Day one: the heart
Start at Piazza del Campo, but not at midday. The brick shell sloping down towards the Palazzo Pubblico is at its finest early in the morning or in late afternoon, when the light comes in sideways and the groups have thinned out.
Climb the Torre del Mangia: over three hundred narrow steps, with limited numbers allowed up at a time, so booking is wise. From the top you understand the shape of the city better than from any map.
Give the afternoon to the Duomo. The inlaid marble floor is one of the most extraordinary things in Italy, but it is only uncovered during certain periods of the year: check before you go, because it changes the visit.
Day two: what most people skip
Santa Maria della Scala, facing the Duomo, was for centuries one of Europe’s oldest hospitals and is now a museum across several underground levels. It needs half a day and repays every minute. Its collections include a work by Piero Sadun, a twentieth-century Sienese painter.
Spend the afternoon getting lost in the contrade. There are seventeen, each with its own territory, fountain and museum. Walking away from the main streets is the best way to understand why the Palio is not a tourist re-enactment but something Sienese people live all year round.
Day three: out of town
Within an hour’s drive you have three different landscapes. The Crete Senesi to the south-east, with clay hills and lines of cypresses that are the very image of Tuscany. Chianti to the north, among vineyards and wineries that can be visited by appointment. The Val d’Orcia further south, with Pienza and Montalcino.
If you prefer to stay close, the Via Francigena passes through Siena itself: some stretches can be walked or cycled in half a day, through woods and Romanesque churches.
Getting around
The historic centre is almost entirely a restricted traffic zone and is walked, uphill and downhill: bring comfortable shoes, there is not a flat metre in it.
For trips out of town a car is nearly essential. Staying outside the walls has the advantage of free parking and of setting off in the morning without first fighting through the centre.
