During this private open-air tour in a comfortable minivan, you will explore the breathtaking towns of Siena, Monteriggioni, and San Gimignano. All are symbols of Medieval and Gothic architecture, characteristic elements are the historic towers, pointed arches, and narrow streets. Moreover this Tuscan area is full of superb food specialties you will surely have the chance to taste, such as Panforte and Pici. The tour lasts 8 hours with 2 hours spent in Siena, a short visit in Monteriggioni for a photo stop, and approximately 1 hour in San Gimignano.You will also get a detailed description from our expert local guide in Siena.
Posted By : Kathy_W
Our driver Francesco was wonderful! Tour guide Rossela was so knowledgeable and very accommodating. Julia at Torciano Winery made for a memorable wine tasting and lunch. Francesco took us to picturesque San Gimignano for an unforgettable day. And he was so kind to take us to Piazza Michelangelo for the panoramic view of Florence. Incredible day - highly recommend!
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Posted On : 2022-11-25 12:58:50 
Posted By : Wanderer712275
Lorenzo as a tour leader is amazing. His patience, humor and attention to detail was wonderful. Driver Antonio was also great. Good value for money.
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Posted On : 2022-09-25 03:20:30 
Posted By : Maria_M
We were met by a gentleman, right on time, at the hotel. He introduced himself as our “guide” for the day. But when we went to get in the car he told me I had to sit in the back. (I had wanted to sit in front to be able to hear what my “guide” had to say and possibly engage him in conversation.) Besides relegating us to the back seat, the radio was on with some repetitive, thump thump, rap, hip hop, whatever kind of music for the entire hour+ ride to Siena. Still, I tried asking some questions about the region and what we were going to learn about that day. His answers were short, or “I don’t know,” and his English was so bad even Quinner couldn’t understand him. I reiterated to him that I was in Italy to learn — not shop — and to the best of my ability got a grunt in response. When we arrived at Siena we were met by the local guide who was told we had one hour only. (The main attraction of my day — 1 hour!). I explained to her that I was interested in learning the history and the pageantry of the race. She looked at me kind of funny, said that it would be difficult to do in an hour, but she would try. Then she took us into the Cathedral of St. Catherine and told us all about Saint Catherine for 30 minutes. We were polite and listened, but I can tell you I was not interested and Quinner’s eyes were glazing over. When we finished with St. Catherine’s, I again reiterated to her that I wanted to learn about the history of the town, it’s importance and significance with respect to Florence and Rome. She said she understood and then took us into the town basilica and explained the significance of the art for the next 30 minutes. After that, she finally took us to the town square where she pointed out the main merchant road that made Siena important and said “This is where the horse races take place.” There was no description of the pageantry, the color, the significance, the danger, the “no holds barred” recklessness of the spectacle. She didn’t even show us a picture! When I started prodding her for more she said we had to leave to meet the driver on time and she would explain more on the way. So she said a little about the 17 districts and the “contratas” but not much. She was not happy because she had lost Quinner long ago and she knew I was not happy with the content of the tour.
We met the “guide” who told us we had another short stop before lunch. I asked what was I going to learn there with no guide, map, written material or anything? He said, “You go. I pick up in 15 minutes.” We went. It was a small but wonderful medieval castle. The remains had been turned into a tourist trap with a small eatery and a number of small shops, but there was enough there would that would have been a fabulous learning experience in the right hands. I would have asked about the lodgings for the head of the guards, where were the animals housed, where was the communal dining hall, and on and on. But, that was not the intent of the stop.
When we got back in the car I asked if we were going to a farmhouse for lunch. His response was unintelligible to us, but it was definitely not a yes. In fact it was a lovely setting for a rather commercial, but at least not hard sell, wine tasting lunch. The staff was charming and admittedly the only place I left a tip all day.
Our “guide” then took us to San Gimignano dropped us off and from what we understood was going to meet us under the arch he pointed at in 20 minutes. Again, I asked, “What will we see here, what do we do and learn here with no map or written material?” As soon as he left us, I realized it was another shopping experience. Fortunately, we had exchanged phone numbers, because when we got to the arch he had pointed to at the appointed time, he was nowhere to be found. He called and told me to go to another arch. I said I had no map and didn’t know where it was or how to get there. My “guide” told me to just ask someone on the street — which I did, we met, and he drove us back to Florence in silence.
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Posted On : 2022-07-27 21:45:58
Posted By : Judith_C
The guided tour of Siena, especially of the Cathedral, was excellent. Best part of the trip. The “lunch in a farmhouse” turned out to be a wine tasting and lunch at a winery. Very commercial, not a casual lunch with a farm family.
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Posted On : 2022-07-18 03:03:51
Posted By : K4008HTanitaj
Luca, our tour guide was amazing! His knowledge of everything Italian is beyond description - wine, history, geography, culture, religion, politics. For anyone who wants to be immersed in Italy with a medieval perspective, no one can top Luca.
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Posted On : 2022-03-19 11:57:55
Posted By : Sergio F
This trip made our visit to Florence complete. Private tours are of course more expensive but if you can fit it in your budget this one will give you so much more in return that a bus tour. I’ll start with our fantastic guide Andrea who is from Tuscany. He was a wealth of passionate information throughout the entire trip. The certification for tour guides is very extensive in Italy but this man is also an art history major, a part time history professor, and a freelance journalist. His walking tour with us in Siena was truly a real life episode of a travel channel TV show. Our next stop was a tour and lunch at a small family owned winery in the Tuscan countryside. It deserves its own excellent separate review but for now I will say that this is the kind of unique intimate experience that only a private tour can give you. Next stop is the beautiful medieval town of San Gimignano. It’s extremely photogenic but it was very crowded with tourists and packed with gift shops. The last quick stop was a very small village outside the hills of Florence where Machiavelli spent a lot of time and was the architect of a beautiful Tuscan villa. This is the personal touch that only a private guide can give you. I do not think this stop is made by the other guides. This town was beautiful and peaceful. Not a single tourist in sight. After that Andrea drove us back home while showing us a bit more of Florence along the way.
Yes I highly recommend this trip.
Best of luck in your travels.
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Posted On : 2018-09-16 16:56:27
