What to see in San Gimignano, and what to book
The historic centre of San Gimignano has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. It is small, running from Porta San Giovanni to Porta San Matteo, and its appeal lies precisely in how much is packed in: two adjoining squares, a church frescoed from top to bottom, a town hall with its tower and, all around, the tower-houses of the medieval families. That is why people call it the "Manhattan of the Middle Ages".
The short answer on what to book:
- Collegiata and Torre Grossa: buy the San Gimignano Pass on the museums' official website.
- Just the frescoes: the Collegiata ticket, €7, is enough.
- Just the view: the Musei Civici ticket, €10, is enough, and it includes the Torre Grossa.
The real problem in San Gimignano isn't tickets but timing: get there early. Around the middle of the day the coach groups arrive on day trips from Florence and Siena, and the two squares fill up. If you stay the night here, or arrive by ten, you'll find a different place.
Half a day on foot
This is the walk we suggest for a weekday morning. On Saturdays the Collegiata closes at 16:30, and starting early is a good idea anyway. On Sundays, on the other hand, it only opens at 12:30: reverse the order and start with the Palazzo Comunale and the Tower.
- Porta San Giovanniarrive by bus or from the P2 Montemaggio car park, the closest
- Piazza della Cisternathe square with the well, before the groups arrive
- Collegiata and Museo d'Arte Sacraopening time: frescoes and the Chapel of Santa Fina, about 45 minutes
- Palazzo Comunale, Pinacoteca and Torre Grossasame Pass; climb the tower before the hottest hours
- Piazza della Cisternagelato break, allowing for the queue
- Santa Chiara or San Lorenzo in Ponteincluded in the Pass, if you still have the energy
- Lunch with a glass of Vernacciaor bus 130 towards Poggibonsi or Siena
Porta San Giovanni is the side where buses and cars arrive. From there you walk up to Piazza della Cisterna, with the well in the middle and towers all around it. It runs straight into Piazza del Duomo, home to the Collegiata and the Palazzo Comunale. If you have time after lunch, carry on towards Porta San Matteo, away from the main street.
San Gimignano tickets: the Pass or single tickets?
San Gimignano's paid sights are run by a single network, San Gimignano Musei, with a shared call centre (+39 0577 286300, Monday to Friday). These are the prices published on the museums' official website:
| Ticket | What it includes | Full price | Reduced | Valid for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Gimignano Pass | Collegiata, Museo d'Arte Sacra, Palazzo Comunale, Pinacoteca, Torre Grossa, Santa Chiara, San Lorenzo in Ponte | €15 | €12 for ages 6 to 17 | 3 days |
| Collegiata | church and Museo d'Arte Sacra | €7 | €4 | 1 day |
| Musei Civici | Palazzo Comunale, Pinacoteca, Torre Grossa | €10 | €8 | 3 days |
Each ticket carries a €1 advance-booking fee if you buy it ahead of time. Children under 6 go in free, as do residents and people with disabilities together with one companion.
The maths is simple: the Collegiata plus the Civici come to €17, the Pass to €15. If you want to go into both, the Pass always works out cheaper and throws in Santa Chiara, with the archaeological museum and the Spezieria di Santa Fina (the old pharmacy), and the church of San Lorenzo in Ponte. As it is valid for three days, you can also split the visit if you are staying nearby.
On Tiqets and GetYourGuide
Here the resellers don't cost much more than the official price, but they don't cost less either. The Tiqets ticket for the Collegiata, from €8, with an audio guide, matches the official price plus the booking fee, but its reviews are lukewarm. The Pass on Tiqets starts from €18.50, against €16 on the official website including the booking fee. GetYourGuide sells a two-day pass for the Torre Grossa and the Collegiata from €16. Tiqets also has the Casa-Torre Campatelli, a tower-house, from €8, which isn't among the Pass sights. Partner prices change, and we check them regularly. If you don't need everything in the same app, buy on the museums' website.
San Gimignano: 2-Day Pass - Torre Grossa and Duomo Tickets
(185 reviews) from €16
Book on GetYourGuide
The Collegiata
It is called the Collegiata rather than the Duomo because San Gimignano is not the seat of a bishop, although everyone calls it the Duomo anyway. Inside, it is frescoed throughout, with cycles of the Old and New Testaments. It is the main reason to pay for a ticket in San Gimignano.
The Chapel of Santa Fina is the work of Giuliano and Benedetto da Maiano, with frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio. The legend of the saint says that every March yellow violets bloom on the towers. The free audio guide is available in six languages.
From April to October the opening hours are:
- Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 19:30;
- Saturday from 10:00 to 16:30, hours that also apply on 14 and 16 August;
- Sundays and public holidays from 12:30 to 19:30, because there is Mass in the morning.
In winter it closes earlier. The listed closures also include the second half of January, the second half of November and 12 March, as well as Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If you are travelling at those times, check the museums' website.
The towers and the Torre Grossa
According to tradition, at the height of its medieval wealth San Gimignano had around 72 towers and bell towers. Today about fourteen remain: sources vary between 13 and 16 depending on what is counted, so be wary of anyone who gives an exact figure.
The only one you can climb with the museums' ticket is the Torre Grossa, the tallest, at around 54 metres, which you reach from the Palazzo Comunale. The same ticket covers the Pinacoteca, with Filippino Lippi's two roundels of the Annunciation and works by Benozzo Gozzoli, Pinturicchio and Benedetto da Maiano. The Musei Civici open from April to October from 10:00 to 19:30 (last entry at 19:00), and from November to March from 11:00 to 17:30. They are closed on 25 December.
