Lexma90

Your analysis about the timing of an overnight trip to San Gimignano for you on this trip sounds right. I would otherwise be another vote chiming in to spend the night! It is magical at night, quiet, with locals and visitors strolling the quiet streets. You'll just have to go back. And do stay as late as you can.

While you're there, make sure to wander off the main "streets." We found, on our last visit, that there were few tourists on those back streets. And make sure to have gelato at the place right off the piazza where the cistern is. I don't remember the name, and it's almost always very crowded, but they make their own (artisanal) gelato, and have an amazing variety of totally delicious flavors.

ABENDIGO

Grazie NessunDorma!

Thanks SurfMom! The Medieval Torture Museum is not listed in my bookguide, and I love those kind of museums.

WillTravel, from all of the churches in Florence, San Miniato al Monte is the one I'm really looking forward to visit. I think the whole San Miniato story, picking up his head after being beheaded near Piazza della Signoria, and taking it where the church is now, is fascinating.

Thanks for the advice Lexma90! is it "Gelateria di Piazza"? According to my bookguide, it's in Piazza della Cisterna and it is the best one in San Gimignano.

ABENDIGO

SurfMom, I checked my bookguide and both San Gimignano websites and they don't mention anything about a Medieval Torture Museum.

clodius

Overnight in Siena for sure. Florence isn't worth 5 nights.

surfmom

check this:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...o_Tuscany.html

or this:

http://www.corkscrew-balloon.com/misc/torture/

I would say enjoy! But that's probably the right term...

surfmom

oops... probably NOT the right term

ABENDIGO

Thanks SurfMom! For some reason it's not listed in my Tuscany Guidebook.

I'm even more surprised that there's no mention about it on the San Gimignano websites.

I'll definitely visit it! I'm sure I'll "enjoy" it in a non creepy kind of way!

ABENDIGO

SurfMom, I just checked the website where they describe all of the torture instruments in the museum and...

I'm speechless!

I'm definitely visitng that museum, and I know I said I'd enjoy it, but, for respect to those who were victims of such cruelty, that is certainly NOT the right word.

Thanks for recommending that museum!

surfmom

You are definitely right - enjoy isn't the right word. It intrigued me, fascinated me, and has stayed with me over the years.

Not a 'typical' tourist thing, but opens your eyes and makes you think. Sometimes eye-opening things are 'enjoyable'.

Does that make more sense ?

ABENDIGO

I totally agree with you. As much as I like typical tourist landmarks, I also like off-the-beaten-track and eye-opening experiences. They give you a complete vision of the country you're visiting; not just the beautiful tourist side.

ABENDIGO

Hi again! I think I can manage to stay an extra night in Tuscany, so if I stay:

4 nights in Florence spending those 3 days (I never count the day I get to a place since I spend it resting)

and,

2 nights in San Gimignano arriving in the morning and sightseeing the town in the afternoon and a daytrip to Siena the next day

That'll give me the chance to experience San Gimignano at night and have an extra day in Florence to explore some more.

It sounds totally doable this way... doesn't it?

surfmom

I think that sounds like a grreat plan. I hope to hear that you are doing the Florence part first, because we felt like after the craziness and people of Florence, the countryside of San G. was a wonderful relaxation. We just loved walking around at night.

I think you will be entranced by San G. - I'm very jealous!

ABENDIGO

Thanks again SurfMom! So now I have this dilemma:

3 nights in Florence and 3 nights in San Gimignano? Or 4 nights in Florence and 2 nights in San Gimignano?

If I get to San Gimignano in the morning, check in at the hotel and spend the rest of the day sightseeing the town that'd be enough? Or I should spend 3 nights in Florence and on the fourth day leave for San Gimignano in the evening so that I can have the entire following day there?

ABENDIGO

By the way, I'll do the daytrip to Siena on July 1st: just one day before "Il Palio". Will Piazza del Campo be closed or anything because of the arrangements for it?

surfmom

Abendigo, I think the 2 nights option in San G will be awesome... We were desperate to leave Florence b/c of the craziness and crowds of it, but it sounds like you are staying in a 'restful' place.

Don't know anything about 'Il Palio' - maybe someone else can answer that ?

nessundorma

Abedigo,

I think you should contact the tourist office in Siena directly.

ABENDIGO

Thanks NessunDorma, I decided to go to San Gimignano first and then to Florence so I'll have no problems with "Il Palio".

I've read about this little hamlet called "Monteriggioni". Is it worth making a stop there? I was looking at some pictures and it looks so small. It seemed as it only had a square, and a couple of houses and streets around. If I stayed in San Gimignano for three nights and did this:

1st night: arriving in the evening.
2nd night: visiting San Gimignano in the morning and Monteriggioni in the afternoon.
3rd night: daytrip to Siena.

Leave for Florence the next day.

Are San Gimignano and Monteriggioni so small that I would have spare time even if I see them in one day? I know that there are organized tours that do SG, Monteriggioni and Siena in one day, but I want to dedicate a full day to Siena. As much as I want to visit and overnight in San Gimignano, I don't want to feel like I wasted a full day just for a tiny town. Does anybody know if you can rent bikes in San Gimignano? Could I bike from San Gimignano to Monteriggioni and be able to enjoy both towns? I can't seem to get an idea of how small SG is. How big the town is compared to Central Park in NYC? Even if I visited the museums in San Gimignano, climb up the tower, see its churches and walked around its walls, will I have a half a day off to spare there? (I know it's an unusual comparison but I want to figure out how small the town is so that I can plan wisely. I've walked Central Park from end to end in half a day; that's why I'd like to use it as a reference)

or...

If I stayed just two nights, doing a daytrip to Siena on 2nd night, visiting San Gimignano the next day and leaving for Florence in the afternoon when I feel I've already seen everything would be the wisest thing to do?

ABENDIGO

What do you think of this itinerary?

7 days in Tuscany:

2 nights in San Gimignano with a daytrip to Siena.
5 nights in Florence with a daytrip to Cortona.

I'd like to visit a town in the north Tuscany (San Gimignano) and a town in the south (Cortona).

Is Cortona worth a visit? It's looks interesting in my bookguide.