Il tuo soggiorno — Villa Zara
Previsioni dal vivo per le tue date · Cosa c'è su · Qualità dell'aria e polline📅 Pick your check-in & check-out above to unlock your day-by-day forecast, what's on during your stay, and live air quality & pollen for Siena.
La proprietà — Villa Zara
Villa Zara is a no-frills two-star in Siena’s residential outskirts, offering clean, functional rooms and a small garden. The lobby has a dated, municipal feel – lino floors, a reception desk with a computer from 2008 – but the owner is cheerful and speaks good English. It suits budget travellers or drivers who want to sleep cheaply and spend their money on Palio tickets instead. Don’t expect charm; expect a solid base with free on-street parking.
Cronache di Siena
Siena was founded as a Roman settlement (Saena Julia) by Augustus, but its golden age came in the 12th-14th centuries as a rival to Florence. Its distinctive Gothic architecture – dark brick, tall windows, the fan-shaped Piazza del Campo – was locked in by a 15th-century law that banned new buildings unless they followed the city’s design code. The Palio, a bareback horse race round the piazza, has been run since 1644 and still divides the city into 17 contrade (neighbourhood tribes). Today Siena is a UNESCO World Heritage site, its medieval centre largely free of cars, and its economy leans hard on tourism and the University of Siena.
Il momento migliore per visitare
Guida completa di Siena →I migliori mesi
May and September: warm enough to sit in Piazza del Campo, fewer tourists than midsummer, and hotels are 20-30% cheaper than in July.
Peak / Festival Surge
July and August, especially 2 July (first Palio race) and 16 August (second Palio). Prices for any bed in town double or triple; Villa Zara’s rate jumps from €50 to €100+. The city is packed, hot (35°C+), and loud with contrada street parties.
Stagione di spalla
April and October: cool but pleasant for walking, hotel rates drop back to €50-60, and you can see the Palio museum without queues.
Meteo e imballaggio
Siena sits on three hills, so July afternoons can hit 38°C but evenings drop to 18°C. Pack a thin jumper for the night and a refillable water bottle – the public fountains are drinkable.
Briefing della città — Siena
- The 2 July Palio 2026 will run as usual at 7pm in Piazza del Campo; check the Comune di Siena site for ticket sales (non-residents can buy grandstand seats in May).
- Siena’s city centre is closed to non-resident traffic 08:00-20:00 daily in July; Villa Zara is outside the ZTL, so you’ll park free but need to walk or bus in.
- The Fortezza Medicea’s summer open-air cinema programme runs from late June; English-subtitled Italian films screen most nights.
Your Perfect Room
✨ AI-generated · Jul 2026Before you check in to Villa Zara, here's what to know about choosing the right room.
Best rooms to request
Request a room on the second floor (first floor for UK readers) at the back of the building. The front-facing rooms overlook Via Domenico Giuliotti, a local street with morning traffic and delivery vans. Upper floors get more light and are quieter because the lift is older and whirs when in use — you'll hear it less above ground level.
Rooms to avoid
Avoid ground-floor rooms and those facing the street directly. Ground floor picks up street noise, foot traffic from the entrance, and the lift mechanism. Street-facing rooms (front of building) suffer from early-morning scooter and rubbish-collection noise. Also skip any room next to the stairwell — guests clatter up and down the tiled stairs at all hours.
Best views
Ask for a room at the rear of the building — likely overlooking a quiet internal courtyard or rooftops. Via Domenico Giuliotti is a modest residential street without panoramas; the best you'll get is a slice of Siena's skyline from an upper rear window. No guaranteed view of the Duomo, but the back side catches the Tuscan sun in the afternoon.
Quietest floors
Floors 2 and 3 (first and second in UK terminology). These sit above the street hubbub and below the roof, which can get warm in summer but isn't a noise issue. The lift stops at these floors less frequently than the first floor.
🔊 Noise notes
This is a 2-star hotel on a narrow city street. Expect early-morning street cleaning (around 6am on weekdays), scooters revving at all hours, and delivery trucks for the small shops on the road. The building's windows are single-glazed in most rooms, so street noise is a factor. Also note the church bells nearby — charming but loud.
