Colleen

My husband and I will be traveling from the Cinque Terre to the Florence/Siena area then on to Venice. We'll be arriving Tuesday mid-day and leaving Friday mid-day. To avoid high hotel rates in Florence, we've been advised to stay in Siena and make daytrips to Florence. Or, alternatively, to stay in the Florence suburb of Fiesole. Siena is supposed to be experienced at night, but I'm concerned about wasted travel time on the bus (no car) between Siena and Florence. Any recommendations for this travel talk novice would be appreciated.

Deb

Colleen,
No comparison-Florence! I didn't find the hotel rates very high, in fact I spent less than in Siena and had a much nicer room. The city has much more to see and I thought was more charming than Siena. Loved Boboli Gardens and the museums and so many wonderful piazza to wander to.

Paige

How much are you willing to spend on a hotel? I have stayed at very reasonably priced places in Florence. I would probably stay 2 nights in Florence and 1 in Siena, but when in Siena, just stay and enjoy that town. I wouldn't want to stay in Siena and spend 4 hours a day on buses back and forth to Florence.

Randall Smith

Hi Colleen,

Both are wonderful cities to visit. If you want to spend time in Flornence, especially if it's your first time I would stay right in Florence. There are fairly inexpensive hotels within easy walking distance to the Center. Driving into a large city like Florence and finding parking is always a hastle. The train station of course is near the town center so you could take the train in on a daily basis. Siena is definitelyy worth a day trip and the Tuscan countryside is beautiful.

Enjoy,

Randall Smith

joe

There is regular train service between Florence and Siena, about an hour and a half in duration. Spend at least one night in Siena. After the tour busses leave you'll have the city to yourself. Walking the narrow streets at night is as close as you'll come to being in the middle ages.

elaine

I believe the bus service between Siena and Florence is the way to travel as Colleen mentioned at the beginning.
However, Colleen don't waste your precious time or your money commuting, stay in Florence and you can if you want go to Siena for a day, although your time in Florence isn't long.
You can do a search on this forum or elsewhere for hotels in Florence, many of them economy-minded. Don't know what your price range is, but here are a few places that have been recommended on this forum:
Hotel Medici web: www.promhotels.it/home/medici
Albergo Pensione Centrale, Tel.055/215761, Fax 215216
Hotel Casci, web site is: www.hotelcasci.co
Hotel Adam www.aspide.it/oasi/hotel-adam/)
Hotel Il Bargellino
www.ilbargellino.com
You can also look for more hotels at
www.hotelguide.ch/
www.venere.it/firenze/firenze_Z5.html
www.italyhotel.com
www.italiantourism.com/
www.traveleurope.it/
www.itwg.com
www.ciaoitaly.net network of B&Bs

colleen

Thanks for all the help! I now fear I'm going to get hooked on this sight!

pippo

hi,
to stay in siena i really reccomend you to go to: http://www.charmingtuscany.com/piccolasiena/ it's really nice.
I you are intrested in hotels in fiesole go to: http://www.charmingflorence.com/accommod/choose.htm there you will find hotels in Fiesole etc.

Bob

You are getting excellent advice above. Stay in Florence. We booked a villa in Siena on trip in 1999 and had a car. We still enjoyed Florence more and spent more time in that area. You will be much happier if you can book a hotel close to the downtown area so you can easily walk the city with minimal use of the public transportation. Definitely go to Siena, but your priority should be Florence.

Check out the Leather School in the back of the Santa Croce church. Quality goods and fair prices. Some people not aware that it is there and the church is famous for being burial site for Michealangelo and others.