The Best Day Trips from Florence

The 10 best day trips, ranked

Ordered by how well they repay a full day - factoring travel time, what you can actually see, and how easy they are without a car.

1. 1

   Siena

   Medieval squares & the Palio

   70 km south · ~1h15 by direct bus

   Medieval Tuscany's masterpiece: the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo where the Palio horse race runs every 2 July and 16 August, the striped Duomo with the Piccolomini Library frescoes, and the ~400-step Torre del Mangia climb for the best view in the region. Buy the Duomo combined ticket - the crypt and Baptistery are usually included and usually skipped.

   Getting there: Take the Autolinee Toscane Rapida 131 bus from the Florence bus station beside Santa Maria Novella - direct in ~1h15, arriving at Piazza Gramsci a short walk from the centre. The train takes ~1h30 with a change at Empoli and leaves you at a station below the town with an escalator climb. The bus wins.

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2. 2

   Pisa

   The tower & Romanesque set piece

   80 km west · ~50–80 min by train

   The Leaning Tower is only the start: the Piazza dei Miracoli also holds the Duomo, the round Baptistery - where staff demonstrate its strange echo on the hour - and the frescoed Camposanto cemetery. Book a timed tower climb online before you travel; slots sell out days ahead in season. The rest of Pisa is a lively, cheap university town worth an extra hour.

   Getting there: Direct regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale run 2-3 times an hour (~50-80 min depending on stops). From Centrale it's a 20-25 minute walk across town to the tower, or the LAM Rossa bus.

3. 3

   Lucca

   Walls, bikes & slow Tuscany

   75 km west · ~1h20–1h45 by train

   The only Tuscan city whose Renaissance walls survive complete - now a tree-lined 4 km promenade you can cycle in half an hour; rental shops cluster by the gates. Inside: the oval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro built on a Roman amphitheatre, the Guinigi Tower with oak trees growing on its roof, and Puccini's birthplace. Flatter, calmer and less crowded than anywhere else on this list.

   Getting there: Direct regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Lucca roughly hourly (~1h20-1h45). The walled old town starts just across the road from the station.

4. 4

   San Gimignano

   Towers & Vernaccia wine

   55 km southwest · ~1 h train + 25 min bus

   Fourteen medieval tower-houses survive of the seventy-plus that once made this the Manhattan of the Middle Ages, and the skyline is unforgettable from miles away. Climb the Torre Grossa, see the Collegiata's fresco cycles, and try Vernaccia di San Gimignano - the white wine that received Italy's first DOC in 1966. Arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00; midday belongs to the coaches.

   Getting there: Train from Santa Maria Novella to Poggibonsi-San Gimignano (~1 hour, some services change at Empoli), then the 130 bus up to San Gimignano (~20-25 min). Many people go by organised tour combined with Siena or Chianti, which is simpler.

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5. 5

   Chianti (Greve in Chianti)

   Wine & vineyard villages

   30 km south · ~1 h by bus

   Greve is the market town of the Chianti Classico zone: a triangular arcaded piazza, a centuries-old butcher's shop hung with prosciutto, and enotecas where you can taste your way across the appellation by the glass. Walk 20 minutes uphill to the hamlet of Montefioralle for the postcard vineyard views. Saturday is market day on the piazza.

   Getting there: The 365 bus from the Florence bus station runs to Greve in Chianti in ~1 hour - the only Chianti town with a straightforward public-transport link. For visiting actual wineries, a small-group wine tour solves the tasting-plus-driving problem and is how most people do it.

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6. 6

   Cinque Terre

   Coastal villages & hiking

   150 km west · ~2.5 h each way by train

   Five fishing villages stacked on Ligurian cliffs, connected by trains, boats and walking paths. In one day, pick two or three - Monterosso for the beach, Vernazza's harbour and Manarola's viewpoint are the classic set - rather than sprinting all five. Leave Florence by ~07:30 and check trail status before hiking; sections close after heavy rain.

   Getting there: Train from Santa Maria Novella to La Spezia Centrale (~2h20-2h45, direct or changing at Pisa), then the Cinque Terre Express local trains that link all five villages every 15-20 minutes in season. The Cinque Terre Card covers the local trains and the coastal trails.

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7. 7

   Bologna

   Food & porticoes

   100 km north · ~35–40 min by high-speed train

   Italy's food capital: mortadella, tortellini and tagliatelle al ragù in the Quadrilatero market lanes off Piazza Maggiore. Bologna's UNESCO-listed porticoes mean you walk the whole city under cover - the portico to the San Luca sanctuary runs for some 666 arches uphill. View the leaning Two Towers from the street; the Asinelli climb has been suspended during stabilisation work on its neighbour, so check before counting on it.

   Getting there: Frecciarossa and Italo trains from Santa Maria Novella to Bologna Centrale take ~35-40 minutes and run several times an hour - book ahead for the cheapest fares. The old town is a 15-minute walk down Via dell'Indipendenza.

8. 8

   Arezzo

   Frescoes & antiques

   80 km southeast · ~45–70 min by train

   Piero della Francesca's Legend of the True Cross fresco cycle in the Basilica of San Francesco is one of the summits of Renaissance painting - entry is by timed slot, so book ahead. The sloping Piazza Grande hosted much of 'Life is Beautiful', and on the first Sunday of each month (plus the Saturday before) it fills with one of Italy's biggest antiques fairs.

   Getting there: Direct regional trains from Santa Maria Novella to Arezzo run roughly every half hour (~45-70 min; take a regionale veloce). The centre is a 10-minute walk uphill from the station.

9. 9

   Fiesole

   Views & an easy escape

   8 km northeast · ~25 min by city bus

   The Etruscan hill town that predates Florence, with a Roman theatre still used for the summer Estate Fiesolana festival and an archaeological area you'll often have nearly to yourself. The steep lane up to the San Francesco convent ends at the classic panoramic terrace over Florence - come for the late afternoon light. Honestly a half day, which is exactly its charm.

   Getting there: City bus 7 from Piazza San Marco climbs to Fiesole's main square in ~20-25 minutes on an ordinary Florence ticket. No planning required - go when the sky is clear.

10. 10

    Val d'Orcia & Montepulciano

    Landscapes & Vino Nobile

    115 km southeast · ~2–2.5 h by train + bus

    The postcard Tuscany of cypress-lined roads and rolling wheat, a UNESCO landscape. Montepulciano is a Renaissance hill town built over wine cellars you can tour beneath the streets - Vino Nobile is the reason to linger - while nearby Pienza, Pope Pius II's 'ideal city', supplies pecorino cheese and the best valley views. Save it for a clear day; the landscape is the sight.

    Getting there: DIY is possible - train from Santa Maria Novella toward Rome to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme (~1h30-1h50), then a local bus up to Montepulciano - but connections are thin. This is the one trip on this list where a car or an organised tour genuinely wins, and most day tours combine Montepulciano with Pienza and the Val d'Orcia viewpoints.

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Day trips from other cities