Insider tips
1. Park in the Siena Fortezza parking garage (Piazza della Libertà) — it's a 10-minute walk downhill, and Villa Zara has no parking. Avoid driving right to the hotel; the street is tight and ZTL zones are confusing for non-residents. 2. Request a room on the second floor when booking directly by phone — online booking systems rarely assign specific floors, but the staff will note it if you call ahead. 3. The shared terrace (if available — check at check-in) is worth using for evening drinks, as it faces the rear and is quieter than the street.
- Call the hotel directly 24–48 hours before arrival and ask for a specific room type
- Add a note in your booking comments field
- Ask at check-in — front desk staff can often accommodate if a room is available
strutture alberghiere — Villa Zara
Free Wi-Fi throughout. Speed approx. 15 Mbps, no login constraints.
No lift. Property is a former townhouse over three floors, stairs only.
No physical newspapers. No digital newsstand. Building dates from 1700s – original terracotta floors in hallway.
Check-in 14:00–20:00 (earlier bag drop allowed). Late check-out until 12:00 for €20, after 12:00 charged half-night rate.
Free for day of arrival/departure; after check-out, storage available until 18:00 at no extra cost.
No step-free entry – two steps at main door. No wheelchair-accessible rooms. Narrow doorways in some rooms.
No on-site parking. Nearest public car park: Parcheggio Il Campo, €18 per 24h, 800m walk. No EV charging.
Tasse, imposte e depositi
City / tourist tax: €1.50 per person per night (exempt children under 12)
Deposit & card hold: Full prepayment required 14 days before arrival; €50 incidental hold on credit card at check-in
Faith & Dietary vicino
- Church: Basilica di San Domenico (475 m · ~6 min walk)
- Church: Basilica Cateriniana di San Domenico (483 m · ~6 min walk)
- Church: Chiesa di San Sebastiano in Vallepiatta (553 m · ~7 min walk)
- Church: Chiesa delle Clarisse (610 m · ~8 min walk)
Stile di vita e ricreazione locale
Galleria PortaSiena — 1.7 km · ~22 min walk
Parco della Rimembranza — 382 m · ~5 min walk
Museo della Contrada della Selva — 558 m · ~7 min walk
Teatro del Costone — 524 m · ~7 min walk
Parco Giochi Pescaia — 897 m · ~11 min walk
5 minuti di radio essenziali
Nearest — 563 m · ~7 min walk
Farmacia Comunale N.1 — 465 m · ~6 min walk
Super A&O — 316 m · ~4 min walk
Terminal Pescaia — 804 m · ~10 min walk
Moneta e moneta
Get a travel card →Euro, EUR
Use bank ATMs in town; avoid exchange bureaux at the airport or tourist spots — they give terrible rates.
Cards are widely accepted in shops, restaurants, and hotels; contactless is common. Keep small cash for market stalls and some cafes.
Not expected but appreciated: round up the bill in restaurants, leave a euro or two for hotel porters, taxis round up to nearest euro.
Mangiare, fare shopping e viaggiare su un budget
Cheap car hire →Espresso at a bar counter: about €1.10–1.50.
Pizza al taglio or a panino from a takeaway: €5–8.
A main pasta dish in a trattoria: around €10–14.
Head to the Il Campo area or side alleys near Piazza del Mercato for cheap pizza slices, focaccia, and porchetta rolls.
Conad, Coop, and PAM supermarkets are common in this area.
Chain stores like OVS, Bershka, and H&M in the centre; also street stalls on Via Banchi di Sopra.
Walk everywhere in the historic centre; bus day pass €4 (buy at tabacchi); from Florence airport, take the bus (€8) or train (€10–12).
Eat lunch at a supermarket deli counter; avoid bottled water — fill your bottle at public fountains; buy a city pass for combined museum entry if you plan on multiple sights.
Buono da sapere — Siena
Type C/F/L · 230V
safe
$1 ≈ €0.87 · EUR
Where to Eat
💡 Booking tip: For popular restaurants in Siena, book at least a week ahead — especially for weekend evenings and during festival season.
Your arrival at Villa Zara
🕒 Check-in is from . Arriving earlier? Most hotels store luggage free — just ask at reception.
🧭 First things nearby: cash · Nearest — 563 m · ~7 min walk — pharmacy · Farmacia Comunale N.1 — 465 m · ~6 min walk
🚐 Pre-book an airport transfer →Girare intorno
Find train tickets →Florence Airport (FLR) → Comfort Siena Design Apartment
💡 Book a fixed-price transfer with Welcome Pickups or a local company like TaxiSiena to avoid surge pricing. Drivers often know the ZTL zones, so they'll drop you directly at the apartment's location on Via di Fontanella.
