Siena – the city of never-ending celebrations!

Siena will charm you! The heart of Tuscany knows how to live, celebrate life and enjoy the true Italian dolce far niente!

Accommodation in Siena

If you stay in Siena, you can find great accommodation for little money. From our own experience we can say we didn’t expect any big hit, because for two nights we paid about €165 for the two of us with breakfast – and got much more than we expected.

Hotel Santa Caterina – it’s literally 5 minutes from the historic city centre! The rooms are large, spacious and after a demanding day you’ll 100% appreciate a bathtub (I sure did!). If you’re like us and into views, there’s a sweeping view of Tuscany right from the room. That then goes hand in hand with an equally amazing view when you sit in the hotel garden for a drink or for breakfast. Speaking of breakfasts – 12/10! The selection is large, wonderfully prepared and when we told the owner that we would skip breakfast one day because we needed to leave early – she arranged breakfast for us an hour earlier so we’d be fortified for the road.

I don’t know whether to take it entirely as a minus of the hotel, it left us a bit disenchanted, but it turned out well – and that’s parking. The main parking is in the courtyard, where about 8 cars fit, but it’s kind of Tetris – and since we have an SUV, we knew we wouldn’t make the turn. So the first night we parked on the street, where there’s a 70 euro fine. The owner gave us a hotel flyer for the window and a reference to the room – so that the local law enforcers would know we belonged to the given hotel and to our luck in the morning we had neither a gift under the wiper from them, nor any damage to the car.

The next day we parked in the second parking lot the hotel has and a larger spot opened up, so we parked there in peace. As a result we didn’t have to pay for this parking (15 euros per night) – as an apology for the complications, we appreciate it! 🙂

Among other hotels we had on our radar because of close distance, breakfast and parking, we were choosing the following, and on our next visit we’ll definitely go for one of them:

Palazzo Ravizza – what we liked about this hotel is that it lies literally in the city centre. We also really appreciated the private parking and, according to reviews, great breakfasts. The price is a bit higher than the first hotel – but here you pay for the convenience of being right in the heart of the action.

Hotel Minerva charmed us at first sight with views of the landmarks! The idea of an evening Aperol and this view is the perfect combination of what you want from Siena. A big advantage was the option to reserve a spot in their garage and the option to enjoy the local atmosphere right from the room (for a small extra charge you get a room with a view of the historic centre).

Celebrations after celebrations? In Siena it’s a common thing.

We knew that in Siena we would miss the huge celebrations of the Palio di Siena – one of the most famous and traditional horse races in Italy, maybe even in all of Europe.

The Palio takes place right on the main square Piazza del Campo, which is covered with dirt for this occasion and turns into an improvised racetrack. The individual city districts, the so-called contrade (there are 17 of them, but only 10 run in each race) compete against each other. Each district has its colours, emblem, anthem and enormous pride – the rivalry here is really strong and is taken dead seriously.

The race itself lasts only about 90 seconds, but it is preceded by several days of festivities, parades in historical costumes, blessings of the horses in churches and celebrations in the streets. It’s an enormous experience when the whole city lives only for the Palio.

An interesting fact is that a horse without a rider can also win – if the rider falls but the horse crosses the finish line first, the victory still counts. And the winning district can celebrate for a whole year.

We got into the direct continuation of the Palio traditions.

After the Palio di Siena (and sometimes in the weeks around the races) the city hosts celebrations of the individual contrade – that is, the historical districts of Siena. Every resident of Siena belongs to one contrada for life and takes it very seriously. Each contrada has its own: symbol (e.g. giraffe, goose, wolf, hedgehog…), its colours, its own anthem, flags, costumes and a number.

These processions are not a tourist attraction, but a living city tradition. Victories are celebrated, past races are commemorated, sometimes the patrons of the contrada are thanked or people just “show their pride.” That’s why it feels so authentic – the locals do it mainly for themselves, not for the audience.

