Siena Private Walking Tour: Traditions, Streets & Cathedral
- 2–3 hours
- Free cancellation up to 24h before
- 3 languages
- Instant confirmation
Highlights
Explore Siena on a private walking tour with an expert local guide and discover the city beyond the main tourist routes. Walk through the historic center, step into the city’s unique contrada neighborhoods, and learn about their traditions, identity, and centuries-old rivalries. Enjoy a guided visit inside Siena Cathedral (Duomo) with skip-the-line entry, and experience the city’s everyday life, artisan corners, hidden streets, and local food culture along the way. - Private walking tour of Siena with an expert local guide. - Historic center and Siena’s iconic contrada neighborhoods. - Skip-the-line entry and guided visit inside Siena Cathedral (Duomo) - Local food traditions, artisan culture, and hidden streets. - Choose a 2-hour intro tour or upgrade to the 3-hour extended tour. -Available in English, German, and French language options.
Inclusions
What's included
- Private tour for a more personalized experience
- Pre-reserved skip-the-line tickets for the Siena Cathedral
- Option to climb the unfinished façade , at your own pace
- Option to visit the Crypt and the Museum with your guide
- Expert local guide with insider's knowledge of Siena
- Option to extend the tour 3 hours with the OPA SI Pass
- 2 or 3 hr walking tour at a relaxed pace depending on the option chosen
What's not
- Transport to the meeting point
Itinerary
On a guided walking tour, discover Siena, its famous monuments, and hidden treasures. Enjoy skip-the-line tickets to head in faster and start exploring more quickly. Catch quiet moments in tucked-away squares and cobbled streets as you explore the medieval neighborhoods. Enhance your experience with an extended visit to the Cathedral Complex, Crypt, and Museum.
Meet your expert guide to walk the streets of Siena. Start exploring the medieval history of Siena and then walk the winding path that offers a beautiful of the Duomo and Torre del Mangia from afar. Stop here for a hot second for a lingering first glance of Siena!
Discover how this seashell-shaped square (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most squares beautiful in Italy) was the result of an enlightened 14th century government. Siena is a city with deeply-rooted traditions, none more notable than its Palio horse race which for centuries has divided the city into neighborhoods known as "contrade." Learn about the contrade, which become like independent towns that challenge each other twice a year during the Palio! Walk through one of the most typical contrada and be immersed in the authenticity of the atmosphere in Siena. The city's past was glorious, particularly during the Middle Ages, and your guide will explain how even the local pastry reflects its prosperity during that era. Ask your guide where to find the best local bakery that still uses centuries-old recipes to make typical Ricciarelli or Panforte.
See the magnificent Fonte Gaia fountain which adorns the higher part of Piazza del Campo. Take a break as to admire the sides of the piazza which are decorated with reliefs representing The Creation of Adam and The Flight from the Garden of Eden.
Admire the striking tower standing tall in the middle of Piazza del Campo. Listen as your guide explains the medieval politics of Siena which explain why its tower was built at the same height as the cathedral.
Our pre-booked tickets make entering the stunning Cathedral a breeze, and our small groups or private tours offer each of our guests a more personalized, intimate experience. Skip the line to enter the cathedral with pre-booked tickets. Inside, you'll see the magnificent marble mosaic inlay floor and astonishing decorations by famous Tuscan artists. Discover the medieval masterpieces by Duccio and Pisano, and the cathedral's renowned stained glass. Inside are several other unmissable Renaissance highlights: Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini sculptures, and frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Libreria Piccolomini. Here is where Raphael, then a novice painter, took his first steps towards eternal fame.
Enhance your experience with the extended tour if you want a more profound knowledge of the cathedral’s complex. After a tour inside the Duomo with your knowledgeable guide, continue your adventure at the enchanting Crypt, a true medieval gem. Marvel at the frescoes illustrating biblical episodes that had remained hidden for five hundred years, making the Crypt an authentic time capsule. Admire the vibrant colors, the level of detail, and the beauty of mural paintings. Once outside, you’ll discover the intriguing tale of the unfinished Duomo Nuovo, a visionary project intended to build the largest medieval cathedral in Europe. Visit the Museo dell’Opera and marvel at the original cathedral sculptures by Donatello and Giovanni Pisano, as well as the original stained glass window by Duccio di Buonisegna.
Cancellation
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.
Reviews
4.5
- 563
- 49
- 36
- 20
- 14
Ratings come from 82 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.
Showing reviews written in English.
5Bella Siena
Anna was amazing! She provided a lot of historical, political and religious context to allow us to better understand the beauty of Siena.
5Enrich your stay at Siena
Susanne was excellent! Gave the right amount of information on the history, culture, traditions and of course food in the region. A gentle pace walking around some of the amazing streets in this living museum city. The Duomo certainly stands out Definitely enriched our stay.
5Great value for money tour
This tour was very informative, we learnt a lot about the town history, culture and current lifestyle. Our guide was amazing, she was attentive and didn’t rush through or make us feel rushed.
5Inspirational!!!!
Our guide gave us a tour we will not soon forget! She was very inspirational and told us on a very pleasant way the history of Siena! The little alley, the story of the neighbourhood, the curch....everything!!! We feel really lucky that we had such a lovely guide! I strongly recommand this guide tour!!
5Very knowledgeable tour...
Very knowledgeable tour guide Explained what we saw in detail and followed itinerary explained under tour activity.
5Excellent tour, cannot recommend highly enough.
Julia is a mediaeval art historian, and a very enthusiastic and passionate local. She was a superb guide able to pass on so much detailed information about Siena, its architecture and history, and we had her all to ourselves for the 3 hour tour. Sending positive vibrations for her contrade for the Palio.
Know before you go
- Meeting point
- We meet at the steps in front of the entrance of San Domenico church. Your guide will have a signboard that says, “Walks In Europe.”
- Pickup
- Everyone meets at the starting point; there is no pickup.
- Ticket type
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Operated by
- Walks In Europe
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please be aware the Cathedral of Siena is an “operating” church, and it can be closed to visitors for any liturgical reason, even without warning (for the funeral of a Cardinal, for example).
- Access to the Facciatone depends on weather permitting.
- Tips/gratuities (for your guide) are always appreciated.
How it compares in Siena
- Its from-price is close to the median of the 352 experiences we list in Siena.
- Its length is typical for the group.
- By number of reviews it ranks 24 of 352.
- The operator lists free cancellation on it.
About Siena
Siena is a medieval Tuscan hill city of red-brown brick, known for its shell-shaped main square, its striped cathedral and the twice-yearly Palio.
Siena was Florence's great rival in the Middle Ages, and its historic centre, a UNESCO site, still looks much as it did then. Il Campo, the shell-shaped square, slopes down to the Palazzo Pubblico and its slender tower, the Torre del Mangia. The cathedral, striped in white and dark green marble, has a pavement of inlaid scenes and a library of painted manuscripts.
Top-ranked sights in Siena: Piazza del Campo, Siena Cathedral (Duomo di Siena), Mangia Tower (Torre del Mangia).
Special offers in Siena
Was/now prices come from the operator, never from us.
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