San Gimignano & Volterra in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for San Gimignano & Volterra covers 13 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; San Gimignano & Volterra rewards a detour.

The San Gimignano & Volterra route at a glance

• Day 1
• Day 2

Day 1

Day 1 covers 7 stops and about 0.4 km on foot, from Rocca di Montestaffoli and Vernaccia to Monteriggioni. 2 longer hops are best done by public transport or taxi. ≈ 0.4 km of walking, about 5 min

Morning

1. Rocca di Montestaffoli and Vernaccia: The Rocca di Montestaffoli, the ruined fortress built by Florence on the highest point of San Gimignano, now a garden with views, and the home of Vernaccia, the town's famous white wine. 0.2 km on foot (3 min) to the next stop
2. Collegiata of San Gimignano: The Collegiata of San Gimignano, the main church of the town, consecrated in 1148, whose walls are covered with fourteenth-century frescoes of the Bible and whose chapel holds frescoes by Ghirlandaio. 20 m on foot (1 min) to the next stop
3. Torre Grossa and the Civic Museum: The Torre Grossa, at about 54 metres the tallest tower of San Gimignano, finished in 1311, climbed from the town hall, where the civic museum shows frescoes and paintings of Siena and Florence. 50 m on foot (1 min) to the next stop
4. The Towers of San Gimignano: The medieval towers of San Gimignano, about fourteen tall stone tower-houses that rise above a hill town in Tuscany, survivors of the many built by rival families in the Middle Ages. 90 m on foot (1 min) to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Piazza della Cisterna: Piazza della Cisterna, the triangular brick square at the heart of San Gimignano, named after the stone well over its medieval cistern and surrounded by tower-houses and palaces. 8 km to the next stop: take transport
2. Colle di Val d'Elsa: Colle di Val d'Elsa, a town in two parts between San Gimignano and Siena, with a medieval old town on its ridge and a lower town known for its crystal glass and its crystal museum. 9.1 km to the next stop: take transport
3. Monteriggioni: Monteriggioni, a tiny village enclosed by a ring of medieval walls and about fourteen towers on a hilltop near Siena, built by Siena as a frontier fortress and named by Dante.

Day 2

Day 2 covers 6 stops and about 2.6 km on foot, from Guarnacci Etruscan Museum to Le Balze. ≈ 2.6 km of walking, about 30 min

Morning

1. Guarnacci Etruscan Museum: The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum in Volterra, one of the oldest public museums in Italy, with hundreds of carved Etruscan funerary urns and the slender bronze figure called the Shadow of the Evening. 0.6 km on foot (7 min) to the next stop
2. Porta all'Arco: The Porta all'Arco in Volterra, a city gate whose stone jambs date from Etruscan times, crowned by an arch with three weathered stone heads, saved by the people of the town in 1944. 0.2 km on foot (2 min) to the next stop
3. Piazza dei Priori: Piazza dei Priori, the medieval main square of Volterra, with the Palazzo dei Priori of 1208 to 1257, one of the oldest town halls in Tuscany, its front covered with coats of arms. 0.1 km on foot (2 min) to the next stop

Afternoon

1. Volterra Alabaster: The alabaster of Volterra, a soft, white, translucent stone carved in the town since Etruscan times, still worked by hand in small workshops and shown in the Alabaster Museum. 70 m to the next stop
2. Roman Theatre of Volterra: The Roman theatre of Volterra, built around the time of the emperor Augustus on the slope below the town walls, with tiers of stone seats and tall columns of its stage wall still standing. 1.6 km on foot (20 min) to the next stop
3. Le Balze: Le Balze, the steep, eroding cliffs of sand and clay at the north-west edge of Volterra, which over the centuries have swallowed churches, part of the walls and an Etruscan burial ground.

Walking distances and times follow streets and footpaths (routing by openrouteservice.org, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors). Times are walking only, at an easy pace; add time at each stop.

Updated: October 26, 2026

Full San Gimignano & Volterra guide and all stops →