GypsyGurl

My 15 year old daughter has made a list of "must sees" while we are in Italy. I am working on the itinerary right now and seeing how we can fit her requests in. She wants to see Volterra, which is fine, we will be in Sienna, so that will be an easy accomodation. She also wants to see the Monster Gardens. From my map it looks like it is about an hour drive from Sienna, is this correct? We also will be staying in Rome, of course, so would it be better to see the Monster Gardens while in Rome? I would appreciate driving times, and anything you can give me!
Also, she said there are some doors in Italy that have writing on them, the doors are supposed to reveal the formula for making metal into gold, that is another "must see." Anyone know where I can find these doors? I am soooo glad we are staying for three weeks, we will need it!
Thanks,
Gypsygurl

Michael

My recollection is that the monster garden is more than an hour from Siena, but Orvieto would be an nice in-between stop that is closer.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57622914974923

Jean

Park of the Monsters. Google says more like 1:45 from Siena to Bomarzo (1:15 from Rome). Have you already researched the days and hours the gardens are open?

The 'doors' may be just one door, La Porta Magica (The Magic Door).

http://veneratingantiquity.blogspot....agic-door.html

A_Brit_In_Ischia

Directions - better on their Italian page than its English version:

http://www.parcodeimostri.com/mappa.asp

But - just in case you were thinking of taking the train from Rome to Viterbo, and then the bus, anytime before 3rd September - watch out as, due to line repairs, they've replacement buses in use on an early stretch of that route...

http://www.comune.roma.it/wps/portal...Id:jp_pagecode

and

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=899

No English for any of that, I'm afraid!

Peter

GypsyGurl

Thanks for your responses. Yes, I have checked the park hours, they are open everyday from 8:30 am.
So now what I am thinking of doing is on our way down to Sorrento from Sienna taking a detour and checking out the gardens. We will be going in that general direction anyway and since our drive from Sienna to Sorrento is going to be a long haul, stopping off to see the garden, have a picnic, et. would be nice. What does everyone think about that idea?
Gypsygurl

Maria_G

We've been to Parco dei Mostri, it's truly fabulous. If you're just stopping by on a drive through the area, I think you can do it easily in a couple hours, but of course, you could spend much longer. They have a pretty good walking map of the park, showing all the "mostri" & cool sites like the leaning house - be sure to pick that up, we found it very helpful and followed it exactly. I think having a picnic in the park would be wonderful!

Jean

Keep in mind that Siena-Sorrento is a 5-hour drive.