Tours and Tickets to Experience Pienza

There are plenty of ways to experience Pienza. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Rome: Tuscany & Montepulciano Day Trip with Lunch & Wine Tasting

• Val d'Orcia Brunello Wine Tour with Montalcino and Montepulciano

• Small-Group Montepulciano and Pienza Day Trip from Siena

• Brunello and Nobile, Wine Lover Tour Montalcino and Montepulciano

• Medieval Tour in Monteriggioni and Val d'Orcia from Florence

Visiting Pienza is free; however, many travelers choose to explore on a tour. Pienza day trips generally start from Florence, Rome, or Siena, and visit Montalcino and/or Montepulciano. Tours can cost from US$65 for a no-frills group tour up to US$950 for a private tour with food and wine.

Several buses a day cover the 9 miles (14 kilometers) between Pienza and Montepulciano, but reaching the town from Siena, Florence, or Rome on public transportation is extremely time-consuming. Your best bet is to drive yourself or join a tour: With a tour, you don’t have to worry about parking.

Pienza’s main attractions, beyond its spectacular city walls, are on its main square: Piazza Pio II. Here you can see an imposing Renaissance cathedral, several glorious palazzos, and the conservatory of San Carlo, now home to an archaeological museum. The Pieve di Corsignano, a Romanesque church, lies just outside the city.

Like the rest of Tuscany, Pienza is at its busiest over the summer, with high-season prices beginning as early as May and running all the way through September. Planning your trip for April (outside the Easter vacation) or October can mean warmer temperatures but fewer crowds.

Yes, with planning, Pienza can be accessible to travelers who use wheelchairs: Its streets are less steep than many Tuscan hill towns. There are wheelchair-accessible hotels, while Piazza Pio II is flat and level. However, the city walls, the cathedral crypt, and some stores and eateries will be off limits.