Wednesday Market
When you arrive in a new place there is always a tendency to buy local items that are available in the place. Generally, if you purchase things from tourist places, they are always expensive. By chance, if you are out in the morning on Wednesday you would be lucky to witness the Wednesday market in Siena. It is a large local market where you may find your daily wear goods like T-shirts, belts, gloves, a wide variety of options of dresses for girls, party wear, etc. The good thing is it would be way cheaper than you buy in a shopping mall. The only downside is you have to allot quite a bit of time to explore things compare the prices from adjacent shops, maybe snick a bit to bargain on certain things, etc. You shouldn’t buy things in a hurry as there are chances you would pick a defective piece and it may not be exchangeable. The market is located alongside Fortezza which is a 5 mins walk from the main bus to Piazza Gramsci.
Aperitivo culture
If you travel to any part of Italy and if you have not heard about the word “aperitivo” it’s high time to experience it. Aperitivo is part and parcel of Italian culture. You could describe aperitivo in short as a combination of buying a cocktail like long island, Ron cola..so on along with a variety of food items offered by the specific bar and restaurant for the same price as that of a cocktail. It means basically the food you get along with the cocktail is almost free and is already counted in the price of the drink. The prices for the aperitivo would start from as small as 5 euros to 25 euros depending on the bar. At some places the food they provide would be unlimited that would contain several items which could fill your belly and you may barely need a separate dinner that day. ;).
Coming to Siena you could find aperitivo at almost every B&R in the evening but one of the suggestions could be “La Favorita” which is also very close to the main bus stop Piazza Gramsci. If you are lucky you could get an Aperitivo at as low as 7 euros with a variety of food options.
Frankly speaking, aperitivo is not just about drinks or food at a low price, rather it is regarded as the time where you meet your friends and family may be after a long day of work or school to share moments of joy and making great frequent memories. It could also be a perfect opportunity to meet new people over a drink and spend some quality time.
Buy wines at local places
Tuscany in general is a place whether you get a great quality wines. Obviously the prices would differ based of the age of the wine in barrels.
But if you are a person who would like to try wines at cheaper price with fine quality you could go to some winery where for example if you carry with you a normal empty 1 liter mineral water bottle the winery people would fill it with quality wine for a price of as low as 2 euros/ltr.
The places to be filled are near XXIV Maggio, near mensa Sant’agatha.