Getting there: bus via Poggibonsi, or by car
Without a car. San Gimignano has no railway station, and you need to plan around that. From Florence there are two combinations, both with a change at Poggibonsi:
- regional train from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Poggibonsi-San Gimignano station: €8.90, just over an hour on direct trains (otherwise you change at Empoli). From the station, line 130 (Siena – Poggibonsi – San Gimignano) or line 133 gets you there in 20–25 minutes;
- Autolinee Toscane bus 131 or 131R from Florence to Poggibonsi, then the same 130 or 133. The 131R stops at Poggibonsi Salceto, not at the station: check where to catch the connection.
It usually takes an hour and a half to two hours in total, depending on connections. On Sundays and public holidays the 130 runs roughly every one to two hours, and the 133 has only a few services. Buses usually arrive at Porta San Giovanni. Check the timetables on the Autolinee Toscane website, above all the time of the last bus back. From Siena, line 130 runs direct, and from Certaldo, on the Florence – Empoli – Siena railway, there is line 128.
By car. The historic centre is a ZTL (zona a traffico limitato, a limited traffic zone where unauthorised cars are fined): don't drive in past the walls. The numbered municipal car parks are dotted around the town, and the council's website shows how full they are in real time. These are the rates published by the council:
| Car park | Spaces | First hour | Second hour | Each hour after | Daily maximum | Night (20:00–08:00) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 Giubileo | 305 | €2 | €2 | €1.50 | €7 | €1 |
| P2 Montemaggio | 153 | €3 | €2.50 | €2 | €15 | €5 |
| P3 Bagnaia Superiore | 90 | €2.50 | €2.50 | €2 | €15 | €5 |
| P4 Bagnaia Inferiore | 231 | €2.50 | €2.50 | €2 | €15 | €5 |
P2 Montemaggio is the closest to Porta San Giovanni, and the first to fill up. P1 Giubileo is by far the cheapest if you are staying all day, and it drops to €6 on the second day and €5 from the third. For half a day the difference is just a few euros. P5 Santa Lucia is reserved for camper vans.
On an organised tour. Almost all coach tours from Florence combine San Gimignano with Siena, and often with Monteriggioni or Chianti. They solve the problem of changing at Poggibonsi, but the free time in town is usually limited and falls at the busiest hours: check how long the stop lasts before booking, if you want to go into both the Collegiata and the Tower.
| No. | Option | Platform | Rating | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | From Florence: Tuscany Day Trip to Siena & San Gimignano cheapest | GetYourGuide | 4.6 (740) | 9 hours | €49 |
| 02 | Siena & San Gimignano: Day Trip from Florence | Tiqets | 4.2 (5) | 09:00 | €60 |
| 03 | Florence: Day Trip with Free Time in San Gimignano and Siena | GetYourGuide | 4.7 (2,276) | 9 hours | €60 |
| 04 | Florence: Siena, San Gimignano & Monteriggioni with Tasting | GetYourGuide | 4.6 (3,852) | 11 hours | €65 |
| 05 | Florence: S. Gimignano, Siena, Chianti Wine Tasting & Lunch | GetYourGuide | 4.6 (4,095) | 11 hours | €71.10 |
| 06 | Siena, San Gimignano & Monteriggioni: Day Trip from Florence + Wine Tasting | Tiqets | 4.7 (51) | 10:30 | €75 |
| 07 | San Gimignano, Siena, Monteriggioni & Chianti: Tour + Lunch + Wine Tasting | Tiqets | 4.5 (13) | 11:00 | €79 |
| 08 | Certaldo, Monteriggioni & Castellina: Day Tour from Florence + Cooking Class | Tiqets | 4.8 (18) | 09:00 | €159 |
San Gimignano tours and tickets on GetYourGuide
Vernaccia, gelato and truffles
Vernaccia di San Gimignano is the town's white wine, made from the grape of the same name. It is remembered as the first Italian wine to be awarded DOC status, and today it is a DOCG. A vernaccia even appears in Dante's Purgatorio, in connection with Pope Martin IV. You can easily find it by the glass in the centre; for winery visits, see the page on wine tours.
On Piazza della Cisterna you'll find the gelateria of Sergio Dondoli, a gelato maker with world titles to his name. Everyone talks about it, so a queue is all but guaranteed in the middle of the day. If you want to try it without waiting, go in the morning or late in the afternoon.
In the hills around the town you can also go truffle hunting with a local truffle hunter. On GetYourGuide there is a two-hour outing in San Gimignano from €90, and a full day from Florence with truffles, a tasting and lunch from €275. Ask the organiser which truffle is being hunted at the time of your trip. There are more options on the truffle hunting page.
Florence: San Gimignano, Truffle Hunt, Wine Tasting, & Lunch
(26 reviews) from €275
Book on GetYourGuideMistakes to avoid
- Arriving at 11:00 with everyone else: the squares fill with groups. Early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, the town feels completely different.
- Planning the Collegiata for Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning: on Saturday it closes at 16:30, and on Sunday it opens at 12:30.
- Parking at P2 all day: you'll end up paying €15, whereas at P1 you won't go over €7.
- Not checking the last 130 bus: with no station, look up the return time before you climb the tower.
Nearby
San Gimignano sits halfway between Florence and Siena. Monteriggioni and Certaldo are on the page about the borghi, Tuscany's hill towns and villages, while nearby Volterra has a page of its own. To plan your day from Florence, see the day trips page, and to choose where to book, read our reviews of Tiqets and GetYourGuide.