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The four ways to get from Florence to Siena - and this guide has all you need to know to decide which to take.

One of the most popular day trips from Florence is to head over to the small, beautifully preserved city of Siena.

The two Tuscan cities were longtime rivals in the 12th and 13th centuries, but Siena never really recovered its power and prestige after the Black Death in 1348, and became very much 'second fiddle' to Florence and the Medicis. Due to this stagnation, its hilltop, red-brick, Gothic historical centre remained much the same over the centuries, and is one of the most valued in Italy; designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995, it was called 'the embodiment of a medieval city'.

As many of you will be visiting on a day trip from Florence, or Siena is a likely next stop on your Tuscany itinerary, we wanted to share the best options to travel between the two. If you're heading on a day trip only, then we recommend setting off from Florence as early as you can in the morning so that you can really enjoy Siena.

p.s. for more inspiration and advice to help you plan, read 13 Wonderful Things To Do in Siena later on.

Travel From Florence To Siena

Florence To Siena By Train

Siena is only 51 km south of Florence and very easy to reach with public transport.

There are hourly direct trains to Siena from Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station (maps). The journey time is around 1.5 hours, and a single ticket costs around €9.80. These are all the 'regional' trains, rather than the faster inter-city and high-speed ones, hence the relatively lengthy journey time relative to the distance.

You can buy your tickets at the station or online on Trenitalia or Omio - just remember to validate your ticket before you board all trains in Italy.

Please be aware that Siena train station is located in the new part of the city (here on Google Maps), a manageable but unremarkable 20-minute walk up a hill into the historic centre. We've shared more advice on the layout of Siena in our main guide, but there quicker or more convenient options than walking from the train station, especially for those of you with luggage:

The escalators in Galleria PortaSiena (here on Google Maps), the shopping centre opposite the train station. They take five minutes to get you up to the exit by Porta Camollia (maps), which is a 15-minute walk from Siena’s main square in the historical centre. Ideal for day trippers, but Porta Camollia may be on the wrong side for your hotel or Airbnb.
Hop on one of the regular local buses from the station up to Piazza del Sale or Piazza Gramsci, taking 5-10 minutes.
Grab a taxi from the rank outside the station (maps) for less than €10. Taxis won't be able to access every single street or hotel entrance within the old town walls, so sometimes a little bit of wheeling along the streets is still necessary, but this is best if you have a lot of luggage and accommodation booked. Queues are common though, so don’t dally too long once you’ve disembarked from the train, or consider sharing with others.

If you don't have much luggage to wheel or carry, then the walk is very do-able but it's largely along a busy road and then 'up'. We absolutely do not recommend attempting it if you have lots, are particularly unfit, or arrive in the peak summer heat. There are some steep parts before and after the city walls, and Siena isn't the easiest to navigate with wheeled luggage! If you're arriving on a day trip, then it's probably best to take a taxi at least one-way so that you don't waste nearly an hour of your time in the city walking to/from the train station.

Buy your tickets on the official Trenitalia website here.

Plan | 12 Essential Tips for Train Travel in Italy

Florence To Siena By Bus

This is, surprisingly, a quicker option than the train!

Bus 131R departs from Florence’s bus station, which is next to Santa Maria Novella train station (here on Google Maps). It reaches Siena in about 80 minutes, but just be sure to catch the rapida bus and not the ordinaria (131O), which takes about 20-25 minutes longer.

There are regular daily services, and you can check the bus timetable here. Tickets cost €7.80 if purchased at the station, but can also be bought on the bus for €10 if you're running late. Again, remember to validate your ticket before boarding.

The Florence to Siena bus will drop you off in Piazza Gramsci, which is a flat 10-minute walk into the historical centre.

Flixbus also offers a bus route between the two cities, but it picks up and drops off in far less convenient places (Villa Costanza in Florence, and by the train station in Siena). You can find out more and buy tickets here.

Tip // For some of you, the OPA SI pass will be an essential buy if you plan to visit several popular attractions in the city. Find out about how it works and what it includes in this short explainer post to the OPA SI Pass in Siena.

A Florence to Siena Tour

Whilst getting to Siena from Florence with public transport is relatively straightforward, if you’d prefer to visit with a tour - especially if you’d like to cover a lot of ground, get deeper into the city’s layers of history, have an English-speaking guide and visit more than one popular place within the nearby Tuscan countryside - then there are a number of excellent options available from Florence:

Siena & San Gimignano | Get a taste of the Tuscan countryside on this full-day tour from Florence which includes a guided walking tour of Siena, a chance to explore the medieval hill town of San Gimignano and lunch at a family-owned winery, paired with local wines. Find out more here.

Siena, San Gimignano, & Monteriggioni Day Tour | This incredibly popular full-day tour (it has thousands of excellent reviews), covers a similar itinerary as above but instead of the lunch, there’s a wine tasting. It’s also longer allowing extra time to explore Siena and San Gimignano. Find out more here.

Tuscany Day Trip | Our final highly-rated tour pick includes a guided tour of Siena, free time in San Gimignano, a chance to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, lunch and a wine tasting in the Chianti Hills.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to make your own way to Siena and then join a guided tour of the highlights to maximise your time, we can recommend this one - it includes a two-hour walking tour and skip-the-line Duomo tickets.

Florence to Siena By Car

As the entire of Siena’s centro storico is designated a ZTL (zona a traffico limitato), visiting by car - whilst possible, and offering up a very scenic drive - is not advisable unless you're already on a Tuscany road trip.

If that's the case you’ll need to park outside the old city walls and walk in to the historic centre. The cheapest and most convenient parking lots to access are by the train station (this underground one for example is €2/day), but Parking Il Campo (maps) is a well-situated one if you wish to be closer to the centre or using Siena as a base for Tuscan trips.

Depending on traffic, the drive time from Florence to Siena about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Top Tip // We rarely go direct when hiring our road trip vehicles, instead preferring to use two popular rental aggregators to compare costs and find the best deal. The two companies we use are AutoEurope and RentalCars - both of which we have had excellent experiences with.

Additionally, if you are planning on hiring a car in Italy, make sure to read this post: 9 Essential Car Rental Tips for Travellers.