Best Day Trips from Florence
Are you looking for the best day trips from Florence, Italy?
Florence is one of the top destinations in Italy. The capital of the Tuscany region, Florence is known for being the birthplace of the Renaissance. It has an unmatched cultural heritage when it comes to art and architecture, and you can easily spend several days exploring the museums and sights in Florence.
The city is also a great base for taking day trips around Tuscany and other nearby regions.
Florence has excellent train connections to nearby cities, and many of the day trips below are easily doable on your own by train. I’ve noted which of the day trips you can do independently by train.
For some day trips, you’re better off driving. If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of a rental car in Italy, the easiest way to visit these more remote destinations is by organized tour. I’ve included recommendations for tours for some of the day trips below, including one tour I personally did.
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Best Day Trips from Florence, Italy:
- Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and Lunch at a Winery (this is the tour I did)
- Cinque Terre Day Trip with Optional Hike
Siena
One of the best day trips from Florence is to the city of Siena. Siena is much smaller than Florence today (it has a population of approximately 50,000 compared to the 700,000 of Florence) but during medieval times, the two Tuscan cities were rivals. Siena is a beautiful city to visit on a day trip from Florence.
It has a rich history and unique traditions, like the Palio di Siena horse race, which happens twice a year in the city’s main square. The Siena Cathedral is also among the most beautiful in Italy.
By train, it’s 1.5 hours from Florence. I visited Siena by train with a couple of friends on a day trip from Florence, and we had no trouble spending a whole day exploring the city on our own.
You can also combine a visit to Siena with several other destinations in Tuscany on a day trip. This is what my mom and I did when we took a tour from Florence that included Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa, and lunch at a winery. It’s a jam-packed day, but this tour allows you to see multiple destinations.
Bologna
Bologna is an easy day trip you can take from Florence. This lively city north of Florence is known for being the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and a foodie paradise. It’s also home to the University of Bologna, which was founded in the year 1088, making it the oldest university in Europe.
What is there to do in Bologna? Aside from trying spaghetti Bolognese, which is called tagliatelle al ragù in Bologna, you can’t miss walking around the historic Piazza Maggiore, visiting Bologna’s many beautiful churches, and climbing the medieval Two Towers for an incredible view over the city.
Getting to Bologna from Florence is easy — the fastest trains take just 40 minutes.
Pisa
Another great day trip from Florence is Pisa. This Italian city is best known for the iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa. The tower has been tilting ever since it was completed in the late 14th century.
The fastest trains connect Florence and Pisa in just 55 minutes. But you don’t necessarily need to make a day trip just to Pisa. There’s honestly not a ton to do in the city, aside from the area around the tower.
The tour I took included a stop of one hour in Pisa. You could also book this tour, which includes a trip to the colorful fishing villages of Cinque Terre and a 1.5-hour stop in Pisa.
Arezzo
Arezzo is a great day trip from Florence if you want to go somewhere in Tuscany that has more of a local atmosphere. I’m honestly not sure why Arezzo remains a little more under-the-radar compared to other cities and towns in Tuscany, but it’s a good thing and means fewer crowds!
Getting to Arezzo is also extremely easy. The fastest trains from Florence to Arezzo take just 30 minutes. Arezzo is a smaller city with a population of around 100,000 and it’s a lovely place for a day trip.
Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre is one of my favorite destinations in Italy, and it’s doable as a day trip from Florence. If you have the time, I really recommend spending several days in Cinque Terre. This is what I did the first time I visited. But I later returned on a day trip with one of my friends and we made the most of our time!
Meaning “Five Lands” in Italian, Cinque Terre is a collection of five seaside villages on Italy’s Ligurian Coast. They are famous for their dramatic cliffs, hilly landscapes, and colorful fisherman’s houses.
To get to Cinque Terre on your own, I recommend starting early and taking the first train you can from Florence to La Spezia. The fastest trains take just over 1.5 hours. From La Spezia, you’ll need to transfer to the regional train that runs between the five villages (it takes 5 to 10 minutes to get between each one.)
