Tuscany Travel Guide: Florence, Siena and a View From the Facciatone

Sep 26, 2026By Polina Galkina

With a few days in Tuscany, split them between Florence and Siena. Florence has the Duomo and the art. Siena has the medieval center and, from the top of the Facciatone, one of the best views of my whole trip.

I spent two weeks in Italy in the summer of 2026 with a single personal item for luggage, and Tuscany was a big part of it.

The plan at a glance

Florence: the Duomo and its striped marble facade
Siena: climb the Facciatone for the view over the city
Pisa: an easy train ride from Florence
Getting around: trains and buses between cities, a car for the countryside

Florence

Florence's cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, stops you in the street: white, green and pink marble in stripes, with Brunelleschi's dome on top. Climbing the dome or the bell tower beside it needs a ticket with a time slot, so book before you go.

Siena and the Facciatone

Siena saved its best trick for last. I climbed expecting another cramped tower stairwell and another slit of a window, but the Facciatone opened onto the whole city at once: terracotta rooftops tumbling down toward the Tuscan hills, and the cathedral's black-and-white stripes suddenly small beneath me. No one warns you it is coming. One turn of the stairs and Siena just surprises you.

The Facciatone is the unfinished facade of what was meant to be a much bigger cathedral. You reach the top through the cathedral museum, up a narrow spiral staircase, and the platform at the top is small.

Looking down the narrow spiral staircase inside the Facciatone in Siena

Siena's terracotta rooftops with the Torre del Mangia in the distance, seen from the Facciatone

Siena Cathedral's black-and-white striped bell tower and dome seen from above

The brick Torre del Mangia rising over Siena

Siena's terracotta rooftops stretching toward the Tuscan hills

Back on the ground, walk to the Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped main square below the Torre del Mangia.

A day trip to Pisa

Pisa is an easy day trip from Florence by train, about an hour each way, and yes, the tower really leans.

The little details

Italy is full of little details that end up just as memorable as the landmarks. I have no idea how it happened, but by the end of the trip my camera roll was basically a collection of door knockers.

An ornate iron door knocker on a wooden door in Italy

Carved lion-head door knockers on an old wooden door in Italy

A brass door knocker shaped like a face on a door in Italy

Getting around Tuscany

Trains connect Florence with Pisa, and buses are often the quicker way from Florence to Siena. For the countryside and the small hill towns, a car gives you the most freedom.