• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

You’ve probably heard that Siena is well-known for its the Palio of Siena, but do you know the stories and origin behind it? Or how much influence it has on the locals daily life? On this private city tour, you are in for a cultural treat!

Destination

Siena, Italy

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2.5 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Español, Italiano

Included

• Private Guide
• Entrance to Contrada Museum
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 5 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at At the entrance of bar Il Palio - Siena to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Culture of the City

   On this private tour, you’ll experience and discover Siena through its culture. Whether it’s focused on a tradition, a special part of town with a story to tell, cultural beliefs, or around a cultural activity that shaped the city into what it is - this tour will be a cultural awakening you can’t miss!

4. the Palio of Siena in Siena

   Your tour will focus on the Palio of Siena, a very important cultural subject in Siena. Thanks to your local host, you’ll learn and see how the Palio of Siena made an impact in Siena, making you experience the city from a different perspective.

5. Cultural Highlights

   As you deep dive into the subject of your tour, you’ll make stops to visit unique spots that will give you a full picture of the city. Visit Piazza del Campo, Contrada Museum, the chapel of the Contrada della Lupa, and more and see how these cultural highlights are part of the local life but have so much history behind them!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the cultural side of Siena, you’ll be able to embrace it thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time.

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Jo🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Stella)

14 July 2024

What a treat to have this special insight into Siena and the Palio on the day of the last trial! Stella brought the excitement and the drama of this event alive with her personal insights and historical storytelling. This really was a highlight to our time in Tuscany, and we loved having this enriched understanding as it buzzed all around us!A special experience

Rebecca 🇺🇸 United States

(About local Idania)

20 March 2024

Idania was a fantastic guide, who introduced us to Siena and its traditions in a passionate and knowledgeable way. We had our three children with us, and she found ways to keep them engaged throughout! We highly recommend!Wonderful!

Unknown

(About local Stella)

7 September 2023

The walk through the city was a leisurely way to get to be part of its long history. As you went you become part of the past and see it now in the present. The one addition that would have made it even more pleasurable would be to have a written summary of the stories and named. Stella did a great job in making it relaxing and interesting. Enjoyable and Informative

Amanda🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Stella)

4 May 2023

We arrived in Siena by train from Florence, a group of six who had never visited the city before. We took the tour based around Il Palio, the famous horse race which takes place in the piazza twice a year. Although we had heard about the event none of us had any idea about its impact on Siena and its society. Stella was so engaging and knowledgeable, and spoke brilliant English, and we really came away feeling that we had gained a proper understanding of the race's history and importance. She also weaved in the story of Siena, and gave us lots of recommendations of books and films she thought we would enjoy. Altogether a great afternoon, and I would definitely recommend Stella to others! Thank you!A great afternoon with Stella

Karen🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

12 April 2023

Stella was so sweet and kind. She made our tour very special! We enjoyed our time in Siena. She is an amazing host!Fantastico

Lee Chaix

(About local Stella)

29 December 2024

Stella is an excellent guide, and it was such a pleasure to spend the afternoon with her. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and took us to some incredible places in Siena. If you love meats & cheeses, wine, and/or Etruscan ruins, trust me - you want to book with Stella! I would absolutely book with her again and recommend her without reservation. Grazie Stella!The best way to see Siena

Leanna

(About local Stella)

13 October 2024

Stella was amazing! Her love for the city and the history shined through with her tour. Then there was the food. Each stop unique and delicious. We enjoyed every moment with her! 12/10 recommended. First Class Experience

Leslie🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

12 October 2024

We met with Stella and right from the start we knew she knew her stuff. As we walked through town we stopped along the way to meet local shop keepers, while she provided the history behind the different districts ( and we know now there are 17!) She took us into Il Duomo pointing out the stories behind many of the statues, paintings and sculptures. Traversing the city with her was a real treasure! We would recommend to anyone who wants to learn about Siena to take a tour with Stella The real history to Siena

HEATHER🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

10 October 2024

Stella was a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. Her passion for her culture and history really shines through. All of the food stops were delicious and there is no skimping of food or wine; come hungry! Definitely recommend for an evening in Siena. Tasty and Informative Tour

Sherree🇺🇸 United States

(About local Idania)

26 September 2024

Idania is fun! Knowledgeable, interesting, good sense of humor, personable, and relatable. The four of us are glad we chose her for our tour. She gave easy directions to our meeting place and the late afternoon time was great since the day-crowds were gone. The Duomo was not crowded. The landmarks and history were intriguing. While enjoying an aperitivo at the end of our time with her, she gave great suggestions for everything we asked for. We were grateful for her insight as we went to all the places she suggested. Choose Idania - she's perfetta!You Won't Be Disppointed

Todd🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Stella)

25 September 2024

What an amazing afternoon we had with Stella on our private food walking tour. We tasted sweets, savoury and a variety of different wines from the region. A great way to start our stay in Siena to get our bearings. Thank you Stella!Food, wine and history tour!

