Florence sits at the heart of Tuscany and on Italy's high-speed rail network, which makes it one of the best bases in the country for day trips. Within an hour or two you can reach the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the magnificent medieval city of Siena, the towered skyline of San Gimignano, the vineyards of Chianti, the walled charm of Lucca and even the cliff-clinging villages of the Cinque Terre. Here are the best excursions, with travel times, transport advice and tips on doing each one well.
Train €9+Pisa
Area
80 km west
Distance
1 hour
“Trains run from Firenze SMN every 30 minutes — half a day is plenty for the Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli.”
Bus €9+Siena
Area
70 km south
Distance
1h 15
“Take the direct SITA bus rather than the train — it drops you closer to the centre. Don't miss the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo.”
Bus/tourSan Gimignano
Area
60 km southwest
Distance
1h 30
“The 'Manhattan of the Middle Ages' — 14 medieval towers on a hill; often combined with Siena and Chianti on a tour.”
Tour €80+Chianti Wine Country
Area
South of Florence
Distance
1 hour
“The classic Tuscan wine day — the SR222 'Chiantigiana' road links Greve, Panzano, Radda and Castellina; go with a tour or driver to taste freely.”
Train €8+Lucca
Area
80 km west
Distance
1h 20
“Rent a bike and cycle the fully intact Renaissance walls that ring the city — a lovely, relaxed and less-touristy Tuscan town.”
Train €30+Cinque Terre
Area
180 km northwest
Distance
2.5 hours
“A long but doable day by train — the five cliff villages are linked by a scenic coastal railway; buy a Cinque Terre card for the trains and trails.”
Day trips from Florence in detail
1.Pisa
Pisa is the most popular and accessible day trip from Florence, an easy hour away by frequent regional train, and while it is often dismissed as a quick photo stop, the extraordinary ensemble of the Piazza dei Miracoli genuinely rewards a visit. This broad green square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the edge of the old city, gathers four dazzling white-marble Romanesque monuments together: the famous Leaning Tower, the cathedral's freestanding bell tower which began to tilt during construction in the twelfth century because of soft, unstable ground and now leans at a gravity-defying angle; the beautiful striped Duomo itself, one of the finest cathedrals in Italy; the vast, acoustically astonishing circular Baptistery; and the Camposanto, the monumental walled cemetery said to hold soil brought back from the Holy Land. You can climb the Leaning Tower via a booked, timed ticket for the novelty of ascending its tilting spiral staircase and the view from the top, though numbers are limited so it pays to reserve ahead. Beyond the famous square, Pisa is a real, lively university city with an attractive riverfront along the Arno, medieval streets and squares, and good, cheap student-oriented eating, so it is worth walking into the centre rather than only seeing the tower. Half a day is ample for most visitors: take a morning train, do the piazza and perhaps the tower climb and a wander into town, and be back in Florence by afternoon. It combines easily with nearby Lucca on a longer day out. For the iconic tower photo and a cluster of world-class monuments with minimal effort, Pisa is the obvious choice.
Hours
Half-day trip; tower & cathedral ~09:00–19:00 (seasonal, timed tower climb)
Price
Regional return from ~€18; tower climb ~€20
Getting there
Frequent regional trains from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale (~1h), then a 20-minute walk or bus to the tower
Insider tip: Trains run from Firenze SMN every 30 minutes — half a day is plenty for the Leaning Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli.
2.Siena
Siena is the great rival to Florence and, for many visitors, the most beautiful medieval city in Tuscany, a perfectly preserved hill town whose glory days as a banking and artistic power ended when plague and Florentine conquest froze it in time — to our lasting benefit. Its heart is the Piazza del Campo, one of the finest squares in Europe, a vast sloping shell-shaped space of warm brick that fans out from the soaring Palazzo Pubblico and its slender Torre del Mangia bell tower, and which twice each summer becomes the arena for the Palio, the thrilling bareback horse race between the city's ancient contrade (districts) that is the fierce, beating heart of Sienese identity. A short climb away rises the Duomo, one of the most spectacular cathedrals in Italy, a striped confection of black and white marble crammed with treasures: an intricate inlaid marble floor, a pulpit by Nicola Pisano, frescoes by Pinturicchio in the Piccolomini Library, and works by Donatello and Michelangelo. Beyond these headline sights, Siena rewards simply wandering its steep, atmospheric medieval lanes, exploring the Gothic churches and the Santa Maria della Scala museum, and sampling local specialities like panforte and pici pasta with a glass of Chianti. It deserves a full day: take the direct coach, which is faster than the train and drops you nearer the centre, arrive in the morning, and give yourself time to climb the tower, tour the cathedral and soak up the Campo over lunch before returning in the evening. Siena is the essential Tuscan companion to Florence, and one of the highlights of any trip to the region.
