A few days solo after Florence. Where to go?

Barcelona direct on Vueling?

Thanks for the idea. Barcelona is on the list of places above where I’d rather not go this time, since I’ve been there.

Nice, Provence/Southern France?

Venice.
History in all three of your categories.

Both intriguing possibilities! Is Provence easy to navigate without a car?

Is Provence easy to navigate without a car?

Actually not really- sorry missed that.

I don't think flights from Florence to Nice are too good either. You could train to Nice along the coast- 6-7 hours- stay there the whole time and fly home from there (probably via Paris).
Or a few days in Nice then train to Arles, Marseilles, Avignon... from there train to Pairs for a flight home. Probably too much moving about.

We had a car for our 4 nights in St-Remy then dropped it in Arles 2 nights and took train to Nice 4 nights.
We liked Arles a lot, didn't care much for Avignon. Enjoyed Nice very much- would go back.

If you haven't been to Venice that's a very good and easy choice. Bologna is a good base as well- Padua, Ferarra, Verona, Ravenna, etc. As long as you are in Italy maybe stay there and explore further? We were just there same time last fall- it was lovely weather.

Greece? ( no direct flight a deal breaker?)

Not big on medieval history, but a lot of water around it.

South of France is easily traveled by train. Or take a ferry from Ancona to Spilt. From Split there are many places to visit by bus. But 4-5 days isn’t really adequate time to see much if you are spending a lot of time getting to your destination.

Agree with S J about Venice. While it isn't in another country, it is relatively close so you will minimize the amount of time lost in transit. It also checks the box for your special interest. Venice is also a one of kind city and experience that one remembers forever. We've been several times and can't wait to return.

How about Slovenia?

I love Slovenia! That’s a possibility. I’d also thought about Greece, but after an intense week of business meetings I think I will want somewhere that’s a little more straightforward to reach.

I am definitely willing to consider staying in Italy. A couple of other places that had occurred to me are Puglia and Lake Como for scenery and relaxation. I’ve always wanted to go to Sardinia but I gather you really need a car there and I don’t know how October would be.

I thought about the Lyon/Beaune area of France, also.

Is acqua alta a big concern in Venice that time of year?

Flights would be the determining factor since there are hundreds of good options— what gives you the most of your five days?

I love train travel and much prefer it to flights so train would be my first choice. A day of downtime on the train with a good book and some pretty scenery to look at sounds appealing, honestly.

When I visited Slovenia I took a car service from the Venice mainland so that’s a possibility too.

But you have to fly home, right? I mean both ends of the travel, but the limit of 8-9 hours by train does help narrow it down. The thing is, that might be a direct train, or a slog of a day with several transfers. Many of the places in discussion are a flight away.
I suggest the Emilia Romagna area—a snap to get to, great for fall, tons of history, great day trips by train. Turin is also on my city-break list.
If you can fly out of Ancona, Urbino in Marche might be interesting. You could combine with some coastal time en route from Urbino to Ancona.

Oh, got it. I’ll look at Emilia-Romagna and that area. One train change is ok, two or more would be a pain.

Trieste?
Croatia? Easier now they are part of Schengen.

Definitely Venice as others have suggested and it is an easy train ride from Florence.

If Venice, you could add a day or 2 in Ravenna.

From Florence, train (the fast one) is really quick to Bologna. Bologna is an amazing city - we thought it would be somewhat industrial but found the old part of it amazing - lots of history and interesting walking town with their covered/arcade style sidewalks. Train travel to any of the famous Emilia-Romagna towns from Bologna is also really easy. Make Bologna your base staying within an easy walk to the train station for nice day trips to towns like Modena, Ferreira, Parma & Ravina (a bit further than other towns but a great town). Flying out of Bologna is also easy.