Should I spend 1, 2, or 3 days in Volterra?
Should you spend 1, 2, or 3 days in Volterra?
Most visitors spend one to two days in Volterra when visiting. The charming town offers so many things to see and explore, so you'll want to take full advantage of the limited time you have. Highlights include the historic old town, the food, the museums and landmarks, and the small town charm.
Volterra is a charming hilltop town that has a huge number of historic sights packed into a small and quaint area. It's not as popular with tourists as you might expect, so you can enjoy the atmosphere without the typical crowds. The city is walled and has many great buildings and museums.
Do you have one or two days to visit Volterra? Here's our comprehensive breakdown of how much time you might need for your trip along with some suggestions for things to do.
Is one day enough time in Volterra?
One day is generally not enough time to browse around the old town, taste delicious cuisine, browse through museums, and soak up the small town charm in Volterra. A shorter schedule may leave you with a sense of urgency to enjoy popular activities such as the historic old town, the food, the museums and landmarks, and the small town charm. To genuinely appreciate the highlights of the charming town, a more lengthy visit is typically recommended. Many tourists opt for one to two days here. After all, Volterra is a fun town that is somewhat popular with tourists because of its great list of sights and attractions. However, if you're working with limited time, we have some great ideas for making the most of your stay below.
How to spend a day in Volterra
The charming atmosphere and history of the old town area is worth exploring, so spend the day learning about the history and culture of the area. The walled town is perched on a hilltop and dates back to the 8th century BC. Visitors come specifically to explore its winding streets and stunning setting.
A few tour suggestions include:
- Private Tour: San Gimignano Walking Tour ($209)
The culinary scene in Volterra is world famous, and draws visitors from around the globe. Make sure you spend time enjoying breakfast, lunch, and dinner at some of this town's best restaurants. And consider a food tour, too. Many are either a half day or just a few hours, so you can fit one into your schedule easily. The town is surrounded by the region of truffles, so you'll find this item included in all kinds of recipes. Pumpkin sauce is also a specialty of the area and there are also many local cheeses. Many restaurants also have bruschetta as an appetizer.
A few tour suggestions include:
- Wine and food tasting in an organic family winery ($88)
- Tuscan Cooking Class ($126)
- Private Wine & Evo Oil Tasting with Tuscan Meal ($69)
Volterra is a walkable city and easy to explore on foot. With only a day in the town, you'll have no trouble seeing the local sights. Most people explore the town on foot.
Is a weekend (two to three days) enough time in Volterra?
With a variety of sights and attractions, Volterra is a fairly popular choice for tourists. A weekend is just the right amount of time to see pretty much everything in Volterra. Most visitors prefer to spend one to two days here, and we have a few suggestions of things to do while you're visiting. Also, Volterra is popular with couples which enjoy visiting because the town offers activities specifically for them.
Old Town Volterra
How to spend 2 days in Volterra
If you have more than a weekend (two to three days) in Volterra, you'll appreciate the added time for everything the town has to offer.
A number of fantastic museums and famous landmarks are found in Volterra, so spend at least one full day exploring those that look the most appealing to you. For such a large town there are a huge number of historic sights packed into a small area. Check out the Roman Theater, the Etruscan Museum, and the Duomo.
A few tour suggestions include:
- Chianti and Castle Small Group Tour from San Gimignano ($93)
- Charms from San Gimignano: Chianti and Castles ($93)
Volterra is known to be such a beautiful destination, so just exploring and taking it all in should be one of the top things to do on your list. The quaint town setting with wandering streets and beautiful buildings make this a highlight of any trip to Italy.
A few tour suggestions include:
- Private Tour: San Gimignano Walking Tour ($209)
- Outdoor lunch in the garden ($159)
More Info
If you're looking for more information about Volterra, we have even more advice to help you plan your journey.
Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.
Some of the links on this website are sponsored or affiliate links which help to financially support this site. By clicking the link and making a purchase, we may receive a small commission, but this does not affect the price of your purchase.