Siena and Florence
Siena and Florence are the most popular cities in Tuscany. Renowned all over the world, these two cities are a must-see for all travellers to Tuscany. They are both easy daytrips from Poggiolungo.
Siena
Siena is a medieval hilltop city in the heart of Tuscany. It lies in the middle of the most beautiful and famous landscapes of the region, among rolling hills where cypress-lined roads run between stone farmhouses just like Poggiolungo.
Siena is not a large city and can easily be explored on foot despite being quite hilly. The city is only 25 minutes away from Poggiolungo so guests can visit it as often as they wish.
The most popular sights are the famous Piazza del Campo with the city hall building, and the cathedral or Duomo. The city has many other treasures: beautiful churches such as San Francesco and San Domenico and ancient buildings such as the Chigi Palace, home to the Accademia Musicale Chigiana, and the Rocca Salimbeni, home to the Monte dei Paschi di Siena, one of the most ancient banks in the world.
The fortress and the many museums are also well worth a visit.
Siena is famous for its history, art and architecture, but also for the Palio, a horse race in which the Contrade, the city parishes, fight to conquer the "palio", a painted tapestry dedicated to the Holy Virgin. The Palio takes place twice a year, on July 2nd and on August 16th.
Siena has a lively weekly market held around the fortress every Wednesday morning.
In the Summer, the city hosts a popular jazz festival with open air concerts throughout the city.
Travellers to Siena can take self-guided tours of the city thanks to the itineraries created by the Tourism Promotion Office. A neat thing to do is to go trekking throughout the city: the website dedicated to urban trekking in Siena is very informative. Special guided tours exist for people with disabilities and also thematic tours. Here is a link to the guided and thematic tours of Siena.
Useful information about museums, parking areas and sport facilities in Siena is available here.
Florence
Florence can be reached from Poggiolungo in about 1h and 30 minutes.
Florence is one of the most famous and popular cities in the world. It is an easy day trip from our vacation country villa in Tuscany, which makes for a quiet base to return to after a hectic day in this busy city.
Florence has many are sights that are worth visiting, ranging from popular monuments and buildings, such as the Duomo or Cathedral, the Cappelle Medicee, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden, the City Hall, and Ponte Vecchio to the museums such as the Uffizi and the Accademia to mention but the two most famous ones.
Florence is a year-round destination: there is always something to do and enjoy in the city. The popular music festival Maggio Fiorentino is a must for music lovers.
A few suggestions. Travellers who wish to visit the Uffizi gallery and the Accademia should book tickets in advance. The lines can be extremely long and in the hot summer weather it might not be pleasant to stand in line for hours.
It is possible to take very nice walking tour of Florence and explore the city with a guide who knows all about it. And for bike lovers, it is possible to explore Florence and surroundings by bike.
