Siena Transportation

Getting from Rome to Siena by train requires a change in Chiusi. The bar in the photo is just across the street from the train station in Chiusi and a great place for lunch or a snack between trains.

I always kid myself that I am a savvy traveler. I knew in Rome I wanted a train bound for Chiusi and in the station there I saw many ticket windows with signs saying "Chiuso." I thought this little place I never heard of must be qute a transportation hub until I finally realized it was "chiuso" (closed in Italian) and not "Chiusi," the town. So much for my Italian!

I don't learn easily as later in the trip I decided to bone up enough to ask my question in Italian since I assumed most clerks in train stations would not necessarily speak English. As far as I know I asked the question properly in Italian, but he answered me in Italian and I have no idea what I was told! Lucky I am not still in some left luggage compartment in Milan or Rome or wherever.

I enjoy train travel and don't like to drive anywhere, particularly where I am not familiar with the roads, traffic signs and language. However, to get from Siena to Assisi by train was incredibly complex and long so we rented a car for the day.

A sidelight to this is that in 1961 we had planned a trip to Italy and were going to buy a Fiat to take back home. I don't know if we could have swung that deal, but the whole trip eventually fell through. In 1996 when we went to get the rental car, I told my wife, "I am over 30 years late, but here is your Fiat!" She thought it was funny - that is how she can stand to be married to me for so long.

By Train:
The bus is often more convenient, because Siena's train station is outside town. Some 19 trains daily connect Siena with Florence (90 min. to 2 1/4 hr.). There's also a line to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme (90 min.) passing through Asciano and Montepulciano. Siena's train station (tel. 0577/280-115) is at Piazza Fratelli Roselli, about 2 miles north of town. Take the C minibus to Piazza Gramsci in Terza di Camollia or a taxi

Busses to Florence start at Piazza Gramsci in Siena every hour. The blue Sita busses bring you to Firenze Autostatione Sita in Viale dei Cardona close to the main train station. The price is 6,50 Euro one way.

It's easy to take the bus from Florence (SITA)to Siena and it's probably the best way to get to Siena. A ticket is only about 5-6 Euros.
I have taken that bus a couple of times. If you have luggage with you, you might want to know this:
You know how you put your suitcase or bags in the compartment below the bus before you get on it.
Sometimes these guys hang around the bus station who want to help you put your suitcase on. Sometimes they try to strike up a conversation with you first. My advice is just: don't let anyone (but the bus driver) help you with putting your luggage on. Do it yourself and see that it goes inside. Maybe, even once you're on the bus, keep watching who takes things in (or out) of the compartment. then you should be fine.
I know this probably doesn't happen very often, but I have guys like that offer me help and refused. With me on the bus was this English lady who had someone help her and then her luggage wasn't on the bus when she got to Siena.
Just be a bit careful, that's all. In Florence one should be a bit careful about things that like and pick-pockets. Siena is not like that at all.

Unlike in Germany, for example, you don't buy your bus tickets on the bus in Italy. You go to one of the many "Tabacchaio", those little shops and kiosks where you can buy cigarettes, magazines and stamps, and get your bus tickets there.
If you are there for longer, you might want to buy a whole bunch of them, then you don't have to find a tabacchaio every time you need bus tickets.
You stamp the bus ticket only when you're on the bus. From then on it's valid for an hour.

To get to/from Siena, you can take the train or bus. For most destinations, the option would be train, though it is more expensive than the bus even though they both normally take the same time to get to Florence. You'll have to take the bus to San Gimignamo, so be aware of your destination. Getting around Siena is fun. From the train station, you'll have to take a 'mini-bus', it's about the size of a pickup truck, and it will wisk you to the town center for a euro. Once in the center, you'll find you can walk everywhere.

I took a bus from Florence. You can catch the bus in Florence just around the corner from the train station. The bus company is called SITA and it's only 6.20 euro one-way. There is a direct route and a less direct route. The faster, direct route takes a little over an hour. The slower route is only about a half hour longer and takes you through some beautiful Tuscan countryside. I took the fast route getting there and the slower route on the way back and I was glad I did!
*(the picture is not a SITA bus, just a bus pic!)
Walk!