Best day trips from Florence by train and bus

Florence sits in the middle of Tuscany, and the region's most famous towns are a train or bus ride away: the Gothic city of the Palio, the Leaning Tower, a town inside intact Renaissance walls, the medieval "Manhattan" of towers and the wine hills between Florence and Siena. The short answer: Siena is the best single day trip, Pisa and Lucca combine well into one day by train, San Gimignano is the most picturesque but harder to reach, and the Chianti is a day for a car or a tour. Fiesole, on the hill above Florence, is the easy half day.

Day trips from Florence at a glance

Times are typical connections from the centre of Florence; trains leave from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, most regional buses from the bus station next to it. They change with the timetable, so check the day before.

Siena: the city of the Palio

How to get there: express buses of Autolinee Toscane run from Florence to Siena in about 1 hour 15 minutes and stop close to the old town. Regional trains take about 1 hour 30 minutes; Siena station lies below the town, and escalators lead up towards the centre.

What to see: the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, one of the most beautiful squares in Italy, where the Palio horse race is held twice each summer; the Palazzo Pubblico with Ambrogio Lorenzetti's frescoes of Good and Bad Government; the Torre del Mangia, which you can climb; and the Cathedral, with its striped marble, the inlaid marble floor and the Piccolomini Library. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How long: a full day.

Best for: Gothic architecture, art, anyone who wants a medieval city with real life in it.

Pisa and Lucca in one day

How to get there: regional trains run from Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale in about an hour. From Pisa Centrale, it is a walk of about 25 minutes or a short bus ride to the Piazza dei Miracoli; the smaller Pisa San Rossore station is closer. Lucca is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Florence on another line, and only about 30 minutes from Pisa by train, so the classic plan is Florence – Pisa – Lucca – Florence.

What to see in Pisa: the Piazza dei Miracoli with the Leaning Tower, the Cathedral, the round Baptistery and the Camposanto, a monumental cemetery – a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can climb the tower only with a timed ticket, sold on the official website of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana.

What to see in Lucca: the 16th-century city walls, intact all the way round and topped by a tree-lined path that you can walk or cycle; the oval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, built on the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre; the white façade of San Michele in Foro; and the Guinigi Tower with oak trees growing on top. Lucca is also the home town of Giacomo Puccini.

How long: a full day for both; Pisa alone takes about half a day.

Best for: first-time visitors who want the tower photo, cyclists, a relaxed afternoon in Lucca.

San Gimignano: the town of towers

How to get there: take a bus or regional train from Florence to Poggibonsi, about an hour, then a local bus up to San Gimignano, about 20 to 25 minutes. The connections don't always fit well, so plan the return before you go.

What to see: San Gimignano kept more than a dozen of the tall towers that rich families built in the Middle Ages, and from a distance it looks like a medieval skyline. Inside: the Piazza della Cisterna and Piazza del Duomo, the Collegiata with its frescoed walls and the Torre Grossa, the tallest tower, which you can climb. The local white wine is Vernaccia di San Gimignano. The historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

How long: half a day in town; with the journey, a full day.

Best for: photographers, wine, Tuscan hill towns. Because the connection is awkward, many visitors take a tour that combines San Gimignano with Siena or a Chianti winery; tours to San Gimignano^* can be compared on Viator.

Chianti: wine villages between Florence and Siena

How to get there: buses of Autolinee Toscane run from Florence to Greve in Chianti in about an hour; beyond Greve, buses are thin. By car, Florence to Greve is 29 km and about 33 minutes of pure driving time; a loop through Greve, Radda and Castellina in Chianti on to Siena is about 82 km and 1 hour 47 minutes of driving. Plan about a third more for curves, villages and stops.

What to see: the Chianti Classico area is a landscape of vineyards, olive groves, cypress-lined roads and stone villages. Greve has a triangular market square with arcades; Panzano, Radda and Castellina are smaller hill villages; between them lie wine estates where you can book tastings.

How long: a full day.

Best for: wine, landscapes, a slow day. If you want to taste wine, don't drive: a small-group tour with transport is the sensible option, and tours can be compared on Viator.

Fiesole: the hill above Florence

How to get there: city bus 7 runs from the centre of Florence up to the main square of Fiesole in about 25 minutes.

What to see: Fiesole is older than Florence: an Etruscan and then Roman town on the hill to the north-east. The archaeological area has a Roman theatre that is still used for summer performances, as well as baths and an Etruscan temple. A steep lane leads up to the monastery of San Francesco, with one of the best views over Florence and the Duomo.

How long: half a day; it is ideal for a late afternoon and sunset.

Best for: views, a quiet break from the crowded centre.

Train, bus, car or tour?

For Pisa, Lucca and Siena, public transport is simple and cheap; you don't need a tour. For San Gimignano and the Chianti, the choice is between a rental car and a tour: a car gives freedom, a tour lets you taste wine and saves the parking in towns where the centre is closed to traffic. Most Tuscan old towns have ZTL zones, restricted traffic areas where driving in without a permit leads to a fine; park outside. Regional train tickets don't need to be booked in advance; high-speed trains to Bologna or Rome^* can be compared on Omio.

How many day trips fit into a Florence trip?

With two or three days, stay in Florence: the Uffizi, the Duomo, the Accademia and the Oltrarno fill them. From four days, one trip fits – Siena, or Pisa and Lucca. With five days or more, add San Gimignano or a Chianti day. Our article how many days in Florence explains the split. If you travel on to Rome, see our article on day trips from Rome.

How YesTrip helps you plan

YesTrip has a ready-made plan for Florence. With one tap you copy it into the app, add a day for Siena or Pisa and Lucca and put in your hotel. The app shows the weather for your travel days, which helps to pick a clear day for the Chianti, and with the offline package you have the map of Florence and the surroundings without a connection. YesTrip is free.

Florence trip planDay by day, with map and tips

Want more than a day trip? Our 7-day Tuscany itinerary links these towns with the Val d'Orcia.

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