We will be visitng Italy in Sept. My original plans were:
3 nights Rome
2 night Siena
2 nights Florence
2 nights Venice
1 night Rome before departure.
After looking closely I think it is too much packing and unpacking. I have decided to stay 4 nights in either Siena or Florence. My question is which one? We really enjoy the country and thought Siena might be a better choice, however I'm going to try and do this trip on the trains instead of renting a car. Would staying in Siena without a car be a problem?
Your suggestions please
Diane P

You can do it without a car but you're going to miss some things. I would bypass the car for the cities and rent a car for the countryside part of the trip. There are so many places to go between Siena and Florence it is good to have a car. Also, it gives you the ability to stop wherever you want and take in the scenery

If you perfer countryside, certainly Siena is a better choice. It is no problem to travel around, as Siena has good bus network. Few years ago, I stayed at Siena for 4 nights for visiting southern Tuscany withour a car either.

It is easier to take express bus from Siena to Florence (1 1/2 hours) as the bus terminal is right in the town, the train station is about 10 minutes bus ride out of town.

Please check www.turismoverde.com for bus routes and timetables.

If you realy like the countryside you can stay in little towns around the outskirts of either city. Both have bus lines that run very regular back & forth. Both have hotels & apartments that you can find on the web that will indicate if they are near bus lines.
Both cities have their own unique charm & qualities. Do some research at the large bookstore chains and read the guidebooks on each city to see what may interest you more between the two. At Siena , depending where you stay, you can be in the countryside in 5 minutes, Florence 15 minutes or less.
I car will give you greater access to the surrinding area plus you do it at your schedule not a train or bus schedule. If your an explorer type, the car gets you out there to get your explorer juices invigorated.
I have found parking a car in Siena to be more of a challenge then Florence. Both cities have restricted driving areas and heavily used parking lots.

Hi Diane,

I suggest staying in Florence and doing a daytrip to Siena.

I did the same trip in May 2002. We rented a car when we were leaving Rome and dropped it off in Florence on arrival. The rest of the trip we did by train.
We really enjoyed having the car for the reason that the other posters suggested. It was very convenient for seeing the smaller towns between Rome and Florence. We stopped in Orvieto on the way to Siena and some of the towns in Chianti on the way to Florence. We also went to San Giminignano(I can't spell it but we enjoyed it) for part of a day from Siena. I doubt we could have done that part of the trip without the car. Having a convertible was great for driving around the countryside but we had to pack very light since the car did not have much of a trunk.
We really enjoyed evenings in both Siena and Florence and I'm glad we stayed in both. I'm not sure if I could pick one over the other and if I made the trip again I would pack and repack rather than skipping one.

Siena, every hill town you may want to see in Tuscany is easier/quicker to reach from Siena. Great central location.

I think you need to ask yourself how many of these hilltowns you need to see before you figure out that you've seen enough. Same with museums, fountains, etc., etc......you know the drill. I did Siena as a day trip from Florence ansd that satisfied me and I even got to see the barbaric horserace, too. For me, one day was enough to see as much as I wanted to; for you it might encompass two or three.
Florence has, overall, much more to offer than does Siena..depending on your interests. If they mainly tend toward being out in the countryside then stick with lots of hilltowns; if you are into the art and major duomo thing, and shopping, etc., I'd stick with Florence.
Enjoy your trip.

I'd recommend staying in Siena and daytripping to Florence. Florence was just a bit too industrial and commercial for us--and we loved Siena.

Also, Siena's Duomo is spectacular--by no means should you choose Florence because you are into that sort of thing.

My suggestions are dependent upon where you have been before and from where you are flying. But given that your preference is the country, this would be my itinerary.

Upon arrival in Rome, train or drive to Siena and stay four nights. We stayed at the Palazzo Ravizza which is in a very nice location and they also have a parking lot. From here you can drive to Montalcino, Pienza, Castellina, Greve, San Gimignano or any of the many other beautiful towns. You can also train to Florence for the day.

If you have a car, you can drop if off in Florence, and then train to Venice for three nights. Then train back to Rome for the last three nights.

This will eliminate two packings and unpackings and give you one more night in Venice.

Obviously, my preference is to have a car in Tuscany and not in the cities. Yet, you can eliminate a lot of driving by taking the train the rest of the time. Of course, if you are not too tired from your flight, you can pick up the car in Rome and drive to Siena.

Well, just to let you know, both cities will be overrun with tourists in September (but not as bad as June, July, or August.)

I would suggest staying in Florence, taking a day trip to Siena. However, there is soooooo much to see and do in Florence that I don't know if you will want to see Siena. The art is Florence is UNBELIEVABLE. The last time I was in Florence, I spent 2 days in the Uffizi.

You can take the train to Siena from SMN Station. I used to have a train schedule, but I can't seem to find it. (I have boxes and boxes of travel info.)

Siena is not my speed. It is great if you just want to wander around or sit at a cafe drinking wine all day (although, there is NOTHING wrong with that!) I would much rather be overwhelmed by Michaelangelo's DAVID.

topping

Although it is personal preference, hillsides or museums, I don't know how you could pass on spending at least two days in Florence. You MUST see: the Duomo and Baptistry
walk up the inside of the duomo!
walk and shop across the Ponte vechhio (not good prices)
Accadademia (Statue of David)
Uffizi (wonderful art)
Piazza Della Signoria
You could do it from Siena, but make sure you have two days.

Have a great trip!

Having just returned from our Italy trip.. I would say take the train to Florence and do 2 nights there.. which we did.. easy enough to get around either on foot or by taxi and see the sights.. then rent a car for the short two days and drive to Sienna.. very beautiful town.. parking is a problem but we stayed at a fodors favorite Palazzo Ravizza .. which has its own parking area and walk and do the the town of Sienna but on the second day take your car and drive the hill towns of Tuscanny.. our favorite part of our trip. I know it seems like a lot of moving between place to place.. but if you pack lightly (not like I did) it works out.. both Florence and Sienna are too nice not to be able to take in all they have to offer.. and I agree with an earlier poster.. the Duomo in Sienna is beautiful! then return the rental car and be off again on your train trip.. Enjoy Italy where there is no such thing as a bad meal!! (at least in our experience)

This goes against the grain because Florence is my favourite city BAR NONE, but given that you're already doing 2 other cities and you like the countryside I think you may enjoy the slower pace of Siena, unless of course you're into art in which case Florence should be at the top of ANYONE's itinery. After all, UNESCO does reckon that 60% of the world's most important artworks are in Italy, and 50% of those are in Florence.

Kate, I agree with you. Florence would be on top of my list to stay! Do Sienna on a day trip if you haven't been to Florence yet! Please let us know what you decide............