Tours by Roberto - Resources - Tourist Information

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Resources - Tourist Information

Other pages of resources can be found using the links below.

Accommodations Transportation Tourist Information Special Interests Air Travel Tuscany and Beyond

Siena Sites
http://www.sienaitaly.com - A neat site with all sorts of information, cultural and practical, about Siena.

http://www.comune.siena.it/indice.html - Siena Tourist Info office, with events calendar on line, and information about half-day city tours.

http://www.siena.turismo.toscana.it/ - Tourist Info office site which also includes listing of museums in Siena with useful information about each, such as price (but oddly enough not opening hours, at least last time I looked!)

http://www.ilpalio.org- a site by our friend Orlando Papei dedicated to the Palio horserace.

http://www.comune.siena.it/palio/palioin/ititolo.htm - Palio horserace of Siena.

http://www.ilpaliodisiena.com/indexpal.htm - Palio horserace of Siena.

http://www.novamedia.it/sienall/siencitt.htm - Listing (in Italian) of dozens of sites regarding Siena.

http://www.mega.it/ita/not/sita.htm - Bus information, Florence-Siena, in Italian.

Firenze Sites

http://www.firenze.turismo.toscana.it/ - Florence Tourist Information Office site; very thorough, with an English version.

http://english.firenze.net/ - Contains calendar of events (on the right) but it is not very user friendly; you have to click on individual dates.

http://www.mega.it/florence - "Florence on Line"

http://www.novamedia.it/sienall/firenze.htm - Huge listing (in Italian) of sites about Florence and the province.

http://www.mega.it/map/colmap.htm - Map site for Florence.

http://www.mega.it/ita/not/sita.htm - Bus information, Florence-Siena, in Italian.

Re UFFIZI, see museum sites below.

General Tourist Information Sites

http://www.visa.com/cgi-bin/vee/main.html - ATM Machine locations in Italy.

http://www.oanda.com/cgi-bin/travel - Currency Cheat Sheet, for converting between Dollars and Euros.

http://cybercaptive.com/ - Internet cafe sites worldwide; by far the cheapest way to keep in touch. Sign up for a universal address; ie, (@hotmail, @yahoo, etc,) that is accessible from any internet point.

http://weather.com - Check out the weather before you come!

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/outlook/woeur48.htm - Two day weather forecasts.

http://www.nws.mbay.net/convert.html - To get Celsius from Farenheight when you are here, rather than grabbing the calculator!

http://www.travlang.com/signs/ - Street sign graphics and European driving tips.

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/travel - US Customs rules on what you can/cannot bring home.

http://www.infohub.com - Tour operator sites.

Travel Insurance Suppliers

DO obtain travel insurance. You never know what may happen- good news as well as bad news cancels trips (your darling grandchild arrives 2 months early, you get a promotion but have to make a sudden move). Clients have used www.accessamerica.com and www.csatravelprotection.com and found that their claims were actually paid. Travel usernet groups like rec.travel.europe may give you some good advice, and here are some other sites as well.

http://www.travelinsure.com/

http://www.worldtravelcenter.com

http://www.insuretravel.com/order.html

http://www.utravelpro.com/

http://www.travel-guard.com/

Other Tuscan Area Sites

http://www.emmeti.it/Welcome/Toscana/Maremma/index.uk.html - Site regarding the lesser known Maremma area in southern Tuscany.

http://www.valdichiana.it/ - "Chiana Valley" site with info on many towns including Arezzo, Cortona, Chiusi; you will have to pick judiciously through much transparent advertising. http://www.evols.it/chiusi/ - Etruscan city of Chiusi (province of Arezzo.)

Museum Information Sites

http://musa.uffizi.firenze.it/welcomeE.html - Uffizzi Museum official site. We suggest you make reservations for the Uffizzi and other Florence museums ahead of time to avoid lines (which can be amazing.) Do so by phone. From the USA call 011-39-055-294883, and within Italy 055-294883. Costs about €1.55 per ticket extra but is worth it especially for the Uffizi and the Accademia. Specify which museum and date. You will be given a specific time and confirmation number. You then go to the museum (or Palazzo Pitti's bookstore) 15 min ahead of time and pay cash for and pick up the ticket.

http://www.weekendafirenze.com - This site will make all sorts of Florence reservations via email for a fee. Not sure how much extra so check out the site and compare with official rates of €10.00 for the Uffizi plus €3 reservation fee. Irrespective of Internet link you use, be sure you are provided a reservation number. Without one in your name you do not have a ticket. We (Tours by Roberto) will make museum reservations as a courtesy to all clients touring with Roberto. We are also happy to make other reservations and arrangements for you in Italy for a flat consultation rate of €30 hour.

Client Sites Regarding Tuscany (art, etc.)

www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=432 Walter Calahan, client and photographer

Email: info@toursbyroberto.com
toursbyroberto@gmail.com

Tel/Fax- 011-39-0577-321004
Cel- 011-39-320-1476590
from 9am until 9pm

Tours By Roberto, Inc.
c/o Patricia Bechi
Podere Casalciccia 17
Località Vescona
53041 Asciano SI Italy

Due to problems with email, if you do not have a response from us within 48 hours, you can call us between 9 am and 9 pm Italy time and we will call you right back.

No fears if we answer with the typical Italian "pronto", everyone speaks English, even the children.