Top Day Trips From Florence Without A Car
Since moving to Florence, I have received a lot of emails asking for suggestions for day trips from those travelling without a car. I always advise using Florence as a base because the trains and buses make it very easy to visit other cities.
Florence is also closely located to many beautiful towns to explore during a day trip. Of course, there are many cities that I would suggest an overnight stay, such as Rome or Venice, but you can get a glimpse of them during a day trip from Florence too.
All of my top picks for practical day trips from Florence take about an hour to an hour and a half to arrive at the destination. This allows one with limited time to really get a feel for the new city without arriving tired after a long journey. I have also made all of these trips by bus or train when family and friends have visited so I know they are all quite doable.
See Pisa Here
Pisa
The fastest train to Pisa will take 49 minutes to arrive from Florence. The walk to Piazza dei Miracoli, where you will find the Leaning Tower, Baptistery and Cathedral will take about 25 minutes. It is basically a straight walk, but allow more time to enjoy the stroll, visit Knight’s Square, which is the second main square in Pisa and stop for a coffee. To see a video I made during a recent trip, click here.
See Siena Here
Siena
Siena is easily reached by bus from Florence in 1 hour and 15 minutes. The Sita Bus station is located at Via Santa Caterina da Siena, 15/17, near Santa Maria Novella train station. The official site for Sita bus is here and the current bus schedule is here.
Major sites to see are Piazza del Campo, Torre del Mangia, Palazzo Pubblico, Facciatone which provides a great view when climbed, The Baptistry and of course, The Cathedral in which I highly recommend a gates of heaven tour. It was amazing! A video I shot from a prior visit during a gates of heaven tour is here.
Siena is filled with lots of shops to explore and this will also take up a lot of time if you are like me and drawn to walk into every store that tempts you!
See Lucca Here
Lucca
Lucca, the city of 100 churches, takes 1 hour and 20 minutes by train to arrive from Florence. Major sites are: Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, The Guinigi Tower, Cattedrale di San Martino, Basilica of San Frediano, and San Michele in Foro. Be sure to make time for a lovely stroll along the walls of the centre and visit the many upscale shops. To see a video I shot during a recent visit to Lucca click here.
On the 3rd weekend of every month, Lucca hosts an antique market. There are lots of treasures at this market! To see a video of the antique market in Lucca that I made, click here.
See Greve in Chianti Here
Greve in Chianti
Get a taste of the Tuscan countryside in Greve in Chianti! A definite must when visiting Tuscany. The bus ride to Greve in Chianti is only 55 minutes from Florence and the current schedule is here. There are many wineries to visit in Chianti and Piazza Matteteotti is a wonderful square that hosts the famous Macelleria Falorni which is prusicutto heaven. To see a video of this museum of food I made, click here.
If you visit during the second weekend in September there is an annual wine festival in the square. Before I moved to Italy, I had even planned trips around the wine festival. It is really that fun! To see my video from a wine festival click here.
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