duomo itself, marble-clad in horizontal black and white bands, holds the inlaid mosaic floor that Vasari called the most beautiful ever made, and sculptures by Donatello, the Pisano family and Michelangelo. The Palio runs twice a year, on 2 July and 16 August: bareback riders representing seventeen contrade circle the Campo three times in roughly ninety seconds.

What to see

Piazza del Campo
Shell-shaped medieval square at the meeting point of Siena's three hills, paved in 1349 in red brick divided into nine sectors for the Council of Nine.
Palazzo Pubblico
Town hall begun in 1297, with the Sala dei Nove holding Lorenzetti's Allegory of Good and Bad Government from 1338-1339.
Torre del Mangia
Brick tower built 1338-1348 next to the Palazzo Pubblico, 87 meters tall, set deliberately to match the height of the Duomo.
Duomo di Siena
Marble-clad cathedral in black and white bands, with inlaid mosaic floor, Piccolomini Library frescoes and sculptures by Donatello, Pisano and Michelangelo.
Santa Maria della Scala
Former hospital opposite the Duomo, founded in the ninth century to care for pilgrims on the Via Francigena, now a museum complex of frescoed halls.
Pinacoteca Nazionale
Gallery in the fifteenth-century Palazzo Buonsignori, holding the major works of the Sienese school from Duccio to Sodoma.
Contrade
Seventeen historic neighborhoods of the centro storico, each with its own church, museum and identity, structuring the city year-round and the Palio in July and August.

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to — a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

Campo CedroRistorante
Campo Cedro carries one Gambero Rosso fork (78/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Gallo NeroRistorante
Gallo Nero has a Gambero Rosso listing and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Osteria le LoggeRistorante
Osteria le Logge holds two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
L' Orto & un QuartoBistrot
L' Orto & un Quarto has two Gambero Rosso tables to its name.
Osteria Quattro VentiTrattoria
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Osteria Quattro Venti.
Ristorante Al MangiaRistorante
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Ristorante Al Mangia.
Grand Hotel Continental SienaHotel
Grand Hotel Continental Siena carries a Leading Hotels of the World listing, plus a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Borgo Scopeto Wine & Country RelaisHotel
Borgo Scopeto Wine & Country Relais carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Hotel Palazzetto RossoHotel
Hotel Palazzetto Rosso holds a place in the Michelin hotel guide.
Il Battistero Siena - Residenza d'EpocaHotel
Il Battistero Siena - Residenza d'Epoca carries a place in the Michelin hotel guide.

Signature dish

Panforte di SienaSweet

A dense cake of honey, candied fruit, almonds and spice, pressed flat and dusted white, documented in Siena since the 13th century.

See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.

Living here

Population 52,812
A local hubi
Pharmacy in town
High school within a 30-minute drive
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Bologna, 2 h 6 min drive
Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 13 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 322 m
Population: 52,812
Surface area: 118.53 km²

On the map

Google Maps Apple Maps Directions from Firenze

These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.