Tuscany · Siena
San Gimignano
A walled hill town with 14 surviving medieval towers, UNESCO listed since 1990 and the home of Vernaccia.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 29.
This one is famous. If you want what it offers with fewer people, see our alternatives to San Gimignano.
The letter
San Gimignano got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 48 min from Siena
- Population
- 7,452
- J10°
- F13°
- M15°
- A18°
- M23°
- J28°
- J33°
- A32°
- S26°
- O21°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
San Gimignano sits in the Val d'Elsa, halfway between Firenze and Siena on the medieval pilgrim road to Rome. Patrician families built 72 tower-houses in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as proofs of wealth and platforms for vendettas; 14 still stand, the tallest being the Torre Grossa. The town declared independence from the bishops of Volterra in 1199 and grew rich on saffron and Vernaccia, the white wine grown on the surrounding hills and praised since Dante.
The Black Death of 1348 broke the boom; San Gimignano lost more than half its population and submitted to Florence. That collapse is the reason the medieval skyline survived. UNESCO listed the historic center in 1990 as a complete record of feudal architecture. Roughly three million visitors come each year, more than 400 times the resident population, and the centro storico empties into the surrounding olive groves once the day-trippers leave.
How to get there
From Pisa (PSA), about 1 h 27 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 1 h 54 min away.
By car from the center of Siena 48 min, Florence 1 h 1 min or Pisa 1 h 20 min.
Coming by train into Firenze Santa Maria Novella? San Gimignano is about 1 h away by road.
Every town within reach of Pisa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre Grossa
Fifty-four meter civic tower attached to the Palazzo Comunale, the tallest of the surviving 14, open for the climb to the panoramic terrace.
Piazza della Cisterna
Triangular medieval square paved in brick around an octagonal well of 1287, lined by tower houses and Romanesque palaces.
Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta
Romanesque parish church on Piazza Duomo, walls covered by Bartolo di Fredi and Lippo Memmi frescoes of Old and New Testament scenes.
Palazzo Comunale
Thirteenth-century town hall on Piazza Duomo, holding the civic art collection with works by Lippo Memmi, Pinturicchio and Benozzo Gozzoli.
Chiesa di Sant'Agostino
Augustinian church at the northern end of town with a fresco cycle on the life of Saint Augustine by Benozzo Gozzoli from 1465.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
San Martino 26Ristorante
San Martino 26 carries two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100), plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Da PodeRistorante
Da Pode has a Michelin Bib Gourmand to its name.
LinfaRistorante
Linfa carries one Michelin star.
1 more place the guides name in San Gimignano
La CollegiataHotel
A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at La Collegiata.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
San Gimignano meets both of our rules for a small town.
- 7,452 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Siena, a city of 52,990, is 48 min by car. Inside our 30 to 60 minutes: close for the services, far enough to keep its own life.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 7,452, down 5.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Siena, 48 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Poggibonsi, 10 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,200 to €3,300 per m² to buy, €7.30 to €10.60 per m² a month to rent
Weighing a move here? See the moving year.
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 1% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Florence airport (FLR), 1 h 8 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 1 h 1 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Pakistan and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 51 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom. There are 264 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 35% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Siena province ranks 21st of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Poggibonsi, 10 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Siena, 29 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Florence, 38 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Siena, 26 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.99% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds nothing to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Siena, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.28, a meal in a pizzeria €17.81 and a man's haircut €25.49.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 4% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 7% in a high or medium one. 8% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
FOURTEEN TOWERS
Surviving tower-houses out of 72 built between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries by patrician families, the skyline UNESCO listed since 1990.
VERNACCIA
White wine from local vineyards, praised by Dante in Purgatorio XXIV and the first Italian wine to receive DOC status in 1966.
1348
Year the Black Death halved the population and forced submission to Florence, freezing the medieval skyline in place.
ZAFFERANO DI SAN GIMIGNANO
The commune also lies inside the Zafferano di San Gimignano DOP production zone.
Common questions
- What is San Gimignano known for?
- San Gimignano is a walled hill town at 334 meters with 14 surviving medieval towers, UNESCO listed since 1990 and the home of Vernaccia.
- Where is San Gimignano?
- San Gimignano is a comune in the province of Siena, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to San Gimignano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Florence (FLR), about 1 h 8 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Siena to San Gimignano?
- About 48 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit San Gimignano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 33 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like San Gimignano?
- Massa Marittima, Pontremoli and Montaione.
- How many people live in San Gimignano?
- 7,452 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is San Gimignano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, San Gimignano is a small town that meets both of our rules. The nearest city, Siena, is 48 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Poggibonsi, 10 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 1% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 334 m
- Population: 7,452
- Surface area: 138.6 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists San Gimignano appears in
- The 6 best towns on a walking route that eat well in the province of SienaSiena provinceon a walking routeeats well6 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site in the province of SienaSiena provinceWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 1,044 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site that are worth a night in TuscanyTuscanyworth staying overnightWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 1,928 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencewithin 90 minWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 7,452 residents · closest 39 min away
- The best hill towns worth staying overnight within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencehill townwithin 90 minworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 3,438 residents · closest 24 min away
- The best towns on a walking route that are worth a night in TuscanyTuscanyon a walking routeworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
Featured on
San Gimignano appears on this themed pick from our Collections:
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 33.
Monteriggioni
Province: Siena
A circular Sienese fortress built between 1213 and 1219 on a natural hill, fourteen towers on a 570-meter wall, intact and unbroken.
17 km away
- Written about. No. 30.
Castellina in Chianti
Province: Siena
A Chianti hill town at 578 meters on the watershed between the Arno and the Ombrone, with an Etruscan tumulus, a Brunelleschi-reinforced wall and a covered medieval walkway around its edge.
20 km away
- Written about. No. 34.
Volterra
Province: Pisa
The Etruscan acropolis of Velathri at 531 meters, the alabaster town that has been carving the same stone for three thousand years.
32 min by car
The letter
San Gimignano got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.