Tuscany Day Trip from Florence
Is it possible to take a day trip to Tuscany from Florence, Italy?
Yes! Tuscany is one of Italy’s most beautiful regions, and the Renaissance city of Florence is the region’s capital. While Florence is a special city, you need to get out into the countryside the appreciate the beauty of Tuscany. Rolling hills, vineyards, olive groves, and tiny hilltop towns are sights that await you.
You could easily spend a week or more exploring Tuscany, but I know not everyone has the luxury of that much time. Luckily, you can easily spend one day in Tuscany on a day trip from Florence!
I actually did just that on a recent trip to Italy. Despite having been to Italy (and Florence) multiple times, Tuscany had pretty much eluded me. I was also traveling with my mom, who was in Italy for the first time and really wanted to visit Tuscany. We spent two of our days in Florence visiting Tuscany on a day trip in two different ways: once on an organized tour on a big coach bus, and once on an independent train trip.
The tour we did was called Tuscany Day Trip from Florence: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and Lunch at a Winery from Walkabout Tours. It was a very full day, but it offered a great overview of Tuscany.
The independent day trip we did was taking the train from Florence to the Tuscan town of Lucca. I’ll talk more about how to do that at the end of this guide. First, let’s talk about the tour.
Tuscany Day Trip Tour from Florence
If you don’t want to worry about the logistics of travel and you want to visit multiple destinations in one day, an organized tour is a good option. As I mentioned, my mom and I did a day trip to Tuscany that included a stop in Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa, as well as lunch at a Tuscan winery.
You can book the exact tour we did here.
Here’s an overview of what’s included in this tour, and my thoughts on the pros and cons of it.
First Stop: Siena
After meeting at the central train station in Florence, the tour departed by bus towards our first stop of Siena, which is about an hour and 15 minutes away. Siena is a beautiful smaller city in Tuscany with a population of about 50,000. The city was famously rivals with Florence during medieval times.
It’s also known for its twice-annual horse race, the Palio di Siena, which takes place in the city’s main piazza and sees Siena’s neighborhoods, or contrade, competing against each other.
In Siena, we had a guided walking tour through the historic heart of the city, followed by a guided visit to Siena Cathedral, which is a top contender for the most impressive church in Italy.
We then had a couple of hours of free time to explore Siena on our own.
Second Stop: Lunch at a Winery
After our time in Siena, we drove approximately 45 minutes to our next stop, lunch at a family-run winery nestled in the rolling hills of Tuscany and overlooking the gorgeous hilltop town of San Gimignano.
Lunch was a real highlight of the day and the location of the winery looked exactly like what you’d conjure up in your mind if someone told you to imagine the Tuscan countryside. It was picture-perfect!
The lunch included bread, fresh pasta, and a local dessert. There was also unlimited wine or if you don’t drink, fresh juice. The food was good, but the views from the winery were a real highlight.
Third Stop: San Gimignano
After lunch, we drove about 15 more minutes to the town of San Gimignano. This walled hilltop town is pretty small (with a population of under 8,000 people) but there’s plenty to explore around every corner.
One of the most interesting things about San Gimignano is the fact that it’s nicknamed the “Manhattan of the Middle Ages” due to its skyline of medieval stone towers. At one time, there were more than 70 towers, but today there are just 14 left. Still, the towers lend a striking air to this quaint small town.
For this stop, we had an hour and a half of free time to explore the town, which was just long enough.
Fourth Stop: Pisa
Our final stop in Tuscany was Pisa, which we reached after another hour and a half of driving. Honestly, this was the one stop where I wished we had a little more time because it felt a bit rushed.
We only had an hour in Pisa, and since it was already evening, we unfortunately ran out of time to visit the interior of the Pisa Cathedral as it closed shortly after we arrived. It was fun to walk around the Leaning Tower of Pisa, though, and of course, try to capture the perfect shot of holding the tower up.
Finally, we departed Pisa and after about an hour and 15 minutes, we arrived back in Florence.
Was It Worth It?
Full disclosure, I don’t always love organized day trips like this one where you’re traveling on a big coach bus with dozens of other people. But sometimes, they really are the best option depending on the situation.
In this case, I enjoyed that the tour provided transportation to three different destinations that would have been impossible to visit on your own in just one day. While I normally like getting around via train or bus when I travel, there’s simply no way to visit Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa in one day doing that.
The guided tour in Siena and the lunch at the winery overlooking San Gimignano were real highlights of the tour, and I appreciated that the guides we had throughout the day were very knowledgeable.
However, I did wish we’d had a little more time in Pisa since it felt rushed and added a lot of driving time. Or, I could have traded Pisa altogether for a different destination — maybe another Tuscan hilltop town like on this tour which includes Siena, San Gimignano, and Monteriggioni instead of Pisa.
Ultimately, if you’re short on time and/or you don’t want to worry about handling the logistics of a day trip yourself, the Tuscany Day Trip from Florence: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and Lunch at a Winery from Walkabout Tours is a great option for getting a taste of Tuscany in just one day.
Independent Tuscany Day Trips from Florence by Train
I also mentioned at the beginning of this guide that in addition to taking a tour, my mom and I also spent one day visiting a town in Tuscany on our own. We took the train from Florence to Lucca for a day.
Lucca is a beautiful, historic walled city in Tuscany. It takes an hour and 20 minutes to get there by train from Florence, making it an easy day trip for a taste of Tuscany on your own.
I had also previously visited Siena on a day trip from Florence. This is another super easy day trip that you can do by train on your own. From Florence, it takes 1.5 hours to reach Siena by train.
Finally, one more option for a Tuscany day trip by train is Arezzo. This Tuscan city is just under 30 minutes from Florence by train, making it a good option for a half-day trip if you’re short on time.
The benefit of taking a day trip independently is that you can spend as long as you want doing whatever you want — you don’t have a group or a schedule you have to stick to. The downside is that you can really only visit one destination easily, and you can’t visit smaller towns or the countryside.
However, if you’d prefer a more relaxed pace and want to explore one of the above destinations in-depth, doing a Tuscany day trip from Florence independently by train is a great option for you.
Tuscany Day Trip from Florence
Taking a Tuscany day trip from Florence is a great way to get an overview of the beautiful region.
Obviously, you can’t see all of Tuscany in a day (not even close!) but taking a tour allows you to visit multiple destinations and experience the beauty of this iconic region in Italy.
Alternatively, you can pick one destination to visit by train on a day trip from Florence.
Whichever option you choose, enjoy your day trip to Tuscany!
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