Day Trips From Florence

The first ten spots are easy to reach by public transport. The last four are best done by car. Every spot is within about 2 to 2½ hours of Florence.

Fiesole

Fiesole sits on the hill just above Florence, and it was a thriving Etruscan town long before Florence existed. It’s the quickest escape from the city crowds, with cool breezes, olive groves, and the best panoramic view of Florence’s domes and towers.

Two to three hours is plenty, so it’s a great half day or a late-afternoon trip timed for sunset. Walk through the Roman theater and baths in the archaeological area, then climb the steep lane to the Monastery of San Francesco for the view. Stay for dinner on a terrace with a bowl of ribollita, the hearty Tuscan bread and vegetable soup.

Getting there: Bus 7 runs from Piazza San Marco in central Florence to Fiesole’s main square in about 20 to 30 minutes. A regular city bus ticket covers the ride.

Pisa

Pisa is world famous for one tilting tower, but the whole Field of Miracles around it is one of the most striking sets of buildings in Italy. Beyond the postcard shot, it’s a lively university town with a pleasant riverfront and far fewer tourists once you leave the main square.

Two to three hours covers it comfortably. See the Leaning Tower (book a climb ahead), the cathedral, and the baptistery, then wander toward the Arno River and Borgo Stretto, the old arcaded shopping street. Grab a slice of cecina, a thin, crispy chickpea flatbread that’s Pisa’s favorite street snack.

Getting there: Regional trains run from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale in about an hour. From the station, it’s about a 25-minute walk or a short bus ride to the tower.

Lucca

Lucca is wrapped in some of the best-preserved Renaissance walls in Europe, and the town inside feels calm, elegant, and lived-in. It’s the birthplace of the composer Giacomo Puccini, and its squares and church facades are some of the prettiest in Tuscany.

Plan on 4 to 5 hours. Rent a bike and ride the tree-lined path on top of the walls, then see Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, an oval square built inside an old Roman amphitheater, and climb the Guinigi Tower, which has oak trees growing on its roof. Try tordelli lucchesi, a meat-filled pasta in ragù, and pick up buccellato, the town’s anise and raisin sweet bread.

Getting there: Regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella reach Lucca in about an hour and a half. The station is just outside the walls, a five-minute walk from town.

Siena

Siena is Florence’s old medieval rival, a city of red brick, steep lanes, and one of the most beautiful squares in the world. It’s large enough to fill a day but compact enough to see on foot, and it feels like stepping back several centuries.

Plan on 5 to 6 hours. Start in Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped square where the Palio horse race is run, then visit the striped cathedral with its inlaid marble floors. Order pici, thick hand-rolled pasta, for lunch, and take home panforte or ricciarelli, Siena’s famous spiced and almond sweets.

Getting there: The rapid bus from Florence to Siena takes about an hour and a quarter and drops you close to the center. Trains take about an hour and a half, but the station is down the hill, so the bus is usually easier.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano is the “medieval Manhattan” of Tuscany, a hilltop town still bristling with the stone towers its rich families built to show off. Around it are rolling vineyards, and in the soft evening light it’s one of the most beautiful sights in the region.

Three to four hours is enough, and it’s even better late in the day after the tour buses leave. Climb the Torre Grosa for the view and stroll the two main squares. Taste Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the town’s crisp white wine, and line up at Gelateria Dondoli for a champion gelato flavor like Crema di Santa Fina, made with saffron and pine nuts.

Getting there: Take a train or bus from Florence to Poggibonsi, then a local bus up to San Gimignano. The whole trip takes about an hour and a half to two hours.

Arezzo

Arezzo is a wealthy, unhurried Tuscan town with a sloping main square that ranks among the most beautiful in Italy. Fans of the film “Life Is Beautiful” will recognize its streets, and art lovers come for one of the great fresco cycles of the Renaissance.

Plan on 3 to 4 hours. See Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross frescoes in the Basilica of San Francesco (book ahead), then wander up to Piazza Grande and the cathedral. If you’re there on the first weekend of the month, the huge antiques fair fills the old town.

Getting there: Regional trains run from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Arezzo in about an hour. The old town is a gentle uphill walk from the station.

Pistoia

Pistoia is an easygoing small city with a gorgeous medieval cathedral square, and it gets only a fraction of Florence’s crowds. It’s a place to see everyday Tuscan life, with a busy morning market and excellent, inexpensive food.

