SIENA
Visiting Siena for the first time, we recommend you to go straight into the heart of the city, to the beautiful Piazza del Campo, one of the landmarks of the city.
You can decide to start your day in Siena right here or instead head towards the Duomo, returning to Piazza del Campo later.
The main attractions of the city are located between Piazza del Campo and The Cathedral, so you’ll likely spend most of your time here anyway! Piazza del Campo, The Torre del Mangia, The Duomo in Siena, or the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, the Crypt located under the Cathedral, are the main attraction which worth to be visited when there.
Siena is famous for The Palio a horse race run twice every year, on July 2nd and August 16th, around the Piazza del Campo.
All of Siena comes out to participate and celebrate, hoping for a victory to show off and rub at their “enemy” contrada for the rest of the year.
The Palio is that it is NOT a tourist event and that it is not a show put on for outsiders. It is an event around which Senese build their entire life, year in and year out.
A Siena citizen is born into and baptized into a Contrada and they are members for life! There are rival Contradas as well as alliances and these influence your life – if you’re a citizen of Siena, of course!
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Parking
Like Florence, the historical city centre of Siena is a limited traffic area (ZTL zone).
If you drive in head for The Train Station, the underground car parking in
Piazza Carlo Rosselli, 7 Siena 53100 and then walk into the shopping centre attached and take the escalator right to the top.
When you exit the shopping-centre turn left and the walls to the centre are 200yds approx.
You can find a new underground car park in Via Baldassarre Peruzzi, The San Francesco car park.