Gothic perfection around the Campo: Palio ground, striped cathedral, and Tuscany's proudest medieval city.
Explore → Get Early AccessFlorence's great rival kept its Middle Ages intact — the shell-shaped Campo where the whole city gathers, a striped Duomo stuffed with Michelangelo and Bernini, and lanes that funnel you into golden light. Stay overnight; Siena after the day-trippers leave is another century.
Banking and wool made medieval Siena Florence's equal until the 1348 plague froze the city mid-ambition — the Duomo's unfinished 'New Cathedral' wall still stands as the outline of what would have been Christendom's largest church.
The Palio bareback horse race (July 2 and August 16) is no tourist show — the seventeen contrade neighborhoods live for it year-round, baptize babies in contrada fountains, and the winning horse attends the victory banquet as guest of honor.
The road between Florence and Siena: castles, cypress lanes, and the world's most famous wine country.
Tuscany's free hot waterfalls and spa towns: Saturnia's cascades, Bagno Vignoni's steaming square.
Sleep on a working farm: olive oil at breakfast, vineyard sunsets, and the truest way to…
The 'ideal city' of the Renaissance: pecorino, papal architecture, and Val d'Orcia views from every lane.
Renaissance palazzos on a wine-soaked ridge: home of Vino Nobile and Tuscany's most dramatic cellar visits.
Basing in the countryside? Florence is an easy strike: trains, parking strategy, and timed-entry planning.
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