Two to three hours covers the highlights. See the striped cathedral and baptistery on Piazza del Duomo, the colorful glazed frieze on the old Ospedale del Ceppo, and the underground tour of the old hospital’s tunnels. Pick up confetti di Pistoia, sugared almonds with a distinctive bumpy shell.

Getting there: Regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella reach Pistoia in about 40 to 50 minutes. The center is a short walk from the station.

Montecatini Terme and Montecatini Alto

Montecatini Terme is one of Italy’s classic spa towns, full of grand Liberty-style bathhouses and leafy parks. Above it on the hill sits Montecatini Alto, a tiny medieval village reached by a charming funicular built in 1898.

Plan on 3 to 4 hours, longer if you book a spa treatment. Stroll the park and the Tettuccio bathhouse, then ride the funicular up to Montecatini Alto for the view and an aperitivo in the little square. Buy a tin of cialde, the town’s thin, crisp almond wafers.

Getting there: Regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella reach Montecatini Terme in about 50 minutes. The funicular station is a short walk from the town center.

Cortona

Cortona clings to a steep hillside overlooking the Val di Chiana, and it became famous around the world through the book and film “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Long before that, it was an important Etruscan town, and its lanes still feel quiet and old.

Plan on 3 to 4 hours. See Fra Angelico’s Annunciation in the Diocesan Museum, the Etruscan finds in the MAEC museum, and the views from the top of town. Order a Chianina steak, from the famous white cattle raised in the valley below.

Getting there: Regional trains from Florence reach Camucia-Cortona in about an hour and a half, then a local bus or taxi takes you up the hill to the old town.

Ravenna

Ravenna was once the capital of the Western Roman Empire, and it holds the most dazzling early Christian and Byzantine mosaics in the world. Eight of its monuments are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and it’s also where Dante is buried.

Plan on 4 to 5 hours. See the glittering mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale and the tiny Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, then visit Dante’s tomb. For lunch, grab a piadina, the warm flatbread sandwich of the region.

Getting there: Trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella reach Ravenna in about 2 to 2½ hours, changing in Bologna or Faenza. The main sights are a short walk from the station.

Chianti

Between Florence and Siena lies Chianti, the famous wine country of vineyards, olive groves, cypress-lined roads, and small stone villages. It’s the Tuscany of postcards, and driving its winding back roads is half the fun.

Make it a full day, with an hour or two in each village. Start in Greve in Chianti, with its arcaded market square and the old Falorni butcher shop, then drive on to Panzano, where butcher Dario Cecchini serves big Tuscan meat lunches. Continue to Castellina and Radda, and book a tasting of Chianti Classico at a winery along the way, with a designated driver.

Getting there (by car): Greve in Chianti is about 45 minutes south of Florence on the SR222, the scenic road known as the Chiantigiana. The other villages are 15 to 30 minutes apart along the same route.

Val d’Orcia

The Val d’Orcia is the Tuscan landscape of your dreams, with rolling golden hills, lone cypress trees, and hilltop towns, and the whole valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s farther than most trips here, but it’s worth it for the scenery alone.

Make it a full day and pick two or three towns. Pienza is a perfect little Renaissance town famous for its pecorino cheese, Montepulciano is known for its Vino Nobile red wine, and Montalcino is home to Brunello, one of Italy’s greatest wines. Stop at the Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta, the tiny chapel framed by cypresses, for the classic photo.

Getting there (by car): Pienza and Montalcino are about an hour and three quarters to two hours south of Florence, past Siena. The towns are 20 to 30 minutes apart from each other.

Volterra

Volterra rises high on a windswept ridge, wrapped in Etruscan and medieval walls and looking out over a wide, empty landscape. It feels more remote and rugged than most Tuscan towns, and it’s known for its alabaster, which artisans still carve here.

Three to four hours is enough. Walk through the Etruscan Porta all’Arco gate, see the Roman theater, and visit the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum. Stop in an alabaster workshop to watch the carvers, and try a dish with wild boar or local truffles.

Getting there (by car): Volterra is about an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half southwest of Florence. Park in one of the lots outside the walls and walk in.

Monteriggioni

Monteriggioni is a tiny, perfectly round walled village on a hilltop, so striking that Dante described its towers in the Inferno. From the road it looks like a stone crown sitting on the hill.

Nobody needs more than about an hour here, so pair it with Siena or Chianti. Walk along the top of the walls for views over the vineyards, and have a glass of wine in the little main square.

Getting there (by car): Monteriggioni is about 50 minutes south of Florence on the Florence–Siena highway. Park in the lot below the walls and walk up.