Hours
Full-day trip; cathedral ~10:00–19:00 (seasonal); Campo always open
Price
Bus or train return from ~€18; cathedral ~€8–16
Getting there
Direct SITA/Tiemme coach from Florence to Siena (~1h15, drops near the centre); trains are slower and involve a walk uphill
Insider tip: Take the direct SITA bus rather than the train — it drops you closer to the centre. Don't miss the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo.
3.San Gimignano
San Gimignano is one of the most striking sights in Tuscany, a tiny, perfectly preserved medieval walled town crowning a hill amid the vineyards and cypresses of the Val d'Elsa, and famous above all for its skyline of tall stone towers. In the Middle Ages the town's wealthy families competed to build ever-higher tower-houses as symbols of status and power, and at the peak there were some seventy of them; fourteen survive today, giving the small hilltop settlement an astonishing, almost modern silhouette that has earned it the nickname the 'Manhattan of the Middle Ages' and a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Within its walls, the town is a delight to explore on foot: interconnected piazzas paved in brick, the Collegiata church with vivid fresco cycles, the civic museum in the Palazzo Comunale, and the tallest tower, the Torre Grossa, which you can climb for a sweeping view over the terracotta roofs and the surrounding wine country. San Gimignano is also the home of Vernaccia, a crisp white wine that is one of Tuscany's finest, best enjoyed in a local enoteca, and the town's central square boasts a multi-award-winning gelateria that draws long queues. Because it is small and compact, half a day is enough to see the highlights, though its beauty and atmosphere reward lingering, especially once the day-trippers leave in the late afternoon. It has no direct rail link, so it is most easily reached by car or, very popularly, as part of an organised day tour from Florence that typically combines it with Siena and a Chianti vineyard, making an excellent full day out. For medieval atmosphere, unforgettable towers and superb wine, San Gimignano is a Tuscan gem.
Hours
Half/full-day trip; town always open, sights ~10:00–18:00
Price
By car, bus (via Poggibonsi) or organised tour; town entry free
Getting there
No direct train; take a train or bus to Poggibonsi then a connecting bus (~1h30 total), or join a Tuscany day tour
Insider tip: The 'Manhattan of the Middle Ages' — 14 medieval towers on a hill; often combined with Siena and Chianti on a tour.
4.Chianti Wine Country
The Chianti region, the swathe of gorgeous countryside rolling south from Florence toward Siena, is the archetypal Tuscan landscape — corrugated hills striped with vineyards and silvery olive groves, lines of dark cypress trees, honey-stone farmhouses and hilltop villages, all producing the famous Chianti Classico wine marked by its black-rooster seal. A day exploring it is one of the most rewarding and relaxing escapes from the city, a chance to swap art and crowds for wine, food and glorious scenery. The classic route is the SR222, the Chiantigiana road, which winds through the heart of the region linking a string of appealing wine towns: Greve in Chianti, with its funnel-shaped market square and famous butcher; nearby Panzano, home to the celebrity butcher Dario Cecchini; and the more refined, quieter villages of Radda and Castellina in Chianti, each with medieval centres, enoteche and sweeping views. Scattered through the hills are countless wineries and estates, from grand historic castles to small family producers, most of which welcome visitors by appointment for tours of the cellars and vineyards and, of course, tastings paired with local cheese, salami, olive oil and bread. Because tasting wine and driving do not mix, the best ways to experience Chianti are to join one of the many organised wine tours from Florence, which handle the driving and arrange winery visits and often a Tuscan lunch, or to hire a car with a designated driver. Either way, allow a full, unhurried day. For wine lovers, food lovers and anyone wanting to see the postcard Tuscan countryside up close, a day in Chianti is an absolute highlight of a Florence trip.
