🇮🇹Italy · Places to discover
What to see in Sienne?
23 places selected by the community - landmarks, nature, hidden restaurants and activities.
Siena stopped its clock in the 13th century, and that's precisely what distinguishes it from Florence, 70 kilometres to the north. The city is organised around Piazza del Campo, a brick shell inclined towards the Palazzo Pubblico, where residents gather as much as visitors. Rivalries between the seventeen contrade - these neighbourhoods with fierce identities - still structure daily life, well beyond the Palio run twice yearly.
The best period runs from March to May or September to October, when light is clear and tour buses fewer. Two days are enough to walk through the centro storico - no cars circulate there. Don't plan your stay solely around the Palio: tickets are scarce, prices double and the city becomes pure logistics. Take time to enter the Duomo and look at the marble marquetry floor, often overlooked in favour of the façade.
Landmarks & heritage
4 places
1Wikimedia CommonsLandmark
Santa Maria della Scala Museum Complex
Medieval former hospital from the 11th century converted into a museum, featuring frescoes from the Pellegrinaio and striking archaeological collections. One of Tuscany's most underestimated museums.
2Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0Landmark
Piazza del Campo
One of the finest medieval squares in Europe, shell-shaped and sloping towards the Torre del Mangia. Each year in July and August, the Palio sets the city's heart racing.
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Landmark
Landmark
Santuario e Casa di Santa Caterina
Birthplace of Saint Catherine of Siena transformed into a sanctuary in the 15th century, featuring chapels adorned with frescoes by Sodoma. An authentic place of contemplation away from the crowds.
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Landmark
Landmark
Battistero di San Giovanni
Gothic baptistery situated beneath the cathedral's apse, housing a bronze baptismal font decorated with reliefs by Donatello, Ghiberti and Jacopo della Quercia. Often overlooked by hurried tourists.
Museums
3 places
5Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0Museum
Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena
Housed in Palazzo Buonsignori, this art gallery traces the Sienese school from the 13th to 15th century with works by Duccio, Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers. A journey through Italian Gothic painting often overlooked by tourists.
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Museum
Museum
Visit to the Contrade – Museo della Contrada dell'Oca
Each contrada has its own museum documenting the history of the Palio. The Oca (Goose) museum on Via Santa Caterina is one of the most accessible and best documented. A deep immersion into Siena's true identity.
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Museum
Museum
Museo Civico del Palazzo Pubblico
Housing Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes on Good and Bad Government, this is one of the most important secular pictorial cycles of European Middle Ages. Essential for anyone interested in Sienese art.
Religious sites
2 places
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Religious site
Religious site
Basilica di San Domenico
Imposing Gothic basilica dominating the city from the Camporegio hill, housing relics of Saint Catherine of Siena. The view of the cathedral from the esplanade is one of the city's most photographed vistas.
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Religious site
Religious site
Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
Gothic-Romanesque masterpiece with striking bicoloured marble façades, featuring a unique world-class mosaic floor and the Piccolomini Library with frescoes by Pinturicchio. Absolutely worth seeing from the interior.
Castles & fortresses
3 places
10Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0Castle
Enoteca Italiana alla Fortezza Medicea
Italian national wine library housed in the cellars of the Medici fortress, offering over 1,500 Italian wines for tasting. A unique place to discover Tuscan appellations with expert guidance.
11Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0Castle
Fortezza Medicea di Santa Barbara
16th-century fortress built by Cosimo I de' Medici after the conquest of Siena, now transformed into a cultural space and public garden. The Enoteca Italiana here offers an exceptional selection of Tuscan wines.
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Castle
Castle
Via di Città and Banchi di Sopra – Gothic Palaces
The two main thoroughfares of the historic centre are lined with Sienese Gothic palaces from the 13th–14th centuries such as Palazzo Chigi-Saracini and Palazzo Tolomei. An architectural walk best done early in the morning.
Nature
1 place
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Nature
Nature
Siena Ramparts Walk – Lizza
A stroll along the medieval ramparts and Lizza gardens, frequented by Sienese residents from morning to evening. Ideal for observing local life away from the tourist circuits.
Parks & gardens
1 place
14Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Park
Botanical Garden of the University of Siena
University botanical garden founded in 1784, nestled in a quiet valley below the city walls. A peaceful haven with historic greenhouses and medicinal plants cultivated for centuries.
Viewpoints
4 places
15Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0Viewpoint
Porta Romana and Viale Vittorio Emanuele II
One of Siena's seven medieval gates, with partially preserved interior frescoes. The boulevard ending here offers a striking entrance into the city.
16Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0Viewpoint
Torre del Mangia
The 102-metre tower dominating Piazza del Campo offers a 360° panorama over Siena's rooftops and Tuscan hills. A climb of 400 steps; booking is advised.
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Viewpoint
Viewpoint
Via delle Sperandie Viewpoint
Discreet viewpoint over the rooftops of the Aquila contrada and the Chianti hills, accessible on foot from the centre. Locals come here to watch the sunset.
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Viewpoint
Viewpoint
Facciatone – Panorama from the Incompiuta
The unfinished façade of the cathedral's enlarged nave offers a vertiginous panorama of Siena and the surrounding hills from its summit. One of the city's best-kept secrets, accessible via a narrow staircase.
Activities
2 places
19Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5Activity
Accademia Musicale Chigiana
Musical institution founded in 1932 by Count Chigi-Saracini, hosting chamber concerts throughout the summer in the rooms of a medieval palace. A rare privilege to hear chamber music in an exceptional setting.
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Activity
Activity
Ceramics Course - Sienese Ceramics Art Workshop
Craft workshop offering introductions to traditional Sienese ceramics with contrade motifs. An authentic activity to take home a personal creation rather than mass-produced souvenirs.
More to discover
3 places
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Place
Place
Libreria Senese
Hundred-year-old independent bookshop specialising in the history of Siena and Tuscan literature, with a section of antiquarian books and historical maps. The address for scholars and the curious.
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Place
Place
Mercato di Piazza La Lizza
Large Wednesday morning weekly market where Sienese and farmers from the surrounding hills sell vegetables, cheeses, cured meats and textiles. The real pulse of the city, unfiltered.
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Place
Place
Terzo di Camollia – Authentic Northern Quarter
The northern third of the walled city, less visited than the centre, with intact medieval alleyways, small contrada chapels and artisan shops. The Siena of the Sienese.
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