Jennifer🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

13 August 2024

My husband, teenage son and teenage nephew had a great food tour experience with Stella. She is knowledgeable, kind, friendly and lots of fun. Stella explained lots about Siena's history and the Palio as we walked leisurely around the city, and we liked that she personalized the tour by both giving us her own family's history/perspective, and that she gave us options on what we wanted to see and eat. Stella also patiently answered all of our questions. We loved all of the food stops, especially the meat/cheeses and the pizza! I highly recommend Stella!Excellent food tour with Stella

Dina🇳🇿 New Zealand

(About local Stella)

22 July 2024

Stella is a wonderful guide. She is from Siena and very passionate about her city. She is extremely knowledgeable and we had a fantastic 3 hours exploring parts of the city with her. Our favourite part of our tour was walking through her 'Elephant & Castle' neighbourhood and learning about the competition between the neighbourhoods. We really appreciated the local perspective. A wonderful tour and we would recommend Stella as a tour guide. Wonderful time in Siena

Rebecca🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

21 July 2024

Stella was an extremely knowledgeable, passionate and fun guide! We had a short time to spend with her but she took us to all the highlights, explained more than the sights, but the culture and the history as well. Her enthusiasm and love for her native city was palpable and contagious. Highly recommend Stella! We will definitely return to Siena!Great guide in beautful Siena!

Emily

(About local Stella)

16 July 2024

We loved our tour with Stella! She is a true local with deep knowledge of Siena and the region. Walking around with her feels like walking around with the town mayor - she knows everyone! We learned a lot and felt like she gave us a great introduction to the city, and made us want to learn even more. Highly recommend!Knowledgeable and interesting!

Dr Christian🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Stella)

23 June 2024

We did a wonderful evening tour of Siena with Stella - she was a fantastic guide, showing us through all of the “hidden gems” of Siena, including wine-tasting in an Etruscan tomb, and lucky moments like finding banner-holders practicing for the Palio marches. The evening tour was cooler and less crowded than middle of the day, which enabled us to enjoy the town more. Stella is clearly a local, with local knowledge and connections. She was interesting and animated so our teenage kids maintained interest, and it was a really fantastic evening. Highly recommended!Wonderful, personalized tour of Siena

Jeffrey🇺🇸 United States

(About local Idania)

10 June 2024

Idania did a great job adapting on the fly. This was meant to be a food tour with some highlights. We asked her to keep the food focused and spend more time on highlights. She did an awesome job. Four members of the group have never been to Italy. Two members have been to Siena several times. We all came away learning something. We really enjoyed the tour of the Owl District Museum. Definitely check it out. Idania is such a warm and knowledgeable person. We would and will likely book a tour with her again.Idania is the best!

Jo-Anna🇮🇹 Italy

(About local Idania)

9 June 2024

Idania introduced us to her beautiful home city of Siena. She shared her extensive knowledge of its history & origins. Idania was passionate & proud about the cities horse race, the Palio & explained in detail its significance & importance. We loved hearing about the seventeen contrade & how ten horses are selected to compete in the actual races. She described the rivalry between each area & showed us the icons & flags. Idania was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Siena. She clearly explained & guided us through the magnificent Cathedral & the Basilica. Idania kindly shared her foody knowledge & we enjoyed a tasting of traditional snacks both sweet & savoury. She also gave us terrific restaurants recommendations & made a lunch reservation on our behalf. Thank you for a wonderful morning. We thoroughly enjoyed your company. Highly recommend. Sensational Siena

HELEN🇺🇸 United States

(About local Fernanda)

8 June 2024

Fernanda was a wonderful guide and host and showed such a passion for Siena and the culture - we learned so much new information about the area and the food. She was pleasant and very down to earth and answered all our questions with much enthusiasm- we all truly enjoyed her and would gladly use her again as she has so much more to offer - thank you Fernanda you were so much fun to be with!Enjoying Siena with Fernanda

Peter🇺🇸 United States

(About local Gaia)

30 May 2024

My wife and I met Gaia on our first full day in Siena in the hopes of seeing and understanding more about the history and culutre of Siena and Tuscany at large. Safe to say we could not have gotten any luckier in connecting with her. Her knowledge, candor, humor and love for this beautiful part of Italy is inspiring. Her willingness and patience to answer our many questions (trust me, there were a lot!) made us feel at home and allowed us to connect with the area in a way that would be impossible in any other setting. If you are in or planning a trip to Siena or Tuscany in general, do yourself a favor and connect with her. It will add a dimension to your travels that would be impossible to acheive on your own. :)Hidden Gems - Gaia and Siena

Josephine🇫🇷 France

(About local Gaia)

12 May 2024

I had booked this trip for my boyfriend and myself to escape the city life and discover the real tuscan country side. It was exactly what we were looking for. The experience was autenthic & charming, we were welcomed in gabriel's family vineyard & farm. He showed us around and explained everything to us, we ended up sharing a lunch only with local product with the wine property. Cherry on the cake! Authentic experience in tuscan farm

Unknown

(About local Annarita)

2 May 2024

Only 3 visits with limited and small tastings, Anna just wanted it over with Disappointing

