Siena is perhaps best-known for her famous annual horse race, the Palio, and for the unbelievably picturesque and untouched nature of its stunning Medieval historic centre. A villa with pool in Siena is just the thing for those who are interested in the most typically Tuscan and undeniably scenic destinations in the region as it has charm, heritage, and attractions to spare. However, while you wander her pretty little streets that wind about town, visiting museums and tourist destinations, taking in architectural gems and history all around you, attending events and festivals, stopping for pizza and coffee and ice-cream (depending on your needs at any given moment), you might find yourself wondering about where to head for the best souvenirs and most interesting shopping experiences – it can be hard to know where to go in a new place! Well, if you are wondering about just that topic, you've come to the right place. Here is our guide to the shops that you must visit while on vacation in Siena!
Shopping Districts:
The main shopping streets in Siena are Via Banchi di Sopra and Via di Citta, where you will find lots of small shops to browse. You won't find many shopping centres in the protected historic core of the city but that only makes for a more intimate, interesting, and unique shopping experience in the often independently-owned places dotted around the centre. On Via Banchi di Sopra you'll find an array of boutiques selling clothes, bags, and shoes among other things and Via di Citta is home to shops with souvenirs and handcrafted goods made in the area.
Markets:
The main market in town takes place in the Fortezza Medicea on Wednesday mornings from 7am to 1pm. Stalls are set up around the Fortezza and La Lizza park and sell mostly clothes, leather goods, costume jewellery, some homewares, food products, and more. Prices are pretty low, though not all of the goods are especially high quality. However, if you're looking for a real bargain, this is the place to go, just be patient and keep your eyes peeled! The same location hosts a small farmer's market on Friday mornings, where you can excellent bread, olive oil, fruit and vegetables, local products, cheeses, and more. Additionally, there is an antiques market that takes place every third Sunday in the Piazza del Mercato. Popping into a market is always a wonderful way to authentically experience life in the city while on holiday in Siena.
The main shopping streets in Siena are Via Banchi di Sopra and Via di Citta, where you will find lots of small shops to browse. You won't find many shopping centres in the protected historic core of the city but that only makes for a more intimate, interesting, and unique shopping experience in the often independently-owned places dotted around the centre. On Via Banchi di Sopra you'll find an array of boutiques selling clothes, bags, and shoes among other things and Via di Citta is home to shops with souvenirs and handcrafted goods made in the area.
Markets:
The main market in town takes place in the Fortezza Medicea on Wednesday mornings from 7am to 1pm. Stalls are set up around the Fortezza and La Lizza park and sell mostly clothes, leather goods, costume jewellery, some homewares, food products, and more. Prices are pretty low, though not all of the goods are especially high quality. However, if you're looking for a real bargain, this is the place to go, just be patient and keep your eyes peeled! The same location hosts a small farmer's market on Friday mornings, where you can excellent bread, olive oil, fruit and vegetables, local products, cheeses, and more. Additionally, there is an antiques market that takes place every third Sunday in the Piazza del Mercato. Popping into a market is always a wonderful way to authentically experience life in the city while on holiday in Siena.
Foodie Bits:
If you're specifically looking to stock up on some culinary delights to enjoy in your villa in Siena, we highly recommend popping into Consorzio Agrario at Via Giuseppe Pianigiani, 9, where Siena's farmer's association has gathered some of Tuscany's best producers under one roof to offer an incredible array of high-quality local products. This gem of a specialty food store is especially famous for its bakery where many grab food for a standing lunch or takeaway. Another foodie must in the city's historic centre is the elegant and storied Antica Drogheria Manganelli. Established in 1879 and located at Via di Città, 71, this stalwart Siennese establishment is full of nicely packed foodie bits to enjoy and bring back home as souvenirs. Discover the most perfect panforte, artisan-made pasta, jams, Tuscan wine, and other amazing treats carefully chosen to bolster the famously high standards that the store has maintained since its inception. Finally, if you're really, really serious about your baked goods, then be sure to pop into Il Magnifico on Via dei Pellegrini, 27, a bakery and shop just behind the Duomo that is run by Lorenzo Rossi, who is recognised as the city's best baker.
If you're specifically looking to stock up on some culinary delights to enjoy in your villa in Siena, we highly recommend popping into Consorzio Agrario at Via Giuseppe Pianigiani, 9, where Siena's farmer's association has gathered some of Tuscany's best producers under one roof to offer an incredible array of high-quality local products. This gem of a specialty food store is especially famous for its bakery where many grab food for a standing lunch or takeaway. Another foodie must in the city's historic centre is the elegant and storied Antica Drogheria Manganelli. Established in 1879 and located at Via di Città, 71, this stalwart Siennese establishment is full of nicely packed foodie bits to enjoy and bring back home as souvenirs. Discover the most perfect panforte, artisan-made pasta, jams, Tuscan wine, and other amazing treats carefully chosen to bolster the famously high standards that the store has maintained since its inception. Finally, if you're really, really serious about your baked goods, then be sure to pop into Il Magnifico on Via dei Pellegrini, 27, a bakery and shop just behind the Duomo that is run by Lorenzo Rossi, who is recognised as the city's best baker.
