Easter in Tuscany: San Gimignano and Siena

Next up were the cities of San Gimignano and Siena. Despite both being filled with tourists, somehow San Gimignano managed to feel less touristy than Siena, which surprised me. San Gimignano is famous for its towers, several of the houses or buildings have tall towers.

From San Gimignano

with a nice view from the top.

From San Gimignano

The frescoes in the church were an unexpected surprise for me. They were some of the most extensive and best preserved I have seen, and are definitely worth some time.

From there, it was off to Siena. Siena proved to be a bit tricky. As I drove in, the sign leading to the parking areas said all the parking lots were full. I hoped for good luck and went to one. After circling around, I gave up and tried another side of the city. After an hour or so, I managed to get a place to park. The consequence of that was that I no longer had time to do any of the museums in Siena, and had to content myself with just walking around.

The city is by no means flat. In fact, you could use a topograhical map as you walk around. If you take the right streets, getting from place to place can be fairly level. Take the wrong streets and you might have a steep hill to deal with. Of course, I saw the Piazza del Campo

From Siena

and the view from the top of the tower.

From Siena