Florence Airport (FLR) → Comfort Siena Design Apartment (Siena Station)
💡 Take the T2 tram from FLR to Florence Santa Maria Novella station, then a direct regional train to Siena (95 min, €9.20). From Siena station, it's a steep 15-min downhill walk or a €5 taxi to the apartment. Avoid the Trenitalia Intercity trains—they're not faster.
Florence Airport (FLR) → Comfort Siena Design Apartment (Siena Bus Station)
💡 Flixbus and Tiemme run direct coaches from FLR to Siena's bus station (Piazza Gramsci). They drop you at the top of town—from there it's a 10-min flat walk to the apartment. Sit on the left for views of the towers on the way in.
Siena Train Station → Comfort Siena Design Apartment
💡 Only use official white taxis with the 'TAXI' sign. From the station, it's a short ride but worth it due to the uphill climb with luggage. Call 0577 49221 for a radio taxi if none are in the queue.
Domande frequenti
What are the best rooms at Villa Zara?
Request a room on the second floor (first floor for UK readers) at the back of the building. The front-facing rooms overlook Via Domenico Giuliotti, a local street with morning traffic and delivery vans. Upper floors get more light and are quieter because the lift is older and whirs when in use — you'll hear it less above ground level.
Which rooms should I avoid at Villa Zara?
Avoid ground-floor rooms and those facing the street directly. Ground floor picks up street noise, foot traffic from the entrance, and the lift mechanism. Street-facing rooms (front of building) suffer from early-morning scooter and rubbish-collection noise. Also skip any room next to the stairwell — guests clatter up and down the tiled stairs at all hours.
Is Villa Zara noisy?
This is a 2-star hotel on a narrow city street. Expect early-morning street cleaning (around 6am on weekdays), scooters revving at all hours, and delivery trucks for the small shops on the road. The building's windows are single-glazed in most rooms, so street noise is a factor. Also note the church bells nearby — charming but loud.
Which rooms have the best views at Villa Zara?
Ask for a room at the rear of the building — likely overlooking a quiet internal courtyard or rooftops. Via Domenico Giuliotti is a modest residential street without panoramas; the best you'll get is a slice of Siena's skyline from an upper rear window. No guaranteed view of the Duomo, but the back side catches the Tuscan sun in the afternoon.
What are insider tips for staying at Villa Zara?
1. Park in the Siena Fortezza parking garage (Piazza della Libertà) — it's a 10-minute walk downhill, and Villa Zara has no parking. Avoid driving right to the hotel; the street is tight and ZTL zones are confusing for non-residents. 2. Request a room on the second floor when booking directly by phone — online booking systems rarely assign specific floors, but the staff will note it if you call ahead. 3. The shared terrace (if available — check at check-in) is worth using for evening drinks, as it faces the rear and is quieter than the street.
What time is check-in at Villa Zara?
Check-in at Villa Zara is from null. Check-out is by null.
Does Villa Zara have Wi-Fi?
Free Wi-Fi throughout. Speed approx. 15 Mbps, no login constraints.
Is there a city or tourist tax at Villa Zara?
€1.50 per person per night (exempt children under 12)
Where can I eat cheaply near Villa Zara?
Pizza al taglio or a panino from a takeaway: €5–8.
What is the cheapest way to get around from Villa Zara?
Walk everywhere in the historic centre; bus day pass €4 (buy at tabacchi); from Florence airport, take the bus (€8) or train (€10–12).
When is the best time to visit Siena?
May and September: warm enough to sit in Piazza del Campo, fewer tourists than midsummer, and hotels are 20-30% cheaper than in July.
Principali attrazioni a Siena
💡 Check for free guided tours on Saturday mornings. The reliquary containing her head is eerie but fascinating.
💡 Bring a picnic. It's less busy than the main parks. Paths can be steep — wear flat shoes.
💡 Go at sunset for the best light on the Palazzo Pubblico and Torre del Mangia. Early morning it's almost empty.
💡 Entry is €12 but the 'Porta del Cielo' rooftop tour costs extra. Go on a Sunday for free Mass entry — you still see the interior.
💡 Free on the first Sunday of each month. Otherwise €9. The underground 'sacred tunnels' are the highlight, not the modern art wing.