Things to do in Siena

Siena never became Florence. Where Florence built in stone and reason, Siena stayed Gothic, its rebuilding stopped short by the Black Death in 1348. The Palio, a bareback horse race around Piazza del Campo, still runs twice a year.

The city itself

The Campo is the reason to come.

• Piazza del Campo. A shell-shaped square, one of the great medieval public spaces in Europe.
• Duomo. Black-and-white striped marble, inside and out, unmistakably Sienese.
• Torre del Mangia. A climbable bell tower beside the Palazzo Pubblico, city views at the top.
• Contrade. Seventeen historic districts, each with its own colours and museum. Ten of them ride in each Palio.

Chianti and the wine country

Chianti starts here. Sangiovese is the grape behind it, sold under the Chianti Classico label with its black rooster mark. Cellar visits, e-bike routes and a scenic drive through the vineyards all run from Siena.

• Wine tours. Cellar visits and tastings, some with a Tuscan lunch or a cooking class built in.
• By bike or Vespa. Routes through the vineyards for a slower look at the hills.
• Castle tour. A drive past the fortified hill villages that once guarded the old Chianti League.

South of Chianti, Val d'Orcia is a different landscape — cypress-lined roads and the Renaissance town of Pienza. Montalcino, in the middle of it, gives its name to Brunello, a Sangiovese aged for years before release. Tours run from Siena into both.

Practical

• Weather. Summer regularly passes 30C, a drier heat than the coast; spring and autumn sit in the high teens to low 20s. Winter is cool and damp, with occasional near-freezing nights.
• Getting around. The historic centre is steep and pedestrian; comfortable shoes matter more than in flat cities.
• Palio days. July 2 and August 16 fill the city and raise hotel prices; the Campo is free to watch from, standing.
• Booking ahead. Chianti and Val d'Orcia tours fill first in the September grape-harvest window.
• Driving. Self-drive works, but a guided minibus avoids parking in tiny hill villages.