San Gimignano: Is Everyone On a Bus Tour?
When trying to figure out if there is going to be a travel slowdown this year, the "clumpage" factor makes divination almost impossible.
Yesterday we visited San Gimignano. You know, the town with the towers. It was packed. Granted, there were lots of school groups from Italy and France, but by 11 am the parking lots were packed, too. And it's only April.
From this scenario, we might surmise that tourism in Italy is stronger then ever. A rain-threatening day in April with huge throngs of tourists? A sure sign of tourismic health.
But then we took the road to Volterra. We passed nobody. Not one car came from the other direction. We ate lunch in an empty roadside restaurant.
Then we strolled through the 14th century gate of Colle Val di Elsa and found that we had the whole of the medieval town pretty much to ourselves. We could have eaten at a hot new restaurant at a third the price of a restaurant meal in San Gimignano. We liesurely gawked at the artisanal crystal the town is known for. We took pictures of the brooding sky over the rolling hills of Tuscany. We walked down the middle of the town's single main street.
Tuscany has a lot to offer. Get out and see some of (the rest of) it!
Tuscany resources: Tuscany Map and Travel information | Chianti Classico Map | San Gimignano Travel Guide | Tuscany Rail Map and Distance Calculator
Comments
April 18th and 19th Volterra has been literally invaded by hundreds of tourists and “Twilighters” (the fans of Stephenie Meyer Twilight saga) for their first national convention.
Maybe April 21th was a day “quiet after the storm”
Yep, that’s been my experience too — I visited San Gimignano last year from Siena and was rather disappointed to find it absolutely packed (with people like me, I know, I know…). And unlike Siena, it’s too small to get away from the crowds.
Go early in the morning or after 6pm and even in the summer you can just about have the place to yourself. Gelato in hand on the steps of the duomo as the sun sets… bliss. Have done it many times.
I fell in love with Italy and then found the love of my life in San Gimignano…
Luciano, you might be right. Joe and Donna, I’ve visited San Gimignano and liked it too. It’s just that sometimes I see all the tourist shops and yearn to see a bar with old men drinking coffee laced with something to “correct it” before the evening passeggiata gets rolling.
Still, I have to admit, it must have been much the same in medieval times, especially during the times of pilgrimage, when towns along the pilgrimage route would sprout all sorts of businesses for the transient population, from inns and hospitals to houses of ill repute.
Them were the days…
I have visited San Gim on a number of occasions (my business requires me to) but once was really enough – the bus loads of tourists literally sweep through the town. If you sit and watch the world go by in a piazza cafe you can count the coach hordes as they arrive. It does not make for an enjoyable visit to the town. The groups are in and out in less than an hour and the ‘places to visit’ box is ticked …. I do not list it on my list of places to visit for independent travellers.
Of course it’s crowded. Of course it’s romantic – and, the crowds don’t obscure my vision of that lovely place…I can see it from here; still.
We were there early in Oct last year. We arrived about 9:30 and had no problem finding a parking spot. There were lots of people, but no big crowd. Plenty of freedom to walk around, take photos, visit the many shops, buy pottery, and have a nice lunch in one of the little restaurants. All in all one of our best stops during 20 days in Italy. Of course, nothing can beat the Tuscan hills below Florence, but this was a very close second.
I love San Gimignano. I am a travel agent and always make sure my clients, that haven’t been there before, go. So much history. These are the only medieval towers left. Just think who lived in them;some very wealthy people. And this might be the only town left in Italy that has remained faithful to the old Medieval.
I, personally, think Siena can be overlooked.
My wife and I stayed about three nights in San Gimignano several years ago. The hotels were full, but the tourist office found us a wonderful private room (more like a private apartment)on the very eastern edge of the town with a wonderful view. We had no trouble parking. During the day we used San Gimignano as a base for day trips around Tuscany. The mornings and evenings were wonderful. We ate in nice restaurants where people were speaking (gasp!) Italian.
However: the buses. When we were there at the same time as the buses it was chaos. It was like an Axis Powers reunion. The Germans, the Japanese, and the Italians all getting together again. I’m sure that they are all nice people individually, but, Holy Cow, the crowds! NOT fun.
So don’t pass up San Gi., just stay there, leave during the day, and come back in the late afternoon. It’s a different town and is lovely at night.
If you do visit San Gi., don’t miss the Museum Of Torture (Museo Criminale Mediovale). Cheney would love it.
Excellent suggestion B. Head made – stay overnight and visit when the tourist crowds are gone to really appreciate the town.
As for Tommie’s comment – there are many Italian towns with medieval towers. The towers in San Gimignano can be seen from a long distance and there are nine of them so people think of it as the city of towers. Lucca, Bologna, and Pavia are just a few of the towns with towers that I enjoy.
We stayed in San Gimignano for 7 nights in May 2008. We had a car and used S G as our base for day trips in Tuscany – to Florence (very crowded), Chianti (Greve, Castellina Radda). We had a similar experience on our day in Volterra (only 17 kms from S G ). No crowds, great food and shopping (Lyn purchased a beautiful piece of crafted, artist signed alabaster). We also did a day trip to Procerno in Umbria where friends were staying in an old castle. So much to see and do from a great base in SG. Our home for 7 nights was Casa Florelia, an apartment just outside the city walls (Ugo was a great host) For us, San Gimignano came into its own at night – when the buses and day trippers left. Quiet evenings strolling the medieval streets, fantastic restaurants and great hosts – La Vecchi Mura with great views of the countryside as the sun sets, I Quattro Gatti (the four cats), and Rigoletto (just outside the Porta San Giovanni), a very small intimate restaurant with the best coniglio (rabbit) cacciatore. The local delicacy is cinghiale (wild boar) pasta and the local vino is Vernaccia, a crisp white wine.
SG is a really great base for exploring Tuscany and you can enjoy long quiet evenings in peace.
had a great time in san gimigiano yday july 4…. not too packed. we had a driver and he waited on the other side of town. you gotta get on top of the hill where the wine museum is – great views.
wine museum is cute. check it out. only negative thing – the resaurant in the guides (a michellin star) was horrible. the service was very arrogant (the manager is a russian woman who hates her life).