Hours
Full-day trip; wineries by appointment/tour
Price
Guided wine tours ~€80–150 incl. tastings; car hire an alternative
Getting there
Best by car or organised wine tour along the SR222 Chiantigiana; ~1 hour to the heart of the region
Insider tip: The classic Tuscan wine day — the SR222 'Chiantigiana' road links Greve, Panzano, Radda and Castellina; go with a tour or driver to taste freely.
5.Lucca
Lucca is one of the most charming and relaxed cities in Tuscany, and a delightful, less-hectic alternative to the region's busier stars, easily reached from Florence by regional train. Its defining feature is its walls: Lucca is completely encircled by a magnificent, fully intact ring of Renaissance ramparts, broad and tree-lined, which have been turned into an elevated linear park that loops right around the old city — and the quintessential Lucca experience is to hire a bicycle and cycle or stroll the entire four-kilometre circuit, looking down over the rooftops on one side and out to the surrounding countryside and mountains on the other. Within the walls, the compact historic centre is a joy to wander on foot or by bike, a maze of narrow medieval streets, handsome churches and lovely squares, the most remarkable of which is the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, an oval ring of houses built directly on the foundations of a Roman amphitheatre, whose shape it perfectly preserves. Other highlights include the striped Romanesque façade of the Duomo di San Martino, the Guinigi Tower crowned improbably with holm-oak trees growing at its top (climbable for a view), and the birthplace of the composer Giacomo Puccini, celebrated with a festival and museum. Because it is less overrun than Pisa or Siena and has a genuine, lived-in local atmosphere, Lucca is a relaxing and rewarding place to spend a half or full day, ideal for a gentler, more leisurely taste of Tuscany. It combines very easily with Pisa, just twenty minutes away by train, for a full day seeing both. For cycling the walls, easy charm and an unhurried pace, Lucca is a lovely choice.
Hours
Half/full-day trip; walls and streets always open, sights ~10:00–18:00
Price
Regional return from ~€16; bike hire ~€4/hour
Getting there
Regional train from Firenze SMN to Lucca (~1h20, often via Pisa or direct); the station is a short walk from the walls
Insider tip: Rent a bike and cycle the fully intact Renaissance walls that ring the city — a lovely, relaxed and less-touristy Tuscan town.
6.Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre — the 'Five Lands' — are among the most photographed and beloved places in Italy, a string of five tiny, impossibly picturesque fishing villages clinging to the steep, terraced cliffs of the rugged Ligurian coast, their tightly packed houses painted in cheerful pastel shades of pink, yellow and ochre tumbling down to little harbours and the deep-blue Mediterranean. Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, all part of a protected national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site, are linked by a scenic coastal railway that threads through tunnels and pops out at each village, as well as by boats in season and by a network of famous, sometimes challenging hiking trails that wind along the clifftops and through the vineyard terraces, offering breathtaking sea views. From Florence it is a long day — roughly two and a half hours each way by train, usually changing at Pisa or Genoa for La Spezia and the local Cinque Terre line — so it is the most distant of the popular day trips and makes for a full, early-start-to-late-return outing, but the payoff is spectacular. The best approach is to buy a Cinque Terre Card, which covers unlimited local train journeys between the villages and access to the maintained walking trails, hop between two or three of the villages by train rather than trying to see all five, walk a stretch of coastal path if you are up for it, swim from Monterosso's beach or Vernazza's little harbour, and eat fresh seafood, pesto (a Ligurian invention) and fried anchovies with a glass of local white wine. Given the distance, many visitors prefer an organised tour to handle the logistics. It is a long haul, but for dramatic coastal scenery unlike anything else within reach of Florence, the Cinque Terre are unforgettable.
Hours
Full-day trip; villages always open, trails daylight hours
Price
Train from ~€30 each way; Cinque Terre Card ~€18–33 for trains and trails
Getting there
Train from Firenze SMN to La Spezia (~2h15, often via Pisa), then the local Cinque Terre line linking the five villages
Insider tip: A long but doable day by train — the five cliff villages are linked by a scenic coastal railway; buy a Cinque Terre card for the trains and trails.