Things to Do in Siena (2026): 15 Experiences Locals Recommend

Siena is a city you have to walk slowly. It's not Florence — there are no queues stretching across a piazza, no "3 sights to tick and leave". The city is medieval, compact, and the magic comes from spending at least a full day and one night inside the walls.

This is the honest list of the 15 things we'd send a friend to do, in roughly the order we'd do them ourselves.

1. Walk into Piazza del Campo for the first time — at 8 AM

Before the day-trippers arrive (they land around 10:30). The piazza is empty, the slope is more obvious, the marble Fonte Gaia is yours. Coffee + cornetto at one of the bars on the edge: €3-4, sitting outside.

2. Climb the Torre del Mangia

€10, 400 steps, no lift. Buy at the entrance to the Palazzo Pubblico. The view from the top — Tuscan hills in every direction — is what you'll remember of Siena. Go either at opening (10 AM) or last entry (around 6 PM) to skip the midday crowd and the worst of the heat.

3. Visit the Duomo + Piccolomini Library

The cathedral interior is one of the most overwhelming in Italy: zebra-striped marble, Pisano's pulpit, and the famous inlaid marble floor (uncovered late August → October). The Piccolomini Library next door has Pinturicchio frescoes in colours that look freshly painted. Buy the OPA SI Pass online — €18, valid 3 days — and skip the ticket line.

4. The Crypt and Baptistery

Both included in the OPA SI Pass. The crypt was only rediscovered in 1999 — early Christian frescoes underground. Almost no one goes in. 20 minutes well spent.

5. Climb the Facciatone

The unfinished facade of the cathedral — Siena tried to build the biggest church in Christendom in the 1300s, the Black Death killed half the city, they gave up. Today you can climb the half-built wall (included in the pass) for a rooftop view over the Duomo. Best photo spot in town.

6. Find your contrada

The historic centre is divided into 17 districts (contradas) — Oca (Goose), Lupa (Wolf), Tartuca (Turtle)… Each has its own flag, fountain, museum and patron church. Pick one and walk through it: look up for the flags, down at the contrada plaques on the pavement. Tartuca, Oca and Drago are the most photogenic.

7. See Piazza del Campo as a racetrack

Even outside Palio days, stand on the piazza and look at the earth track that wraps around the perimeter. That's where 10 horses gallop bareback twice a year. The wooden barriers, the mattresses on the dangerous corners, the church of Santa Maria di Provenzano at the start — once you know what to look for, the piazza changes.

8. Fontebranda + Basilica of San Domenico

A 10-minute walk downhill from the centre. Fontebranda is the medieval fountain Dante mentioned in the Inferno. Just above it, the Basilica of San Domenico holds the head and finger of Saint Catherine of Siena, the city's patron saint. Free entry. Quiet, stunning.

9. Pinacoteca Nazionale

The under-the-radar art museum. €8, almost empty most days, the best collection of 14th-century Sienese painting anywhere: Duccio, Simone Martini, the Lorenzetti brothers. 90 minutes is enough.

10. Walk Via di Camollia from the gate to the centre

The historic spine of Siena. Start at Porta Camollia (north gate, marked "Cor magis tibi Sena pandit" — "Siena opens her heart to you wider than this gate") and walk south back to Piazza del Campo. 25 minutes, no must-see stops — just real city life: bakeries, contrada bars, kids playing.

11. Aperitivo on Piazza del Mercato

Behind Piazza del Campo, the Piazza del Mercato is where senesi actually drink at 7 PM. Spritz €6-8, glass of Chianti €4-5, free olives and crostini. Less staged than the Campo bars, locals to your left and right.

12. Dinner in a real Tuscan trattoria

Order pici (thick handmade pasta) with cacio e pepe or ragù di cinghiale (wild boar), then peposo or a small bistecca, then cantucci e vin santo to close. House wine, no nonsense. Expect €30-45 per person. Our picks are in where to eat in Siena: a local foodie's guide.

13. Real Neapolitan pizza at La Napoletana 2.0

If you've had your Tuscan dinner and want a second night with something different, walk 12 minutes out of the walls to Viale Sardegna 37: La Napoletana 2.0, featured in the 50 Top Pizza guide, wood-fired oven, pizzas €12-16, full meal ~€25. The signature mortadella + fiordilatte + pistachio pesto is the one we order every time.

14. Day trip into the Crete Senesi or Chianti

If you have a car, the Crete Senesi (white clay hills south-east of Siena) and the Chianti Classico villages (north) are 30-60 minutes away. Otherwise, small-group day tours leave from Piazza Gramsci. Allow a half-day minimum.

15. Sunset from Fortezza Medicea

Free, panoramic, never crowded. Walk up to the Fortezza Medicea (15 minutes from Piazza del Campo) one hour before sunset. The view is over the terracotta rooftops with the Duomo and Torre del Mangia silhouetted against an orange sky. Bring a beer from the wine bar inside the fortress.

Practical: when to go, how to get here, what to skip

• Best months: May, September, early October. Avoid mid-July to mid-August unless you specifically want the Palio.
• How to get here: from Florence, bus (1h15, €9-14) from Piazza Gramsci is the easiest option. From Rome, train Roma-Chiusi + bus (~3h). From Pisa airport, direct bus 2h.
• What to skip: restaurants directly on Piazza del Campo (overpriced view), pre-packaged guided tours that rush through the Duomo, anything labelled "tourist menu".

Keep reading

• Siena, Italy: the complete 2026 travel guide
• Siena in one day: the perfect itinerary
• Self-guided walking tour of Siena (free, 3 hours)
• Where to eat in Siena: a local foodie's guide

*Something we missed? Email us at redazione@visitsienaguide.it.*