"Siena" a Siena Travel Page by davequ

The Surrounding Tuscan Countryside is beautiful!!


But (imho) the city Siena itself cannot match up to and personally I preferred Firenze.

Go ahead and boo / throw things, etc, but I have spent extended time in both cities, and to me there is no contest.

My sincere apologies to all Siena-lovers,
but everyone has a right to their honest opinion.

And it is likely Callavetta's right. Maybe the "stars weren't lined up right" or ???

Maybe when I'm retired, have unlimited time on my hands and some Euros to burn, I might return and give it another shot.

The good part:

I rented a Smart Car for a few days and drove through / around Tuscany / Chianti from Firenze out to west coast,

and that was stunningly beautiful & the people in the countryside were warm and wonderful; (You MUST DO THIS)
but the city Siena itself for some reason left me a little cold.

If medieval architecture, duomos and towers fascinate you, then you should stay in Siena one or 2 nights & check them out.

But I personally get burned out very quickly on Italian hill towns and religous art:

(how many duomos can you tour... how much gelato can you consume? ),
and I personally prefer the Tuscan countryside much more.

If your Italian itinerary is limited by time (or the rising exchange rate of the Euro) and you are forced to choose between precious travel time spent in Siena vs Florence, the choice is in my opinion a no-brainer.

Next time I will rent a small place in the Tuscan countryside somewhere between Florence and Siena, rent a Smartcar for getting around, and except for a couple of restaurants, maybe skip Siena completely, but who knows.

To each his own. If you go to Siena I hope you love it. Lots of people do.
(Just being honest.)

... PS .. just because a tv travel guide and all his robots tell you some place is wonderful does not necessarily mean it is for everyone.