In the last couple of years,
Siena's museum directors have
grasped the nettle of customer
service and, unlike Florence's
disorganized shower, have come
up with a full deck of
excellent-value discounted
museum
passes . They're buyable at
any of the participating
museums, but all permit only a
single entry to each place.
The cathedral authorities ( www.operaduomo.it
) have two passes. One is valid
for three days, giving entry to
the Museo dell'Opera ,
the Baptistry and the Libreria
Piccolomini for just
L4500/?2.32. The other is a
five-day pass for L13,000/?6.71,
which covers these three plus
the Oratorio San Bernadino
, the Museo Diocesiana
and the church of Sant'Agostino
. The Civic Museum Authorities
have their own two-day pass for
L17,000/?8.78, which gives entry
to the Museo Civico (but not
the Torre del Mangia), Santa
Maria della Scala and the Palazzo
delle Papesse . Finally,
there's the combined Siena
Art Itinerary ticket, which
is valid for seven days and
gives entry to all nine places
mentioned so far (minus the
Torre del Mangia) for a bargain
L29,000/?14.98.
The Pinacoteca Nazionale
is run by a separate body from
all the above, and is not
included on any of the passes.
It's now possible to book
ahead for admission to any
of the city's museums, by phone,
fax or online through the Centro
Servizi of the city council (tel
0577.226.238 or 0577.41.169, fax
0577.226.265, www.comune.siena.it
). Queues are not as excessive
as in Florence, so booking is
not vital, but there is one perk
- it knocks L1000/?0.52 off
admission to Santa Maria della
Scala.
