Get the most out of your visit & Delve into Siena’s history

We can cover a lot of ground with our walking tour, but to really know Siena, a visit to one of these museums is a must!

Opa Si Pass

You have a few options for the Cathedral Complex:

1) ticket just for the Cathedral (with entry into the Piccolomini Library), €5-€8

2) the OpaSi Pass, €14-€18, which grants you entrance to the Cathedral, Cathedral Works Museum (with climb up the “Facciatone”), “Crypt”, Baptistry, and (when open) the Oratorio di San Bernardino (next to the Basilica of San Francesco). Depending on the time of year we may or may not need to purchase tickets in advance. With me as your local guide, we can skip the line and get tickets on the day!

3) “Gate of Heaven” (“Porta del Cielo”), €20, which gets you everything the OpaSi Pass does, plus you can reserve a time to walk under the Cathedral roof, gaze down into the Cathedral (always a pleasure, but truly spectacular when the floors are uncovered), and around its dome for some wonderful views of Siena and the surrounding countryside. This is a strictly timed entrance, so if you would like me to come with you, I shall need to know to get my ticket in advance. Otherwise, you can climb on your own, and I’ll meet you in the Cathedral afterwards!

Opening hours:
Cathedral: 1 April-31 Oct: Mon-Sat 10.30-19.00 + Sun 13.30-18.00; 1 Nov-31 March, 10.30-17.30 + Sun 13.30-17.30
Floor uncovered: 26 June-31 July and 18 Aug-18 Oct, Mon-Sat 10.00-19.00 + Sun 9.30-18.00
Museo dell’Opera, Crypt, Baptistry: 1 April-31 Oct, 10.30-19.00; 1 Nov-31 March, 10.30-17.30
Oratorio di San Bernardino: 1 April-31 Oct, 13.30-19.00; 1 Nov-31 March closed.
Of course, everything is subject to change, especially around special feast days!

Click here to visit the official website.

Civic Museums Palazzo Pubblico

Visit Siena’s town hall, the Palazzo Pubblico, to learn about its rather unique government as we admire 14th-c frescoes whose messages about what constitutes a good or a bad government still resonate today. We’ll walk through the Room of the Nine, the Hall of the (lost) World Map, and the Hall of Italian Unification, plus see a chapel, some she-wolves, centuries-old graffiti, and even a Roman hero or two!

*NB: Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Allegories of Good and Bad Government are currently under restoration, but it will be possible to go up on the scaffolding throughout the year. Unfortunately, most of the visits will be in Italian, but I highly recommend you go anyway! Read about the frescoes beforehand, then enjoy seeing them in a way you never will again!
UPDATE: Guided visits of the restoration site will be from 18 May through 30 June (English visits Monday mornings only). Tickets will soon be on sale as the “Cantiere del Buon Governo”, and they includes your visit to the Palazzo Pubblico/Civic Museum; the ticket that says “Civic Museum” only does not include a visit to the restoration site.)

Opening hours: 1 Nov-28 Feb 10.00-18.00; 1 March-31 Oct 10.00-19.00.
To climb the Torre del Mangia (no, NO elevator!):* 1 Nov-28 Feb 10.00-13.00 and 13.45-16.00; 1 March-31 Oct 10.00-13.45 and 14.30-19.00.
Tickets: €6, or €15 for Tower + Civic Museum
Combination Ticket Options:
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €19.
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Torre del Mangia + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €24.

* To climb the tower, you will probably need to make a reservation the morning of your visit.

Pinacoteca Nazionale

The greatest collection of Sienese painting can thankfully be found here, in Siena! The Pinacoteca is not often visited, unfortunately, but the advantage here is that you’ll have the golden Madonnas all to yourself! Admire the elegance of Sienese 13th- and 14th-c painting in works by Duccio, Simone Martini, and Ambrogio and Pietro Lorenzetti. But don’t forget the 15th and 16th centuries! You will surely be impressed with Sano di Pietro, Beccafumi, and il Sodoma too! Let’s go on a hunt for saints, admire painted ornate fabrics, and enjoy the details of some of the greatest paintings of the age.

Opening hours: Sun-Mon. 9.00-13.30; Tues-Sat 9.00-19.00.
Tickets: €6 (free the first Sunday of the month).
Combination Ticket Options:
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €19.
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Torre del Mangia + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €24.

Support the museum by becoming a member of the Amici della Pinacoteca. It’s €25 a year and even if you only come once, your contribution will greatly help this amazing institution. The new director is organizing loads of evening events, including the unveiling of newly acquired and/or restored works.

Santa Maria della Scala

Even if the legendary foundation date of 898 is off, we know that the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala has been running since at least 1090, first as a place to house pilgrims, then as a place to treat the infirm, care for the sick, and take in “gettatelli” (abandoned children). Until the 1990s, this was Siena’s emergency room, making it the world’s longest continuously running hospital until that point!

Explore this labyrinthian “city within a city”, search for relics (including a vial of Jesus’s blood and a nail from the True Cross), and admire a 15th-c fresco cycle that shows all the good this institution did for the city. I absolutely adore this museum!

Opening hours: 16 Oct-14 March, Mon-Wed-Thur-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat-Sun 10.00-19.00 (closed Tuesday); 15 March-15 Oct, everyday 10.00-19.00. Free the first Sunday of every month!
Tickets: €9.
Combination Ticket Options:
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €19.
• Museo Civico + Santa Maria della Scala + Torre del Mangia + Pinacoteca Nazionale di Siena: €24.

Banner photograph of Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s Effects of Good Government in the City and the Country (ca. 1338, fresco, Room of the Nine, Palazzo Pubblico, Siena) made available by the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.