Day trip from Florence - suggestions?

Posted by Charlotte 72 (San Francisco Bay area ) on 02/16/26 12:59 AM

I'm spending 8 days in Florence at the end of March. Would like to venture out of town for a day or one night, using public transportation or a day tour that includes transportation. There are so many wonderful possibilities. Recommendations?

Are there wonderful day tours? Or the #1 place i shouldn't miss while in the area? The only limitation is that lots of stairs and long hard walking won't work yet with my new knee. Interested in art museums, archaeology, palaces and homes showing past lifestyles, architecture, gardens, wine and good food. ,And window shopping ... Maybe wine and good food should go first on the list :-) Thank you for your suggestions!

Posted by ChinaLake67

NorthCarolina

02/16/26 01:38 AM

1239 posts

We used WalkAboutFlorence for 2 day trips and we loved them - check out their BEST OF TUSCANY tour and their CHIANTI WINE & FOOD SAFARI tour.

Posted by ChristineH

Gettysburg PA

02/16/26 03:32 AM

8913 posts

Lucca is flat and easy to walk around.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

02/16/26 07:31 AM

1924 posts

Top recommendation is always Siena, however Siena does have some real ups and downs to it. But it is a great day trip. Easily accessible by bus and train. Bus drops you more in town so if you take the train consider a taxi to minimize the walking to and from the train station.

As mentioned Lucca is a small medieval town surrounded by walkable walls and is flat. Some interesting churches, music centric activities and some shopping. There are a couple of wanderable palazzos in Lucca - most notably Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi which is interesting but not a blockbuster. Reachable by train - easy but about 1:15 on the slow train. Can be paired with Pisa for a long day.

Bologna is 30 minutes by fast train and while another large city very different than Florence. Long colonnaded streets, interesting archaeological museum, and great markets as it considered to the food center of Italy.

Verona is 1:30 on the fast train and an outlier but the center is completely flat, pedestrian, great shopping district, Roman gates. an intact Roman arena and theater (still in use) archaeological museum. Although the museum is sprawling above the theater and requires a fair amount of up and down. It has a very strolling, cafe culture vibe. Take a bus or a taxi 8 minutes to Piazza Bra from the station.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Posted by Charlotte 72 OP

San Francisco Bay area

02/17/26 06:27 AM

4 posts

These are great suggestions. Thank you!

Posted by june

West Chester PA

02/19/26 02:31 PM

142 posts

Some of my favorite day trips from Florence over the years....Greve, Assisi, Arezzo (especially when there is the antique market), Viareggio (go there for a beach day quite often), Fiesole (a short bus ride outside of Florence), Orvietto. All by train...except Greve (bus or drive)
.

Last visit I joined an all day tour for wine tasting with "Getyourguide" and loved it! visited 3 wineries and had a lovely lunch.
Lots of options...enjoy planning a wonderful trip!