How can you be in Siena and not visit Florence again? You’re just an hour away from this vibrant city where the Academy Gallery with its breathtaking statue of David by Michelangelo and the Uffizi Palace with its incredible artwork reside. The Piazza Duomo and the Baptistry of St. John dominate the tourist area as you walk toward the Ponte Vecchio. Florence is the city that captivates you on every level and it beckons you to return over and over.

This hilltop town has a rich history and is probably one of the prettiest towns we visited. About 7000 people live in this ancient village. And every house has a beautiful facade with flowers blooming everywhere.

Montalcino is another hill town near Siena. It’s known for its fortress and the Brunello wine that is produced there. And the views from the town overlooking the valley are unbelievable...even more enjoyable when having a glass of the local wine!

Montepulciano is about an hours drive from Siena. This town was high on our list of places to visit as we have enjoyed many glasses of wine from here. Only cars with permits are allowed in town so after parking, we strolled toward the Piazza Grande. We wandered through the many shops selling wine but soon discovered Dolce Vita. The pastries and hot chocolate sent us into sugar overload. We decided not to ship wine home(packing it in our luggage was not an option) and instead purchased enough sweets to last us a couple of days. We contemplated opening a franchise back home but realized it would be a losing venture as we’d constantly be eating all of the profits.??

If you can, do not miss Montepulciano and be sure to have a glass of wine there AND hot chocolate!

Siena is a picturesque city about an hour south of Florence. Its Piazza Del Campo is always crowded with natives and tourists enjoying the many restaurants. It is surrounded by stores that will satisfy any culinary or shopping desire. The cobblestone streets meander throughout this ancient city revealing historical sights and magnificent churches.

In the old walled city, one must have a permit to drive a car. Our hotel had a parking lot behind it but each time we departed and returned, our info. had to be entered by the hotel into the municipal system or there would be a fine. Again, our phones were our best friends for navigating the city and the surrounding countryside.

To return to the USA right now, one must have a antigen test within 72 hours of departure. The hotel made an appointment for us at the Piazza Del Campo Farmacia. The pharmacist came out at our appointed time and took our passports. A couple of minutes later, they gave each of us the test and asked us to return in 15 minutes. And 15 minutes later, they provided us with a written negative certificate which we then uploaded to our Verifly App and the App told us we were ready to travel. A really easy process for 22 euros each.

Most tourists travel to Siena as a day trip from Florence but it is easily worth more time if your schedule permits.

Everyone says the blue trail from Corniglia to Vernazza is the easiest of all the hiking trails in Cinque Terre. Being believers we took the train from Manarola to Corniglia. ( 3 minute ride ). The town of Corniglia is high on the cliff above the train station. You can reach it by walking up many many steps or taking the public bus included in our train pass. Silly us, we chose the steps. We finally reached Corniglia after many stops to catch our breath and then started off to the blue trail.

The blue trail is about 1.9 km of mostly ups until you finally reach a second bar/ restaurant where we decided to eat and drink and gather our remaining energy before beginning the climb down to Vernazza. We were two very exhausted, weary people who were incredibly happy to finally walk around this charming town that has an easy access back to the train station.

How can you drive to Siena and not stop in Pisa? Although this was not our first trip to this historic landmark, we knew we had to see it one more time. It’s easy to park nearby and walk to the tower. Afterward, we had a delightful lunch at Pisa Cafe and had an unobstructed view of the tower as we ate. On to Siena!

The five towns that comprise Cinque Terre have their own unique personalities. The train ride makes it easy to see all 5 in 2-3 days as it’s only a 3-4 minute trip between each town. One can stroll through each town in about an hour. Besides the breathtaking views, there are hiking trails and wonderful trattorias and gelatarias. Cinque Terre definitely should be on your Italian itinerary

Vernazza is a really pretty town dotted with shops and cafes and restaurants. As with all the Cinque Terre towns there are gelatarias every few feet. It’s basically a one street town bordering on the Mediterranean that one can easily traverse in an hour or so. The train station is at the top of the street and is an easy walk from the center of the shopping area. And as with everywhere in Italy, the food is wonderful.

A 3 hour drive on the autostrada via winding mountain roads finally brought us to Manarola in Cinque Terre. Parking is limited to residents and there is a gate that is permit activated. There is some free street side parking and also a parking lot for 20 euros per day. Due to the long walk into town, we checked into our hotel (thanks to directions from a local citizen ) and reception contacted a luggage transport service for 20 euros including tip to bring our luggage to our room.

Manarola is basically a town on a cliff so be prepared to walk up and down steep grades. We decided to enjoy the coming sunset at Nessun Dorma -definitely a challenging climb but well worth it…Best Mojito ever!!!

And dinner at da Aristide, Lasagna and Spaghetti di Mare were just what we needed to complete our day.

Best of all, there was an ATM right across the way.

Manarola is a small town and is very busy once the first trains of tourists and day trippers arrive.

You can see all the town has to offer in a few hours but it’s a great place to use as a base.