“Show and Tell”: Siena, Tuscany

We’re delighted to have Katja Meier on Italy “Show and Tell” to share her favorite photos and inside tips of Siena. Katja writes the Map It Out – Siena travel blog, and is happiest with a cup of coffee in her Tuscan olive grove. Here are insights of Siena from a local expert and if you are headed there, her blog is filled with invaluable resources.

6 Favorite Photos of Siena, Tuscany

1. Part of Siena’s fame lies in its colouring. Soft shades of ochre, yellow and red make up the majority of its buildings. Terra di Siena (Siena earth) is the Italian name for the color Sienna, which was one of the first natural earth pigments used by humans.

Rooftop view of Siena with Torre del Mangia

2. Vespa lovers are likely to find every model, color and edition of the Italian scooter in town, since a lot of locals use the beloved Tuscan two-wheeler to get around the narrow backstreets (Siena’s historic town centre was one of the first in Europe to become car- free).

Parked Vespas in Siena’s historic town center

3. The best restaurant in Siena is also one of Italy’s oldest ones. Founded in 1830 restaurant Tre Cristi (also known as Trattoria Tullio) has frescoes, style and fabulous food for an elegant Tuscan tete-a-tete.

Entrance of restaurant tre Cristi

4. Siena has endless potential for a washing-line lover like me. The most ecological approach to the drying of clothes can be observed all through Siena’s backstreets. Yet another reason to veer off a bit from Siena’s sightseeing highway (the triangle between cathedral, piazza del Campo and the city’s main shopping road).

Laundry out to dry in Siena

5. Siena in winter can be gloomy, foggy and chilly, but you’ll appreciate the absence of tourists in Siena in winter if you are an art lover or not one for the crowd.  And whilst you have to bring warm clothes you may be lucky enough to shed them off during coffee in the January sunshine on piazza del Campo. A real treat, since the shell-shaped square looks never as good as when you have it to yourself.

Winter sun on Piazza del Campo

6. No account of Siena is complete without a mention of the Palio di Siena. Run twice a year in July and August, the famous bareback horse race has taken place for hundreds of years and is still as important to the Sienese today as it was during the Renaissance.

Locals waiting for the start of the provaccia, the last trial race on the morning of the Palio.

Thank you Katja! If you need advice or tips on Siena or anything Tuscan, you can connect with her on Twitter at @anythingtuscan

Have you been to Siena? What are your favorite sights and places to eat?