Siena

Italy

Siena is a 53 000-resident UNESCO World Heritage hilltop city in southern Tuscany built around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and divided into 17 contrade (medieval neighborhoods) that compete in the Palio horse race on 2 July and 16 August, with the white-and-black marble striped Duomo Cathedral, the 102 m Torre del Mangia, the 14th-century Palazzo Pubblico, the Fortezza Medicea panoramic ramparts, the Via Francigena pilgrim route through Porta Camollia and Porta Romana, the Trenitalia regional to Florence that accepts muzzled dogs at half-fare, and the Tiemme bus to San Gimignano, Volterra, Montepulciano and Florence FLR airport. Top spots for pets include the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo with the Torre del Mangia and the Fonte Gaia fountain, the Fortezza Medicea 1.2 km panoramic rampart loop with its south-east bastion off-leash zone, the Orto de' Pecci medieval valley garden in the hollow below the Campo, the 17 contrade contrada fountains and museums, and the Via Francigena pilgrim stages 31 to Monteriggioni (20 km north) and 32 to Ponte d'Arbia (24 km south) through Crete Senesi rolling hills, especially around the walled UNESCO centre around Piazza del Campo, Piazza del Duomo and the three terzi (Camollia, Città, San Martino), the Fortezza Medicea and La Lizza gardens on the north-west edge, the Orto de' Pecci hollow directly below the south side of the Campo, and the Stazione di Siena on the north periphery linked to the centre by escalator/moving walkway through the Galleria Antiporto.