Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Siena and the Val d'Orcia

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Getting there

Florence and Pisa are the usual airports, with Bologna an option for the northern end of the Val d'Orcia. Siena is roughly 75 kilometres from Florence by the Siena-Florence road. Hire a car, because buses in the valley are sparse.

Buses

Under Tuscan regional law, dogs travel free on local buses, one animal per passenger. They need a lead and a muzzle unless they're in a carrier, which can't be more than 140 cm in total (length plus width plus depth) and can't take a seat.

Weight limits

Hotel Athena is the only hotel here that publishes a size rule, and it's no limit at all. The other eight don't publish one, so tell them your dog's weight when you book.

Fees

Free at Hotel Athena. EUR 15 a stay at Albergo Le Terme, EUR 20 at La Posta and Villa Liberty, EUR 25 at Villa Ermellina, EUR 40 at Poggio alla Sala, EUR 60 at the Grand Hotel Continental, EUR 66 at the Four Points and EUR 80 at Castello di Velona.

Eating with a dog

None of the nine publishes restaurant access for dogs. Hotel Athena serves breakfast and dinner in the room free instead. Rural trattorie and wine estates tend to be relaxed about dogs outdoors, but ask each one.

Sights

Piazza del Campo, the streets and the city walls are public space and fine with a dog. The Duomo complex, the Museo Civico and the Torre del Mangia don't publish a dog rule, so plan on someone waiting outside. In the valley the draw is outdoors, and there's no bathing in Bagno Vignoni's historic pool for anyone.

The Palio

Siena is extremely crowded and loud around the Palio on 2 July and 16 August. If your dog doesn't love noise and crowds, stay in the Val d'Orcia those days or pick different dates.

Seasonal closures

Several countryside resorts close from November to March. Check dates before you plan a winter trip around one.

Best walks

In Siena, the Fortezza Medicea and the Giardini della Lizza are the main green space inside the walls, and the Via Francigena comes in through Porta Camollia. In the valley, the Parco dei Mulini path drops from Bagno Vignoni past the old thermal mills, the Via Francigena runs on to San Quirico d'Orcia, about five kilometres, and the lanes out to the cypress grove on the Via Cassia just north of San Quirico make an easy loop. There's Pienza's walls walk, the white roads around Monticchiello, the lanes from Castelnuovo dell'Abate down to the Abbey of Sant'Antimo, and a flat path around the lake at the Riserva Naturale Lago di Montepulciano.

When to go

Spring and autumn, when the white roads are walkable in daylight. July and August are hot and exposed in the Val d'Orcia with little shade, so walk early. Avoid Siena around the Palio on 2 July and 16 August unless your dog is unbothered by crowds and noise. From November to March several countryside resorts close, so check dates first.