Planning your trip to Siena

Siena is a hill town of brick and stone, its UNESCO-listed centre crowned by the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo. Summers are hot and dry, winters cold, and April–June plus September–October are ideal. The Siena tourism board is the official source for events, including the Palio dates.

Getting there

Siena has no airport: fly into Florence or Pisa and continue by rail or road. The train from Florence takes about an hour and a half via Empoli, and direct buses also run; the station sits below the old town, with escalators and buses climbing to the centre. Once inside the walls, the city is pedestrian - leave the car at the parking lots at the gates.

• ✦Two days suit the city; add a day for the Crete Senesi or the Chianti hills
• ✦The Palio runs on 2 July and 16 August - book months ahead and expect crowds
• ✦Comfortable shoes matter: Siena is stairs and steep lanes
• ✦The Duomo complex (cathedral, museum, library) is best covered with the official combined ticket