1 Day in Siena for a Young Couple
In the planning stages of our trip through Italy, we had decided to spend 1 day and 1 night in Siena because we wanted to see the heart of Tuscany and Rick Steves describes Siena as magic at night. He was more than right, in Siena, we had our favorite meal of the trip and was pleasantly surprised by something else. We stopped into Siena after spending 3 Days in Florence. Everything good in Florence is even better in Siena – we loved this city.
- Day 1 Summary
Day 1 Summary
In the planning stages of our trip, we had decided to spend 1 day and 1 night in Siena because we wanted to see the heart of Tuscany and Rick Steves describes Siena as magic at night. He was more than right, in Siena, we had our favorite meal of the trip and was pleasantly surprised by something else.
View Day in Siena in a larger map- Hotel near the Bus Station
Stayed at hotel near SITA Bus Stop
We stayed at a decent, standard hotel near Piazza Gramsci, where the SITA bus from Florence dropped us off (less than 5 minute walk). We chose it because we wanted to be able to leave Siena at 6am the next morning by SITA bus back to Florence. It was a fine choice because its probably another 5 minute walk to Il Campo which is where everyone hangs out.
View Day in Siena in a larger map- Arrival by SITA Bus
- Arrival by SITA Bus
We arrived from Florence in the morning by SITA bus. The trip takes about an hour. We took an 8am bus on a Saturday with the direct route. This timetable says 2010 but it’s still the latest as of Oct 2012.
- Wandering around Siena
- Wandering around Siena
The center of Siena is car free so you can just wander aimlessly and check out shops and take pictures. It’s a nice feeling. After checking into our hotel, we just wandered toward Il Campo (the main circle) and just explored random shops. A lot of shops sell panforte which is like a fruit cake, pasta from Siena, wines, cheese and other things you think about when you hear Tuscan. It’s hard to get lost so you can relax and enjoy il dolce far niente (the sweetness of doing nothing).
- Buying a Picnic
- Buying a Picnic
As we got hungry, we decided to picnic. Consecutive days of eating huge dinners was definitely getting to us. Plus, we walked by a lot of stores that sold farm-fresh fruits, meats, cheese and bread. So, slowly, we started accumulating picnic foods. Just follow your nose and eyes here. Although, in hindsight, I should’ve bought more stuff from Consorzio Agrario di Siena. It’s like a Tuscan Whole Foods
- Picnic on Il Campo
- Picnic on Il Campo
After we got what we needed for our picnic, we laid out on Il Campo. Il Campo is a semi-circle town center. Locals and tourist use it as a beach and lay out to just relax. We did the same and enjoyed our picnic and people watching from here. There is almost no shade so it got hot fast though.
- Our Secret Spot in Siena
- Our Secret Spot in Siena
We started wandering around some more after our picnic. We stumbled upon Orto Botanico, a grassy area over looking the Tuscan countryside. See the map in the Day 1 Summary for the location. In retrospect, we should’ve taken our picnic here. We just lazed around here for about an hour. There were only a few people here so it was nice to escape the tourists.
- Duomo in Siena
- Duomo in Siena
Our wandering continued and we went to hang out at the Piazza at the Duomo. The Duomo looks like a miniature one of the Florence one. There is a large unfinished portion that people pay to climb up. We just hung out in the piazza and continued enjoying doing nothing.
- Pasta from Siena
- Pasta from Siena
At the Consorzio Agrario di Siena market, there is a huge selection of spices, olive oils, pastas and more. We saw a lady buy like 20 bags of pici pasta. Pici is a very thick spaghetti. We didn’t have it until dinner later that night. My biggest regret on this trip is only buying 1 bag rather than 20 like her. She totally looked like she knew what she was doing. We didn’t see anyone sell Pici outside of Siena. It’s delicious and would’ve made great gifts.
- Palio Victory Party
- Palio Victory Party
We returned to the hotel to rest and get ready for dinner. On our way to dinner, we were pleasantly surprised that a street party was going on. It turned out to be a victory party for the Palio (a horse race they hold 2x a year). We felt so lucky to have chosen a restaurant that led us to this party. The best thing is that most of the tourists left Siena already and we felt like we were hanging out with just locals.
- Dinner at Trattoria Papei
- Dinner at Trattoria Papei
We broke ourselves off from the party to go to dinner at Trattoria Papei (per Rick Steves). We enjoyed our ~3 hour dinner here with wine. We had decided by now that we were going to indulge in pasta and not feel pressure to eat “secondi’s” if that wasn’t what we wanted. We had 2 orders of pici. Wish we would’ve had more. The service here was great and we really enjoyed eating slow and not feeling like we had somewhere else to go. It’s smart to make reservations.
- Il Campo at Night
- Il Campo at Night
After dinner, we went back to the Palio victory party. After that, we walked for 2 minutes back to Il Campo. Il Campo at night is very Italian. You have a ton of people just sitting around, eating gelato and enjoying the night.
- Siena – “Magical at Night”
- Siena – “Magical at Night”
Like Rick Steves said, Siena really felt like magic at night. We even had a full moon (look at this picture). There were few tourists and we were in a place where it just felt right to do nothing but enjoy the moment. And the Palio victory party – how lucky are we to have gone on the right day!
- Bus to Florence and Train to Naples
- Bus to Florence and Train to Naples
The next morning, we took the first bus back to Florence at around 6am. This was Sunday so it was not a direct route at this time but we were looking to catch our early train to Naples. From Naples, we’re going to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.
Great reports! I particularly am enjoying that they’re so visual. Hope you continue. I’m interested to see what else you did.