Day Trips from Siena

Day Trips from Siena

The best excursions and trips you can do in a day

Siena perches where the Crete Senesi hills roll south and the wooded Chianti ridges climb north, putting a notable variety of landscapes and towns within easy reach. In 30, 60 minutes you can swap medieval brick for Romanesque abbeys, volcanic hot springs, or the wine country that begins right outside the city gates. Most trips are short enough that you can breakfast in Siena, spend the day exploring, and still make it back for an aperitivo in Piazza del Campo. The regional buses (Tiemme and Toscana Mobilità) are surprisingly punctual, but a car unlocks the tiny hill hamlets and countryside farm restaurants that buses rarely serve. Because Siena itself is compact, day trips feel like switching chapters rather than starting a new book. You'll notice the stone changes color outside the city, food shifts from thick pici pasta to lighter soups, and even the dialect picks up a different cadence. These differences are exactly why locals leave town on Sundays, exploring the province is part of being Senese.

Full-Day Trips

Worth dedicating a whole day to explore.

San Gimignano

25 USD (bus 16 USD return, tower 10 USD, wine tasting optional)

Medieval Manhattan is the lazy nickname. Yet the fourteen tower houses still slice the skyline exactly as they did in 1300. Arrive early to walk the walls before the souvenir stalls wake up.

Distance
42 km
Travel Time
75, 90 minutes
Total Duration
8 hours
Transport
Tiemme bus 130 from Piazza Gramsci (direct at 08:20 and 09:20)
Torre Grossa climb for 360° views Museo Civico frescoes Vernaccia white-wine tasting at Tenuta Torciano
Best for: First-time visitors, photography, wine lovers
Book the tower online to skip the queue. The second climb slot (09:30) is still quiet.

Pienza & Val d'Orcia

30 USD (bus day pass 18 USD, cheese tasting 10 USD)

UNESCO rebuilt this village as the 'ideal Renaissance city'; the surrounding wheat fields and cypress lanes are the desktop wallpaper you've seen a thousand times.

Distance
55 km
Travel Time
75 minutes by car, 1 h 45 min via Asciano by bus
Total Duration
9 hours
Transport
Car essential for farm visits. Otherwise Tiemme bus 114A to Asciano then 112 to Pienza
Pecorino tasting at Buon Gusto Pieve di Corsignano walk Photography at Agriturismo Baccoleno
Best for: Food shoppers, photographers, slow travelers
Thursday market day in Pienza, goats' cheese wheels arrive at 07:30 and sell out by 11:00.

Montalcino & Brunello Vineyards

45 USD (bus 18 USD, tasting flights 25 USD)

The hill town itself is a fortress of wine bars. The surrounding estates pour Brunello straight from the barrel on request.

Distance
42 km
Travel Time
60, 70 minutes
Total Duration
9 hours
Transport
Car (SP451 via Buonconvento) or Tiemme bus 114A to Torrenieri then 112
Castello di Banfi terrace tasting La Fortezza ramparts walk Sant'Antimo Gregorian chant at 12:30
Best for: Wine enthusiasts, couples, slow drivers
Book Banfi online for free cellar tour. Abbey chant is free but collection basket appears halfway through.

Monteriggioni & Chianti Loop

35 USD (fuel, tower entry, lunch)

A well round 13th-century walled village you can walk in fifteen minutes, followed by vineyard country backroads that feel like a film set.

Distance
15 km
Travel Time
20 minutes to Monteriggioni, then slow driving
Total Duration
7, 8 hours
Transport
Car (or bus 130 to Castellina, then local taxi to Monteriggioni)
Climb two towers for 5 euros Castellina in Chianti Etruscan wine museum Lunch at Trattoria Il Re Gallo in Fonterutoli
Best for: History lovers, drivers, families with small kids
Park outside Monteriggioni walls, inside parking costs more and you still walk the same cobbles.

Bagno Vignoni Hot Springs

20 USD (fuel or bus 12 USD, lunch 15 USD)

A medieval pool the size of a football field, fed by 49°C volcanic water, no entry fee if you soak your feet at the free canal instead.

