Day Trips from Siena by Bus, Car and Tour

Day trips from Siena

Siena sits between Chianti, the pale clay hills of the Crete Senesi and the Val d’Orcia, so it is a good base for day trips. The catch is transport: without a car, only a few destinations work well in a day. Here they are, ordered from easiest to hardest.

Without a car

  • San Gimignano: Autolinee Toscane line 130 runs Siena to Poggibonsi to San Gimignano. The fare is about EUR 8.10 if prebooked or EUR 10 on board, a change at Poggibonsi is common, and the trip takes between 1 hour 15 minutes and 2 hours. There is no train station in San Gimignano, so check the last bus back. The town has 14 surviving medieval tower houses, a UNESCO listing, the frescoed Collegiata and Piazza della Cisterna with its well-known gelateria. The Torre Grossa circuit is about EUR 10, but confirm on the town’s museum site.
  • Monteriggioni: a walled circle of 14 towers, 15 km northwest. Buses 130 and 131 stop at La Colonna, about 500 m from the gate. Rampart walks cost roughly EUR 4 to 5, and winter closures for maintenance are possible.

With a car or a small-group tour

  • Val d’Orcia: Pienza, San Quirico d’Orcia and Bagno Vignoni lie 50 to 55 km south, about an hour by car. Line 112 does run to Pienza, but only a few times a day on weekdays and Saturdays, takes about 2 hours with a change at Buonconvento, and has no Sunday service listed, so a car or tour is far better. Pienza was rebuilt by Pope Pius II in the 1460s and sells pecorino cheese on its main street. San Quirico has the free Horti Leonini garden. At Bagno Vignoni, the thermal basin in the square is for looking at only, not bathing.
  • Montalcino: 42 km south, about 45 minutes by car, known for Brunello wine and a fortress with a wine shop inside. Rampart tickets were about EUR 4 in an older listing, so check hours. Roughly 10 km further is the Romanesque Abbazia di Sant’Antimo.
  • Montepulciano: about 65 km southeast, with Vino Nobile cellars dug under the Renaissance palaces and the church of San Biagio below the town. Cellar tour prices are unconfirmed for 2026.
  • San Galgano: 32 km southwest, reached by car or taxi because there is no practical bus. The abbey church has no roof, and the Sword in the Stone is in the round chapel on the hill above, which is free to enter. Abbey admission varies between listings, so check before you go.

Planning a day

Pick one or two places, not five. Combining Pienza and Montalcino in one day needs an early start, and a small-group tour is the realistic option if you do not drive. Roads from the centre run into a camera-monitored traffic zone, so collect a hire car from outside the walls; fines arrive by post after the camera captures you.

Florence by coach

Florence is also an option by the fast 131R coach, about 75 minutes and about EUR 10.90 each way. It arrives at Via Tozzi by Piazza Gramsci. The train is a slower Regionale, about 1 hour 30 minutes.

Read more: multi-day trips from Siena and Siena activities .

Official information: line 130 timetable and how to reach Monteriggioni . Tours to compare: Siena day trips on Viator .