San Gimignano Travel Forum

I will be visiting Tuscany in late September by a car. I have scratched visiting San Gimignano off my list because from what I read it is a tourist magnet in Tuscany. I do not mind crowds, but I try to avoid them. Sometimes you have no choice like Venice during the daytime it is full of tourist but they are all gather at around San Marco. Are the crowds during the day as bad as a read in many of Tourist guides? I was thinking maybe visiting San Gimignano late in the afternoon hoping much of the tourist have departed on their tour buses. Maybe even have dinner there.

Bill

Its worth a late afternoon visit ... in fact ... that's just about the best time to see it ...

Many smaller Italian towns - San Gimignano, Spoleto, Orvieto, etc. - are visited by hordes of people during the day, who arrive from larger cities (Florence, Rome, etc.) in the morning on tour buses and leave the same day.

This means that the real way to see these smaller towns is to spend the night in them. It's priceless to spend the evening in one of these small towns after the tour buses have gone home. You walk the narrow streets, you see the locals, you feel much more like you belong there.

I can't tell you the number of times I have done this and had the time of my life.

You are correct to go in late September; not only has the weather cooled noticeably, but the number of tourists drops off sharply towards the end of September.

The fact that you have a car is both good news and bad news. The good news is that you get to visit places that are otherwise hard to get to. Chiusi, for example, is not on anyone's must see list (except mine), but a car makes it easy to get in, see the National Museum, the Etruscan tombs, and lunch in the restaurant that has an Etruscan wine cellar. The bad news is that it can be difficult or impossible to drive or park in some of the smaller cities - upper Assisi, for example, is off-limits to non-resident cars (you have to park in a lot at the edge of town and walk in or or get the hotel to send a car).

Still, if you are comfortable drving in Italy, there are more pluses than minuses, and I hope that you use the car to visit places that most people never bother to see...

Bill

We stayed at the nearby campground in San Gimignano, so we had a choice on when to visit this beautiful little town!

You are definitely right: it is a tourist magnet, but for a good reason, too! I can just second the point that Bill made - so go for it!

Enjoy your trip - and if you have one day left: do visit Pienza!!! If you like, you can have a look at my Tuscany page and maybe get some more suggestions from it!

Christine

I think that in late September you will not find too many tourists in San Giminiano...

For sure in late afternoon many people leave, but also at the sunset and during the evening that town is really really amazing, don't miss it!!

Have a nice journey

Thanks to everyone who replied to my message. San Gimignano is now back on the list. :)))))

Bill