Day trip from Florence : Lucca or Cortona

faye,

Another possibility would be a day trip to Siena, as it's easily accessible by Florence (about one hour by Bus each way if you use the Corse Rapide express bus). The Bus will drop you in the centre of town, rather than the bottom of the hill where the station is located, so it's a bit easier. Siena is a beautiful and historic hill town and absolutely worth a visit (IMO). If you happen to be visiting there during the Palio, you might choose another location as it will be crowded and hectic (unless of course you enjoy the crowds).

Lucca and Cortona are also worthwhile. Which one to visit will depend on which one sounds most appealing to you. One point to mention about Cortona is that you'll have to allow time for the Bus ride up the hill from the station (about 15 minutes each way, as I recall). Also, there are two rail stations serving Cortona, Camucia and Terontola. You'll need to know that when you buy tickets (I prefer Camucia). The trains from Florence will probably be Regionale, so DON'T forget to validate!

If you decide to visit Cortona, post another note and I'll add a few other tips.

Lucca and Cortona are in two different directions. Travel time to Cortona is about 30 minutes longer as you need to take a bus or taxi up to the town from the train station. Fares are a few Euro more to Cortona as well. Both cities have walls but Lucca is not really a hilltown. Cortona is. Lucca has nice outdoor cafes, restaurants and nice shops. Cortona, IMHO, is more of a real Tuscan hilltown. It has an earlier Etruscan history as well. It's really your choice on this one.

Thanks Ken and Larry for your advice. Ken, I am leaning toward Cortona and would love some tips. I have already been to Siena and LOVED it.... since I'm staying in Florence I wanted to visit a smaller town with a more Tuscan feel. I have no problem taking the bus and the added time to get there.

We stayed in Lucca, a beautiful walled city, with lots to see and a high tower to climb, lovely churches, and great food, stroll or bike on the walls around the city. You can get there by train from Florence, we took train to Florence from Lucca. I love Lucca as a small medival town with real people going about their business. There is a market and an antique fair on some Sundays.

We liked Lucca for a nice day trip from Florence. Rode bikes on the wall, wandered around, nice lunch, checked out the Pucciniobilia. When returning to station for train back to Florence, we spotted easy connections to Pisa and hopped on board. We had been to Pisa before, but easily took a bus to and from the tower area/ train station and got back to Florence at a pretty reasonable hour. It was a fun day and not overly taxing.

I liked both Lucca and Cortona. Definitely both are different in feel and experience. Lucca as others have said is a walled city and with less of a Tuscan feel. But the walls themselves are a feature and provide great walking and biking. And no cars within most of the walled city. Lucca's Roman origins are still there in the layout of the old city and the large piazza that follows the footstep of the Roman ampitheatre. Also consider a tour of Tuscan villas (see http://goitaly.about.com/od/lucca/ss/Lucca-villas-and-gardens.htm) for a different side of Tuscany.

Cortona, and this is just my opinion, has a more touristy feel - not surprising given it is the setting for Under the Tuscan Sun. It's a pleasant town to wander around with a couple of nice churches with some good paintings. Some lovely views over the countryside and, of course, trying to find the villa that features in Under the Tuscan Sun.

Personally I would head for Lucca - I really liked it and hope to make it back there one day.

Thanks everyone for your tips. We'll be in Lucca for the 3rd Sunday in May so it sounds like we'll be there for the antique market!

faye,

Just to confirm, have you decided on Lucca or Cortona?

@ken, haven't really decided. :-) I keep going back and forth. I would love to hear your suggestions for Cortona.