Practical information for visiting San Gimignano

Italy's four national operators — TIM, Vodafone, WindTre and Iliad — cover the town well. A walled hill town on a ridge is, for once, good ground for a signal. Visitors from elsewhere in the EU can use their home data allowance under EU roaming rules; visitors from outside the EU usually find a local prepaid SIM cheaper than roaming.

Two things to know.

• The masonry is thick and medieval. Reception inside the Collegiata, inside the Torre Grossa's stairwell and in the lower rooms of the Palazzo Comunale is poor to absent. This matters mainly because museum tickets are bought and held digitally — screenshot yours rather than planning to load it at the door.
• Coverage falls away on the tracks below the walls. The vineyard paths drop off the ridge into dead ground. They are short walks, but download the map before you set out rather than after.

Public wi-fi is available in parts of the centre, and the cafés and hotels of a town that lives on visitors provide reliable connections. During the middle of the day, with several thousand people inside 13.88 hectares, data slows noticeably — another argument for the early morning.

San Gimignano is a very safe town of 7,780 residents. The risks here are crowds, stone and heat, in that order.

• Watch your bag between 11:00 and 16:00. That is when several thousand day visitors are inside a walled area of 13.88 hectares, concentrated on two streets and two squares, and it is the only time San Gimignano has the pickpocketing of a major tourist site. Front pockets, bags closed and in front of you, and an agreed meeting point — Piazza della Cisterna is the obvious one.
• The paving is polished stone and it is slippery wet. The streets slope, several have steps, and centuries of foot traffic have worn the surface smooth. Shoes with grip, and particular care on the slope down from Piazza del Duomo in rain.
• The Torre Grossa is a medieval tower climb. Narrow stairs, low headroom in places, no lift, and no way to turn back once a group is behind you. It is the only climbable tower and it is worth doing — but treat it as exertion, not a viewpoint.
• Summer heat in these streets is worse than the temperature suggests. There is almost no shade, the stone holds heat, and the busiest hours are the hottest. Carry water, walk early, and use the museums in the afternoon.
• Keep off the walls and away from unfenced edges. The town sits on a ridge and the ground falls away sharply beyond the gates; the tracks below the walls are not uniformly protected.
• Driving into the centre is not possible. It is closed to traffic, the lanes are too narrow to turn in, and attempting it causes an obstruction in a space with no room for one. Park below.
• Wild boar are common on the tracks outside the walls at dusk. Give them distance, especially a sow with young.

For any emergency call 112. The municipal switchboard is 0577 9901, at Piazza Duomo 2.

San Gimignano is a town of 7,780 people with pharmacies in the centre posting a duty rota for nights and holidays; the larger hospitals serving this area are towards Siena and Poggibonsi. Visitors from the EU carrying a valid EHIC or GHIC card can use public healthcare on the same terms as Italian residents; visitors from elsewhere should carry travel health insurance, because treatment is billed directly. For anything urgent, 112 reaches medical services.

Four points specific to San Gimignano.

• The town is small but not level. The climb from the car parks below the walls up through a gate is short and real, and the streets inside slope and are paved in worn, polished stone with steps in places. Anyone with a mobility limitation should plan for that — and know that Pienza is the easy one in this group and Montepulciano the hard one.
• The Torre Grossa is a real climb — narrow medieval stairs, low headroom, no lift, and no turning back mid-flight. It is the only tower you can go up. Anyone who should not do that will still get a great deal from the Collegiata and the squares.
• Summer heat and no shade. Narrow stone streets facing the sun, the hottest hours coinciding with the biggest crowds, and very little shelter. Walk at dawn, carry water, and spend the middle of the day inside.
• Crowding itself is worth planning around if you are travelling with small children or anyone who finds dense crowds difficult. Between 11:00 and 16:00 the two main streets are genuinely packed, and the alternative — the same town before 10:00 — costs nothing but an early start.

Emergency number: 112, free from any phone. It is Italy's single emergency number — medical emergencies, the Carabinieri and emergencies generally — and it routes the call to the right service.

Police: 113. Fire brigade: 115. Financial Guard (Guardia di Finanza): 117.

The municipality can be reached on its switchboard, 0577 9901, at Piazza Duomo 2 — in the historic centre itself, which is unusual and convenient.

Hospitals and pharmacies: pharmacies in the centre post the duty rota for nights and holidays. The larger hospitals serving this area are towards Siena and Poggibonsi. For anything urgent call 112 and let them dispatch — note that an ambulance cannot drive into the walled centre, so expect responders on foot for the last stretch.

That last point is the San Gimignano-specific one. The historic centre is walled and closed to vehicles, and the streets are too narrow for one. If someone is unwell inside the walls, call 112, say clearly that you are inside the historic centre, and if you can, move to a square — Piazza della Cisterna or Piazza del Duomo — which are the only open ground and the easiest places for responders to reach and find you.

If you are separated from your party, Piazza della Cisterna is the rendezvous: triangular, unmistakable, and the point every route through the town passes. In a walled area of 13.88 hectares nobody stays lost for long, but in the middle of the day it is easy to lose sight of someone in a crowd.

Your museum ticket may be on your phone and reception inside the medieval buildings is poor. Screenshot your ticket rather than relying on loading it at a door.