Siena Private Walking Tour: Traditions, Streets & Cathedral
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Siena, Italy
- 2 to 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore Siena’s historical highlights and iconic cathedral on a private walking tour of the historic center. This short but comprehensive tour is designed for curious travelers who want to maximize their limited time in this Tuscan city. As you admire Piazza San Domenico, Torre del Mangia, and other local treasures, your guide will provide illuminating commentary that takes you out of the guidebook and into medieval Tuscany.
- A private tour means a more personalized experience
- Orient yourself to Siena for future independent exploring
- Get courtesy skip-the-line admission to Siena Cathedral
- Choose between a morning or afternoon start time
What's Included
- Private tour for a more personalized experience
- Pre-reserved skip-the-line tickets for the Siena Cathedral
- Expert local guide with insider's knowledge of Siena
- 2 or 3 hr walking tour at a relaxed pace depending on the option chosen
- Option to extend the tour 3 hours with the OPA SI Pass
- Option to visit the Crypt and the Museum with your guide
- Option to climb the unfinished façade , at your own pace
- Transport to the meeting point
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Basilica Cateriniana di San DomenicoPiazza S. Domenico, 1, 53100 Siena SI, Italy
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.”
End point
- Siena CathedralPiazza del Duomo, 8, 53100 Siena SI, Italy
Itinerary
Siena (Pass By)
1
Piazza san Domenico
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Piazza del Campo
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Fonte Gaia
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Torre del Mangia
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Siena Cathedral
45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Museo dell'Opera Metropolitana
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- 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.
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.5
based on 81 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
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.
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.
Very knowledgeable tour guide
Explained what we saw in detail and followed itinerary explained under tour activity.
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.
Ludovica was an incredible guide with extensive knowledge and a very friendly persona. The small size of our group (only 5) made it very easy to talk, listen, and see the amazing sites of Siena. Highly recommend this for anyone with a short time in Siena wanting to take a deep dive. The history behind the stunningly beautiful duomo is fascinating!
This was very informative and our guide was exceptional. We visited all the major sites and learned about the architecture of the city.
Great guide informing the history of the city and religious significance, would recommend getting the crypt and baptism pass for future guests.
Idania articulated the historic culture of Siena perfectly! We thoroughly enjoyed the description of St. Caterina’s life and relics, as well as, the details of the sculptures, paintings, tiles on the floor and the pulpit in the Duomo of Siena.
Idania, is passionate and is proud of Siena, she is sweet and has an awesome personality to connect with the people she brings on the tour.
We even had a peek at how the Paleo community comes together and the competition!
Thank you Idania! Ciao!
Great tour and very knowledgeable tour guide. Only downside was that we didn't have time to do the crypt tour because the guide had another tour booked that day. I wish I could have seen the crypt.
Great tour with Guilia! We learned so much about Siena’s Duomo and the Crypt - fascinating! She also educated us on the 17 Contrades and the Palio competition! She made our tour so fun!
I cannot recommend this highly enough!! I ended up having a 3 hour solo walking tour around the heart of Siena. My guide, Giulia was outstanding!! I had such an enjoyable time and I learned a lot too. Giulia is a passionate and highly knowledgeable local who is a pleasure to spend time with. I loved the fact that I could Taylor the tour to what I was most interested in. It was a shame when the tour had to end!! Thank you so much.
Our guide was simply amazing! Ludovica Noviello was knowledgable, friendly, and entertaining! She was the best tour guide we had throughout our two week trip in Italy!
It was a great tour and I learned a lot, but I would have liked headphones to hear better as there is so much information to take in and it is noisy with all the people around
Our guide was fantastic. Not only did we learn about the sites that we were going to see but we also learnt a bit about daily life in Siena, with the 17 different neighborhoods and just the rivalries between the neighborhoods. And she told us all about the horse racing that is done twice a year in July in August.
Excellent guided tour through Siena. Guide was extremely knowledgeable about the history and current day Siena. Well-paced tour with all of the major sites in Siena. Highly recommend
I was hit by a van on my way. I already was in a brace and sling so those who saw were concerned. I did my best to get to the meeting place, but missed them. I contacted Victor to see if they could find out where the group was. I was told they couldn’t disturb him. I walked the way most guides were going with their group, but couldn’t locate mine. I was declared a no show with no refund.
The only plus was that at the end of the two hour part, the guide Elio Martino contacted me and said he would meet me and give me my ticket that I could use on my own. He didn’t stop there, but took me into St Catherine’s and gave me an overview of it and then a quick overview of which way I should walk, what to look for, and the main features of the Siena Cathedral or Duomo di Siena. My day was saved.
Response from Host, Sep 2024
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We are truly sorry to hear about the unfortunate circumstances you encountered on the way to the tour. Your safety is always a priority, and we hope you're recovering well after such an incident.
