Tuscany
Siena is the anti-Florence, and the Sienese will make sure you know it. Read more
Come at 8am before the tour groups, or after 9pm when the cafés glow and it belongs to the city again — the two hours around midday in summer are the worst version of it.
The floor, when it's uncovered, is worth timing your whole Siena trip around; the striped nave is worth it regardless.
The most important Santa Caterina sight in the city, and the one place with her actual, undisputed likeness.
The most intensely colourful room in Siena, and it's included in the same ticket as the cathedral.
The actual house Catherine of Siena grew up in — more intimate and less crowded than anything in the Duomo complex.
The best 360° view of Siena when it's open — but check current status first, because it has been closed since late 2025.
The best view in Siena while the Torre del Mangia stays closed — and arguably the better story either way.
The Sala dei Nove is the whole trip — everything else in the building is a bonus.
Duccio's Maestà, one of the pivotal works of early Italian painting, plus entry to the Facciatone climb.
The Pellegrinaio frescoes alone justify the ticket — medieval hospital life painted by people who actually worked there.
The single best way to feel like you're in Siena rather than visiting it — just walk the street at 6pm with everyone else.
A cellar cut into Etruscan-medieval rock, and pici good enough that regulars specifically call it out over the truffle dishes.
Actual Etruscan cave dining rooms below the Duomo streets, plus pici and wild boar worth the reservation.
The century-old Sienese institution for panforte and ricciarelli made properly, not shrink-wrapped.