The most beautiful thing about it is that the whole city stops – and they devote themselves primarily to these celebrations. There’s a lot of drinking, eating and celebrating everywhere. Locals walk around with a bottle of their wine and give a sip to everyone who celebrates with them (sometimes directly into the mouth 😀 )

@travelgingers

Only in Siena🥰 #tuscany #pride #italy #siena #travel

♬ I Wanna Know You – BLVKSHP

A hidden gem right in the centre

What we were lucky to find right in the city is a proper granny who cooks with her heart! And we had it right under our noses. The bistro is called Panini Il Cencio and is 100% focused on the customer and therefore offers “build your own sandwich” – the granny doesn’t speak English, we don’t speak Italian… and we still somehow managed to make it work and for 7 euros we got absolute heaven for the taste buds! So: ditch the dried-out pizza the guy opposite has (he was definitely not Italian, because otherwise he wouldn’t put fries on pizza!) and pop in here – right on Piazza del Campo 🙂

If you want a moment of peace and a divine view like we had, drop by the bar that you won’t find on Google, but it’s on the corner of the square – for better orientation I’m sending coordinates, because it’s really worth it! The walk up the narrow stairs to the balcony is worth it and more than one tall guy has to crouch halfway, but … The view and the peace are priceless. The price of drinks is around 10 euros and we can confirm they really don’t skimp and they’re great.

A city full of history

We didn’t set out just for food and drink – even though it may have seemed like that so far. We also set out to discover the beautiful hidden alleys and landmarks that Siena offers.

Piazza del Campo
The heart of all of Siena and one of the most beautiful squares in Italy. It has a typical fan shape and this is where the famous Palio horse race takes place twice a year. If you sit on the ground or in one of the cafés, you’ll beautifully understand the atmosphere of the city.

Palazzo Pubblico
The historical town hall right on Piazza del Campo. Inside you’ll find the famous frescoes about good and bad government and from here you can head up the tower. Inside you will find the Museo Civico di Siena, which definitely deserves a visit; here too it pays to buy tickets earlier ⇨ HERE

Torre del Mangia
The town hall’s tower and one of the tallest medieval towers in Italy. After conquering the stairs you’re rewarded with a breathtaking view of the whole city and the Tuscan landscape.

Duomo di Siena (Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary)
One of the most impressive cathedrals in all of Italy. The typical black-and-white façade, richly decorated interior, marble floor and works by masters like Michelangelo and Donatello. Buy tickets in advance ⇨ HERE

Baptistery of San Giovanni
It is located below the cathedral and is less visited, but definitely worth it. Beautiful Renaissance architecture and a richly decorated interior.

Santa Maria della Scala
A former hospital opposite the cathedral, today a huge cultural complex with museums, underground corridors and exhibitions. A great place if you want to understand the history of Siena a bit more in depth.

Contrade – city districts
They aren’t classic sights, but they definitely belong to Siena. Each district has its own emblem, colours, museum and church, and they are precisely what stand behind the Palio tradition. Just walk through the alleys and notice the flags and symbols.

Thermal baths literally around the corner!

Even though the trip takes almost two hours (and it’s only 67 km) – it’s worth it! The hairpins and literally a grade-three road will take you to the Cascate del Mulino thermal baths – also known as Saturnia. They are large natural thermal baths and it has to be said – there are plenty of people here, but no one crowds and everyone finds their space.

Parking costs 2.5 euros per hour and is large enough – the front machine accepts cards, the rear one doesn’t, it’s cash only. The parking lot is about 400 metres from the thermal baths – nothing terrible.

On site you can pay for a changing room for 5 euros – in exchange for a wristband with a waterproof chip. There are also showers on site – which, watch out, are not coin-operated but use their tokens, which you just exchange at the kiosk 🙂

The thermal baths themselves are FREE and as someone who went through this, I appeal – TAKE WATER SHOES! The pebbles are sharp, there isn’t the slightest hint of sand and it hurts a lot. I also recommend taking off all necklaces, watches, bracelets – I left mine on… but fortunately Czech jewelers also have golden hands and it was possible to save it from oxidation.

The lower part of the baths also offers space to rest, small beaches and more space to float through the baths. But if you dare to head above the house that’s in the middle of Saturnia, you’ll find absolute peace – the upper part of the baths is almost without people, the springs are wilder and there’s plenty of space. Just carefully, at the end of these upper springs there is a small waterfall – so don’t get hurt. But you can check it out right behind the house before you set off on the climb.

We’ve also written a separate, more detailed ARTICLE about it.

Do you want to know more about accommodation in Italy? More tips not only in Siena can be found in our article Italy by car: Accommodation 👌 You’ll find all our accommodations on the road trip there, honest reviews and tips.