We are glad that Elio was able to assist you and turn the situation around by providing both a ticket and a personalized mini-tour of Siena’s highlights.
Our guides are dedicated to providing all customers with a seamless and enjoyable experience. To ensure the tour runs smoothly, we kindly ask guests to arrive at the meeting point at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time.
We're sorry for the inconvenience you experienced. Please be assured that our guide did everything possible to help make it right. We hope to welcome you on another tour in the future, where we can offer you the full experience.
Best Regards.
The museum was amazing. We are so glad we went there before the cathedral. Guide was excellent and it was so nice not to stand in long lines. Highly recommend this tour.
The meeting place and tour guide were easy to spot, unlike some of the other tours we had booked. She was very friendly and knowledgeable and made the tour very enjoyable. It was a small group and we were able to ask a lot of questions and had time to take photos along the way. She made sure as we were walking up and down steps and the inclined roads that we were able to keep up doing okay. She pointed the different sites and told stories/legends about them which made it all more interesting and enjoyable.
Giulia was very knowledgeable and made our tour super enjoyable! You can tell she cares about the history of Siena. Our group was very small (4 people) which made navigating the city and lines very manageable. This tour is 1000% worth it!!
My tour guide was excellent! As it was a solo tour I shared with her my reasons for being in Siena and she customized and personalized the tour according to my interests! She was so personable and knowledgeable, and we made the most of the three hours we had together. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and will certainly remember it!
A fantastic tour with a very knowledgeable and interesting guide who went over and above to make sure we had the best time. Such a beautiful city
Ludovica was absolutely incredible!!! so informative. Patiece and loves Siena . Gave good recommendations.
Our guide Monica was very knowledgeable but more informative than entertaining. The main focus of the tour is the Cathedral and would have liked to have found out more of the secular history of the city. Also I was disappointed we didn't go into the baptistry. If you are into the Cathedral and it's art then this is the tour for you, Monica was able to explain a lot of the detail we would have missed. For a broader city tour maybe look elsewhere.
My guide was fantastic! She was very knowledgeable, she answered my questions, joked around a bit. I would happily go on another tour with her!
Monica was an excellent guide with a vast knowledge of Siena. If you visit Siena and really want to learn the unique culture, book this tour. Such a beautiful city!
Unfortunately, I relied on Google maps to help me find the starting point and it sent me around in circles. I managed to find your tours in Florence and Bologna without any problems , but Siena beat me.I tried waiting at various main attractions to catch the tour but I couldn’t identify your guide. I also tied to make contact but no response.
The walking tour was outstanding! Our guide Ludy was amazing, she knew the history and culture of Siena. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. I highly recommend this tour.
Guide had difficulty with English, was very slow, and spoke a lot about things not related to the sites. Spent an hour and a half at the San Domenico church and the house of Saint Catherine, so we only had 10 min at the Basilica by the time we reached it. Also she kept referencing her phone in between exhibits, and sometimes would send us into the area to see something and then provide the history AFTER we had viewed it. The tour was not what we had expected.
Response from Host, Jun 2024
Hello,
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We're sorry to hear that the tour did not meet your expectations. Our guide strives to provide a comprehensive and engaging experience.
We understand that the time spent at different sites was not to your satisfaction. Please consider that our guide asked if the group was interested in visiting the House of Saint Catherine, and he proceeded based on the affirmative response. Additionally, certain areas, like the inside of the House of Saint Catherine and the Piccolomini Library, have restrictions on guiding, which may have impacted the flow of information.
We appreciate your feedback and will use it to make improvements.
We have a very good tour guide and a small group. Would highly recommend when visiting Siena. Got allot of inside information of the city's past and current.
I really liked the tour and would have given it more stars but it was a bit hard to understand everything that was being told to us. Our guide was lovely but we missed much in translation! The cathedral is really beautiful and worth seeing!
Response from Host, May 2024
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We are glad you really liked the tour and our guide.
I understand that this tour can be quite daunting, especially with so much new information and a lot of detailed knowledge to take in all at once. It can definitely be difficult to digest.
Our guides are always available to take a moment to review the key points together at a slower pace.
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per personWas $179.84(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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- Abbey of Sant'Antimo (Abbazia di Sant'Antimo) Tours & Tickets
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- Basilica of San Domenico (Basilica di San Domenico) Tours & Tickets
- Piccolomini Library (Libreria Piccolomini) Tours & Tickets
- Pubblico Palace (Palazzo Pubblico) Tours & Tickets
- Piazza del Campo Tours & Tickets
- Siena Piazza del Mercato Tours & Tickets
- Siena Civic Museum (Museo Civico di Siena) Tours & Tickets
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