Crafts & Unique Souvenirs:
The exceptional leather working and wonderful leather goods handcrafted to this day in Tuscany are famous for good reason and, if you want to check some excellent examples out while in Siena, then we recommend heading to the Casa della Pelle on Via Camollia, 153. Made by master craftsman Paolo Infunti on-site, items in this store range from purses and belts to full-on leather armour that doesn't seem all that out of place in the Medieval core of the city. If you have fallen in love with the richly decorative religious art that abounds in churches and museums in Siena, meanwhile, you should head to Via di Stalloreggi, 47, and Bottega d'Arte where you'll find artists Chiara Perinetti Casoni, Paolo Perinetti Casoni, and Michelangelo Attardo Perinetti Casoni producing exquisite icons in tempera and gold leaf. While not for those on a budget, if you're looking for a very special souvenir of your time on holiday in Siena, this is it! For more affordable options, the little ceramic goods and wooden balls used in the Siennese children's game inspired by the Palio called barberi available in Antica Siena at Piazza del Campo, 28, are perfect.
The exceptional leather working and wonderful leather goods handcrafted to this day in Tuscany are famous for good reason and, if you want to check some excellent examples out while in Siena, then we recommend heading to the Casa della Pelle on Via Camollia, 153. Made by master craftsman Paolo Infunti on-site, items in this store range from purses and belts to full-on leather armour that doesn't seem all that out of place in the Medieval core of the city. If you have fallen in love with the richly decorative religious art that abounds in churches and museums in Siena, meanwhile, you should head to Via di Stalloreggi, 47, and Bottega d'Arte where you'll find artists Chiara Perinetti Casoni, Paolo Perinetti Casoni, and Michelangelo Attardo Perinetti Casoni producing exquisite icons in tempera and gold leaf. While not for those on a budget, if you're looking for a very special souvenir of your time on holiday in Siena, this is it! For more affordable options, the little ceramic goods and wooden balls used in the Siennese children's game inspired by the Palio called barberi available in Antica Siena at Piazza del Campo, 28, are perfect.
Clothes:
If you're looking to stock up on some nice pieces of clothing to bring a little bit of that famous Italian style back home with you, you will find plenty of wonderful boutiques and stores to browse on vacation in Siena. While there are Italian high street shops and chains, as well as international labels, to be found dotted throughout the wider city that are worth seeking out in a great number for those who are really interested in shopping until they drop, those looking for a curation of a small selection of some extra special stores in the heart of the city should be sure to check out the following spots. At Alessandro Stella's little boutique on Via Camollia, 45, for example, you'll find a range of impossibly chic handmade shoes, belts, and wallets for the seriously sartorially-minded gentleman. Certainly to be regarded as investment pieces, they are sure to last you a lifetime and to boast the kind of timeless appeal that mean they will never go out of style. Aloe & Wolf on Via del Porrione, 23, meanwhile, is something quite different but no less special. This gorgeous vintage store stocks all sorts of clothes, hats, accessories, and costume jewellery from the 1950s onwards with plenty of heritage Italian labels including Fendi, Gucci, and Prada, without quite the same price tag on newer pieces. Mag Boutique, located just a three-minute walk from Piazza del Campo on Via dei Termini, is a wonderful gem once highlighted by the New York Times in their 36-hour guide to Siena as a must-see when in the city. On display in this lovely boutique are a range of unique items of women's clothing, luxury candles, small gifts, beauty products, and more. With brands such as Marni, James Perse, Diptyque, Superga, and more all represented in store, it is a perfectly curated style haven for someone looking to emulate that enviable Italian girl style.
So, while there may not be an absolutely endless array of shops to choose from in Siena compared to some cities, the range of very special stores dotted around her historic centre like little surprises are a joy to browse and wander. Find a luxury villa in Siena today and be sure to set aside some time to go for a stroll about the place and see what's on offer during your stay in this gorgeous city in Tuscany.
If you're looking to stock up on some nice pieces of clothing to bring a little bit of that famous Italian style back home with you, you will find plenty of wonderful boutiques and stores to browse on vacation in Siena. While there are Italian high street shops and chains, as well as international labels, to be found dotted throughout the wider city that are worth seeking out in a great number for those who are really interested in shopping until they drop, those looking for a curation of a small selection of some extra special stores in the heart of the city should be sure to check out the following spots. At Alessandro Stella's little boutique on Via Camollia, 45, for example, you'll find a range of impossibly chic handmade shoes, belts, and wallets for the seriously sartorially-minded gentleman. Certainly to be regarded as investment pieces, they are sure to last you a lifetime and to boast the kind of timeless appeal that mean they will never go out of style. Aloe & Wolf on Via del Porrione, 23, meanwhile, is something quite different but no less special. This gorgeous vintage store stocks all sorts of clothes, hats, accessories, and costume jewellery from the 1950s onwards with plenty of heritage Italian labels including Fendi, Gucci, and Prada, without quite the same price tag on newer pieces. Mag Boutique, located just a three-minute walk from Piazza del Campo on Via dei Termini, is a wonderful gem once highlighted by the New York Times in their 36-hour guide to Siena as a must-see when in the city. On display in this lovely boutique are a range of unique items of women's clothing, luxury candles, small gifts, beauty products, and more. With brands such as Marni, James Perse, Diptyque, Superga, and more all represented in store, it is a perfectly curated style haven for someone looking to emulate that enviable Italian girl style.
So, while there may not be an absolutely endless array of shops to choose from in Siena compared to some cities, the range of very special stores dotted around her historic centre like little surprises are a joy to browse and wander. Find a luxury villa in Siena today and be sure to set aside some time to go for a stroll about the place and see what's on offer during your stay in this gorgeous city in Tuscany.