Visit Florence and Siena’s top sights, on a day tour from Rome. Your journey will be in a fully-equipped car, where you will be accompanied by a knowledgeable English- speaking driver. Once in Florence, the tour starts from Piazza San Marco. Here you visit the peaceful and beautifully maintained old Dominican monastery, one of the most delightful museums in Florence, with important frescoes and paintings by Fra’ Angelico. Next, you can stroll to the famous San Lorenzo market, and stop for an outside view of the Medici Palace. A few steps more and you reach the Duomo and Baptistery, the religious center of the city, and Piazza della Signoria, the political center. Between the two you could stop for a nice espresso in one of Florence’s historic cafes. After, you can walk to the medieval district of Florence and the “Ponte Vecchio”, also known as the “Golden Bridge” due to its numerous, historic jewelry shops where you will then drive to Siena. Siena's most prosperous era pre-dated the Renaissance, so a lot of the city is in the older Gothic and Romanesque medieval styles. The Gothic and Romanesque Cathedral, built in stunning black and white marble, with a magnificent interior, is a must-see. The city is also home to an important religious center, as it was the birthplace of St. Catherine (the Sanctuary is devoted to her worship). The 700-year old university is still in operation, holding summer schools in Italian. And Piazza del Campo, overlooked by the giant Torre del Mangia, the tower of the Palazzo Pubblico, with its shell shape, is definitely one of the most striking pieces of architecture in the world. It represents the meeting-point of the three hills on which Siena was built. It is where the Palio is run, a unique bareback horse race which dates back to Middle Ages. The whole city is caught up in a unique ambiance, which attracts visitors from all over the world. During the tour we will stop off for a typical Tuscan lunch.