Small-Group San Gimignano and Volterra Day Trip from Siena
Description
Embrace the medieval charms of Tuscany's towns on a full-day trip to San Gimignano and Volterra from Siena. With an attentive local guide, walk round the Fortress of Monteriggioni, explore the UNESCO World Heritage-listed town of San Gimignano, and visit an alabaster workshop in Volterra. Enjoy a delicious lunch on a small Tuscan farm and spend time at your leisure exploring these rustic hill towns that are steeped in rich Italian history. Numbers are limited to eight people on this small-group tour, ensuring you'll receive personalized attention from your guide.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Meet your guide in front of the church of San Domenico in Siena at 9:30am, easy to find even if you are arriving from out of town with your own car, as there is parking in the vicinity.
Travel north into the first Chianti hills and take a walk around Monteriggioni, a medieval and perfectly preserved fortress with a complete ring of city walls and turrets built in the 13th century and mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy: this was once Siena’s main bastion of defense against the armies of Florence. Enjoy its quiet and charming atmosphere browsing the alleys and shops of local crafts and products, or lighting a candle in the local church as the pilgrim's once did.
Continue to the fascinating town of San Gimignano, one of the most characteristic hilltop towns of Tuscany, with its many austere medieval towers that defiantly survived the centuries and are still proudly standing today. Recognized as a UNESCO site of world heritage, this city is a great testimony of medieval architecture. Walk along the ancient route of the Via Francigena, the main route that took all travelers and pilgrims of Europe to Rome and the Holy See. The bustling San Gimignano flourishes with artisanal boutiques of the local trades and stores, selling the towns famous ‘red gold’ or saffron spice as well as the Vernaccia white wine, so traditional and old that Dante mentions it in the 13th century.
Brief visit to the minature museum and marvel at what San Gimignano looked like during the Middle Ages
After working up an appetite browsing squares, streets, churches and stores of San Gimignano, visit a small family-run farm and enjoy a traditional Tuscan lunch prepared using the farm's own seasonal products. During lunch you will taste dishes prepared with saffron accompanied by the refreshing Vernaccia white wine. After lunch, continue on the panoramic roads towards Volterra, the ancient Velathri, a city that harmoniously combines Etruscan and Roman ruins with medieval and Renaissance architecture, with the unavoidable modern buildings and furnishings. Visit a small, artisanal workshop and meet the craftsmen that have been working the local alabaster for decades. Witness this ancient art of sculpting this stone into precious masterpieces.
Enjoy leisure time walking along the streets of the historical centre of Volterra, visiting the town’s famous Etruscan museum or simply marveling at the millennia old Etruscan arch, the Roman theatre or the more modern monuments and shops in town. On some occasions the itinerary might vary a little. In this case, the tour could be slightly modified but will maintain a similar general imprint, of the same duration and with all the same inclusions.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(198)
Ceco was an amazing guide for the day. The right amount of interesting history and facts delivered with passion and interest, balanced with sufficient time for self-exploration. Comfortable and safe vehicle to travel in. Small group made this souch more enjoyable and accessible. The lunch at Carmela's property was superb and just added to an already great day. Highly recommend Tuscan Escapes for the care they take and the passion they have for the Tuscan region (as evidenced by the high quality of their guides).
This was a fabulous experience. We particularly enjoyed the lunch at the Tuscan farm. Georgia, our tour guide, was lovely and hugely informative. We would highly recommend the tour.
We had a lovely day trip to San Gimiano and Voltera. Our guide was called Georgia and she made the day very interesting from start to finish. Her English was excellent. She began quickly by giving us explanations of the local area the towns and where we will be visiting. This made the whole thing easy to understand and made it a great day. We were dropped off at places that made walking into the places we were visiting very easy. She gave good suggestions on what to see and do. We had a lovely lunch at a winery. We were not rushed anywhere and even got back overtime without any issues. Really good.
This tour was the highlight of my trip! Our guide, Guglielmo / William was very knowledgeable, courteous and gave us plenty of time to explore San Gimignano and Volterra. My favourite parts of the day were actually the side trips. At the artisanal farmlandfwe had an incredibly delicious lunch.. I also loved meeting and watching the alabaster craftman work. He is truly gifted and I will treasure two of his pieces I am taking home. I had such a wonderful day that I could not stop smiling.
This tour was the highlight of my trip! Our guide, Guglielmo / William was very knowledgeable, courteous and gave us plenty of time to explore San Gimignano and Volterra. My favourite parts of the day were actually the side trips. At the artisanal farmlandfwe had an incredibly delicious lunch.. I also loved meeting and watching the alabaster craftman work. He is truly gifted and I will treasure two of his pieces I am taking home. I had such a wonderful day that I could not stop smiling.
We had a great tour to SanGimignano and Volterra that also included a farm lunch with wine tasting We had a great group of people and our tour guide was very informative. We had time to see a little of both cities I wish we could have had a little more time on our own We liked Volterra but absolutely loved San gimignano .
Juliana was an amazing guide and a fabulous driver on the twisty roads. She was warm and shared her passion for the area. Would have helped to have a map of each stop with a list of what to see in each town. Highlights were lunch stop which bonded our group and the spot and food was great. Also loved the stop at the alabaster craftsman.
Juliana was an excellent driver and guide. Visit to Il Palagione was a pleasure with great wine tasting and tour of the winery. We enjoyed our visit to San Gimignano and Volterra
It was an expensive tour for what was included. The driver dropped us at the gate to each place with no map and limited directions. The tour would be so much better if they could walk us for at least 10 minutes as an orientation and give us a map circling key things to see. Some suggestions required a fee and there was insufficient time for them anyway. Lunch was just okay. The alabaster demonstration was not a highlight. Our driver was informative in the vehicle.
Giovanni gave us a wonderful tour. He is warm and very informative. A true gentleman and good driver. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
