Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Train -- The 20 or so daily trains on the line between Siena (trip time: 20-45 min.) and Empoli, where you can connect from Florence (60-75 min.), stop at Poggibonsi (tel. 0577-933-646 or 0577-936-462). From Poggibonsi, 19 buses make the 25-minute run to San Gimignano Monday through Saturday, but only nine buses run on Sunday.

By Car -- Take the Poggibonsi exit off the Florence-Siena autostrada or the SS2. San Gimignano is 12km (7 1/2 miles) from Poggibonsi. Another secondary road meets this coming up from Colle di Val d'Elsa.

By Bus -- You almost always have to transfer buses at Poggibonsi. SITA (tel. 055-47-821; www.sitabus.it) runs 26 buses daily from Florence to Poggibonsi (50-90 min.), 13 of which meet right up with the connection to San Gimignano. There's also a Sunday direct bus from Florence (80 min.) at 8:30am. TRA-IN (tel. 0577-204-246; www.trainspa.it) runs about 33 daily buses from Siena to Poggibonsi (35-45 min.), stopping at Colle di Val d'Elsa on the way. In San Gimignano, buy tickets at the tourist office.

Visitor Information

The tourist office is at Piazza Duomo 1 (tel. 0577-940-008; fax 0577-940-903; www.sangimignano.com). It's open daily: March through October from 9am to 1pm and 3 to 7pm and November through February from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 6pm.

Festivals & Markets

The citizens dress up in elaborate masks and costumes for a Carnival parade just before Lent. Sangimignanese Summer -- now known as Dentro e Fuori le Mura -- has, since 1924, brought some lightweight culture to town on the last weekend in July, with open-air opera recitals, classical concerts, and film screenings in the ruins of the Rocca fortress. Thursday and Saturday morning see a bustling market on Piazza del Duomo.