Of the villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, and Vernazza are the three I would focus on. Corniglia is one you can skip (it doesn’t have waterfront access and you have to go up a huge hill to get there from the train station) and Monterosso al Mare is nice if you have extra time and want a proper beach.
If you don’t want to deal with the train logistics yourself, you can also take a day trip to Cinque Terre like this one which includes stops in four villages and an option hike between two of the villages. Another option is this tour which only visits two of the villages but also includes a stop in Pisa.
Monteriggioni
Monteriggioni is one of the most beautiful Tuscan hilltop villages. This picture-perfect destination is just what you’d imagine when you think of Tuscany — a medieval walled town on a hill surrounded by rolling vineyards and olive trees. Monteriggioni is only about one hour from Florence by car.
It’s possible to get to Monteriggioni by public transportation, but I wouldn’t recommend it since it will take you more than double the time and involve two different trains and a bus.
The best way to visit Monteriggioni is on a tour like this one. It includes stops in Siena, San Gimignano, and Monteriggioni, along with a wine tasting. This is a great way to get an overview of Tuscany in a day while getting some free time in several of the best destinations in this region.
Lucca
Lucca is another one of the best day trips from Florence. My mom and I visited Lucca on a day trip from Florence by train and we had a great time exploring this charming Tuscan city of 90,000 people.
It takes one hour and 20 minutes to get to Lucca by train from Florence. Some of the best things to do in Lucca include walking the medieval walls that encircle the city, shopping at the huge antique market that takes place every third Saturday and Sunday of the month, and visiting the many churches.
If you’d like to combine a visit to Lucca with another destination, this day trip to Lucca and Pisa looks like a great option for exploring two great destinations in one day from Florence.
Verona
A really unique destination that you can visit from Florence on a day trip is Verona. This historic city is located in the Veneto region of northern Italy, but it’s just 1.5 hours from Florence by train.
Verona’s biggest claim to fame is being the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. You can even visit a 14th-century Gothic house in Verona with a balcony like that from the play.
Aside from the Romeo and Juliet connection, Verona is a beautiful city to explore with tons of great museums and attractions like the Arena di Verona, a 1st-century Roman amphitheater still in use today.
San Gimignano
If you want to visit a charming Tuscan hilltop town, San Gimignano is another one of the best. Like with Monteriggioni, the easiest way to visit this small town is by car. I visited San Gimignano on this tour that also included stops in Siena, Pisa, and lunch at a winery in the Tuscan hills.
Another option is this tour to Siena, San Gimignano, and Monteriggioni.
If you want to get to San Gimignano on your own, though, it does involve taking two buses from Florence, but with a total travel time of around 1.5 hours, it’s doable on your own for a day trip.
San Gimignano is nicknamed the “Medieval Manhattan” because of its many tall stone towers. In the Middle Ages, there were more than 70 of these towers, but today just 14 of them remain.
Val d’Orcia
Finally, one of the best day trips from Florence is the Val d’Orcia. This region in southern Tuscany is among the most beautiful in Italy, famous for its vineyards, small villages, and beautiful rolling hills. If you want to take a wine-tasting day trip from Florence, the Val d’Orcia is the best place to go.
This is one destination you can only drive to, and it’s about two hours from Florence. There’s no way to get here by public transportation, so the best way to get there is by joining a tour.
This wine-tasting tour from Florence looks like a great option. You’ll visit the villages of Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano, enjoy two wine tastings, and sample some local Pecorino cheese.
Best Day Trips from Florence, Italy
This guide showed you the best day trips from Florence, Italy.
Florence is an amazing destination in its own right, and it’s a place where I think you should dedicate at least two full days to exploring. But I also highly recommend using it as a base to take a day trip (or two or three!) around the Tuscany region to discover some of the most beautiful destinations in Italy.
Enjoy your trip to Florence!
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