Sara🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

23 March 2024

It is obvious from the moment you meet Stella that you are going to have a wonderful experience with her, getting to know her beloved Siena and her beautiful country of Italy. Stella can trace her roots back to Siena for many generations, and so she knows her city inside and out. She is also an historian and speaks many languages. She is quite impressive, and yet she is also so down to earth and so very friendly. We had a wonderful time seeing and hearing such interesting details about the larger and also the more hidden places of Siena that, unless you are a local, you would not know or find on your own. We tasted wines and sweets. We sampled cheeses and truffles. We ate pizza and listened to wonderful music. Stella also took the time to recommend restaurants in Siena to us. We asked for, and Stella gave us, a list of cities nearby that we could visit. It was a perfect tour with the perfect host. I cannot recommend Stella enough.Perfect host for the perfect city

Andy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

6 January 2024

Stella was a few minutes late because her scooter broke down, but she made up for it by extending the end of the tour. Stella clearly loves her town of Siena, and was a wealth of historical knowledge. She pointed out all kinds of interesting things like markers for the different districts of Siena well explaining the rich history of the area. We went to the duomo and the cathedral. She took us to a wine shop where, while the new owner had been clearing out a back area, he discovered an Etruscan tomb. It is now used as part of his extensive wine cellar. Stella was able to take us all the way down into the tomb which was absolutely fascinating. She was great about answering questions, and moderated the pace of the tour to match our needs. Fantastic!Fantastic tour guide

mikerufo🇺🇸 United States

(About local Annarita)

19 October 2023

Annarita is an amazing guide. Explained the importance of each stop, set a pace that was good for us, and shared many lessor known facts at each stop. She set up hard to get dinner reservations and hosted us at her partners winery/olive oil location the next day. She prepared us well for our next 5 days in Siena. Hire Annarita! Made the day special.

Jeremy🇺🇸 United States

(About local Annarita)

10 October 2023

We loved spending the day with Anna and learning all about Siena’s important history while eating excellent food (of all varieties). We had two young kids with us and Anna was incredibly patient with our big and slow group!Excellent day full of history & great food

Sandra🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

23 September 2023

First of all, she worked on her birthday but we got the presents as her peers in all the shops added a little extra treat. She was knowledgeable, friendly and fun. Oh and the food and wine were amazing. We highly recommend this tour!Stella's the best!

debbie.meech🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Stella)

22 August 2023

Stella took us on a fantastic tour, it was the best. Stella is so friendly and lovely and so knowledgeable. We learnt so much history as well as tasting unique food and wine we would never have found on our own. Thank you so much Stella. Wobderful Stella

Christian🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

19 August 2023

Stella was so knowledgable and personable, and we learned so much about this gorgeous and ancient city. She took us to several off-the-beaten locations and also gave us a deep dive in the Palio, which was taking place the next week. We got to visit the Owl museum, and also sample some wines and local delicacies. I simply could not imagine a better experience.Immersion in the Gorgeous City of Siena

Jim🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

3 August 2023

Stella did a great job. She was knowledgeable and very pleasant. She was great with our grandchildren. Stella in Siena

Julie🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Stella)

13 July 2023

Very accessible and friendly guide who told us the history of Siena in a smooth way, with lots of local details. She took into account the children's wishes, the heat of the summer and yet we had a super nice and engaging afternoon. Our family was wildly enthusiastic!!!Very friendly guide who breathes Siena

Eric🇺🇸 United States

(About local Annarita)

12 July 2023

Our family of four, including two teenage boys, enjoyed our walking food tour with Annarita in Siena. She is energetic, conversational and truly a local. We learned about the Palio, neighborhood rivalries and history of Siena. Our specific tour day was very hot, near 100 F, but Annarita kept us in the shade, accommodated extra brief stops and water along our journey. Siena is a terrific smaller city with a character all its own. Be prepared for the hilly landscape while walking. We enjoyed all the food stops - pizza, delicatessen, bakery, chocolatier and gelato. Enriching, enjoyable tastes to connect with a different region of Italy. We would recommend Annarita for a tour and would welcome another tour with her in the future. Food, local perspective and more

Corinne🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Annarita)

28 June 2023

Excellent guide was quick to reply to messages. Knowledgeable to the area and interesting tour. Went to places we would have not found. Friendly and kept the pace of the tour around what we wanted. Would definitely recommend booking with her. Excellent guide

Lisa🇺🇸 United States

(About local Annarita)

13 June 2023

Annarita was very accommodating to our large group with many challenges due to broad age range and capabilities. She was very knowledgeable of Siena history and traditions and took us to her favorite stops that we would not have discovered otherwise. I recommend this tour!Great tour with a lovely guide

Kimberly🇺🇸 United States

(About local Stella)

6 May 2023

What a fun filled afternoon in Siena! Stella was awesome. She is so warm, fun, knowledgeable (as only a native can be) and so very loved by everyone we encountered. We have been to Siena before but Stella gave us a whole new perspective. I would highly recommend this tour and choosing Stella as you guide. Siena Walking Food Tour