Distance
45 km
Travel Time
60, 70 minutes
Total Duration
8 hours
Transport
Car via SP438; buses require two changes (Siena-Asciano-San Quirico-Bagno Vignoni)
Free foot soak at Parco dei Mulini Lunch at Osteria del Leone Walk to Rocca d'Orcia in 30 minutes
Best for: Wellness seekers, budget travelers, couples
Bring flip-flops; the canal stones are slippery and sharp.

Abbey of San Galgano & Sword in the Stone

15 USD (fuel, abbey donation 2 USD)

A Gothic abbey without a roof where swallows dive through empty arches. Next door, a chapel preserves the actual sword in the stone of medieval legend.

Distance
35 km
Travel Time
45 minutes
Total Duration
6 hours
Transport
Car via SP73; no direct public transport (bus to Monticiano then 4 km taxi)
Photography inside roofless abbey Montesiepi chapel sword Short woodland hike to Eremo di Montesiepi
Best for: Photographers, history nerds, solitude seekers
Go late afternoon, light streams through the missing roof and tour buses have left.

Crete Senesi Loop (Asciano & Monte Oliveto Maggiore)

25 USD (bus 12 USD, taxi split 10 USD, abbey donation 5 USD)

Bleached clay hills like lunar dunes, interrupted by solitary cypress and Benedictine frescoes that deserve more fame.

Distance
28 km
Travel Time
30 minutes to Asciano
Total Duration
7 hours
Transport
Tiemme bus 114An every hour, then local taxi or 1 h walk to Monte Oliveto
Asciano Etruscan museum Monte Oliveto fresco cycle by Sodoma Photography at Leonina farm
Best for: Art lovers, landscape photographers, walkers
Bus 114A runs hourly until 19:30, miss it and a taxi back costs 50 USD.

Half-Day Options

Shorter excursions when time is limited.

Elsa River Walk to San Quirico d'Orcia

5 USD (bus ticket and picnic supplies)

A gravel riverside path from Siena's Porta Romana to the old mills, shaded by poplars and good for a picnic without leaving the province.

Duration
3 hours round trip
Transport
Walk or city bus to Porta Romana
Medieval mills and weirs

Certosa di Maggiano Carthusian Monastery

8 USD (bus 3 USD, donation 5 USD)

Five minutes south of the walls, a still-active charterhouse with a frescoed refectory open on Sunday mornings only.

Duration
2, 3 hours
Transport
Urban bus 37 (12 minutes) or 20-minute walk from Porta Tufi
17th-century refectory frescoes

Chianti Rufina Wine Tasting at Villa di Geggiano

20 USD (bus 6 USD, tasting 15 USD)

A 1700s villa estate on the city's northern edge. Book ahead for a 90-minute tasting that ends in their lemon-scented garden.

Duration
2.5 hours
Transport
Bus 125 (direction Poggibonsi) to Villa a Geggiano stop
Baroque villa tour plus three wines

Fortezza Medicea Park & Enoteca

12 USD (park free, three-glass tasting 12 USD)

Use the fortress ramparts as a viewing platform over Siena's rooftops, then descend to the state-run wine shop for a guided tasting flight.

Duration
2 hours
Transport
10-minute walk from Piazza del Campo
Panoramic views Regional wine flight

Day Trip Tips

Make the most of your excursions.

  • Buy Tiemme bus tickets at Siena's train station or any tabacchi, onboard purchase costs €1 extra and drivers rarely have change.
  • Most buses leave from Piazza Gramsci. The information office inside the bus station posts updated timetables every Sunday for the week ahead.
  • If you rent a car, fill up before 18:00, gas stations in hill towns close early and weekend pumps switch to self-service credit card only.
  • Restaurants in Chianti villages stop serving lunch at 14:30; aim to arrive by 13:00 or pack a picnic.
  • Wednesday is market day in Asciano, Friday in Pienza, Saturday in Montalcino, plan around crowds and parking.
  • Check abbey and monastery websites for Gregorian chant times. They change with the liturgical calendar.
  • Bring a reusable water bottle, many hill towns have public springs with drinkable mountain water posted 'acqua potabile'.

Book These Day Trips

Top-rated excursions you can book now.

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