Travel

Siena, Tuscany, Italy Complete Tour

:01 Introduction 3:01 Main Lane 5:32 Campo 12:30 lanes on west side 17:02 Piazza Mercato 18:12 lanes on east side 20:47 to v. Gilio, Rossi, and Basilica of San Francesco 22:48 The Duomo Cathedral 27:47 How to reach Siena View the transcript, photos and map at our new website: http://townsofeurope.com/Italy/tuscany/Siena.html Siena, in the heart of Tuscany, is one of Italy's most popular destinations, a great medieval landmark to explore. It's both a historic site and a vibrant modern city with excellent shopping, many fine restaurants, and beautiful pedestrian lanes throughout town. We'll show you the busy main streets, always active with lots of people, and take you to those out-of-the-way little lanes, into the quiet residential neighborhoods. The main piazza, called il Campo, and the Cathedral, called the Duomo, are two of the most important attractions that we will explore in detail. Siena is so well-preserved that UNESCO has designated the entire old town as a World Heritage Site, not just one building or neighborhood, but all of the old town. UNESCO describes Siena as "an outstanding medieval city that has preserved its character and quality to a remarkable degree. It's a rare example of a medieval historic town of this size. The original urban form of the city, with its 15th century street plan, has been retained along with the Gothic design of its public buildings, palaces and tower houses, which remain unchanged." Siena is a very livable city. It's built to a human scale, covering about a square kilometer, which makes it small enough that you can easily walk from one end of town to the other in a single day and see almost all of the sites in between. There's an endless variety of interesting things to see along your way. Siena is a small city, but crisscrossed by dozens of little lanes that provide many miles of picturesque strolling opportunities for the ambitious trekker. Siena is divided in three districts corresponding to the three ridges it sits on, North, West and East, with the Campo in the middle, the main piazza. 3:01 Main Lane At the north end of the main shopping lane, via Banchi di Sopra, there is a pretty little square, Piazza Salimbeni, with Europe's oldest bank founded in 1472. This main shopping street is worth walking from one end to the other, perhaps stopping for a bite at one of the attractive little restaurants along the way. And narrow side alleys will attract you with their charms. Escape the crowds by ducking into the side alleys, as we will be showing you here. 5:32 In the middle of it all is the Campo, the great piazza of Siena. Nearly 500 feet wide and surrounded by shops, restaurants, and the towering Palazzo Publico, this is the very heart of town. It's a great place to have an outdoor meal at one of the many sidewalk restaurants that are around it. You will find the experience of eating an evening meal at twilight, sunset on the Campo, is going to be one of the highlights of your trip, 12:30 Now let's take a walk in all those little back streets of town that are so wonderful, starting on the lower west side. You'll find that when you get off the beaten track, these little lanes are a lot more interesting. Get away from other tourists and you'll start to feel like a local. We're going to take you walking off the grid, further away from the tourist areas, further away from views and landmarks and famous churches, and just into this lovely, peaceful, residential neighborhood. There are a few shops, there are certainly always restaurants and cafés, mostly catering to the locals who live nearby. 17:02 We continue through the little side lanes and down to the Piazza Mercato. This place was the ancient market square which still today has an outdoor produce market several times a week. This Mercato is a lovely nook of the city, just two blocks south of the Campo, the main busy square, and yet 95% of the visitors never get here. 20:47 We continue walking on other nearby lanes, especially Gilio and Rossi, and various alleys that will lead us there and take us around. For those travelers who love to get away from the shops and stroll through quiet residential alleys, Siena offers many more possibilities. These little byways are your gateway to enter the authentic side of Siena. 22:48 The Duomo Cathedral The great cathedral of Siena is the Duomo, just a few minutes’ walk from the Campo. It is one of the world's most beautiful and intriguing churches. It's a must-see on your visit, loaded with astonishing architecture, sculpture and paintings. More than just a religious structure of the Duomo is the economic symbol of wealth, international trade and cultural influences. 27:47 How to reach Siena Getting from Florence to Siena is very convenient by taking the SITA bus. Their bus station is right in the heart of Florence, across the street from the main Florence train station. http://tourvideos.com/