I am travelling to Italy next week for the first time (can't believe it!) and trying to decide on a day trip from Florence. Was hoping for Siena but 1.5h in the train twice might be too much for my toddler.
Which would you recommend - Bologna, Arezzo, or Fiesole??
It is about an hour by bus to Siena and that would be my choice as it drops you right in the center of the old town.
We did a day trip to Bologna this fall and I loved it but there were a lot of train disruptions and we spent over an hour waiting for a train in both Florence and then again in Bologna and the train station is a good bit from the historic center (no problem for able bodied adult but a hassle with a toddler). It is not closer or faster than Siena.
Fiesole is a suburb of Florence. You just take a local bus. I have never seen the charm. We did enjoy an opera in their amphitheater once and that was nice.
Siena is a lovely day trip and I think the most unique out of the options. The bus is the easiest option.
Bologna is 30 minutes on the fast train and is a large, bustling university city but has a great piazza and fair amount to explore for a day. Via Indipendenza is wide, colonnaded shopping street that you can walk from the train station to downtown, but depending on how much walking you do or don't want to do you could also taxi to Piazza del Nettuno and start from there. (Bologna train station is larger and more complex than most Italian train stations so allow extra time.)
Arezzo is an interesting mix of newer, modern Italy on the flat near the train station blending eventually into the ancient city at the top of the hill where the cathedral and Medici fortress - now mostly a park - reside. It has a great piazza and while it lacks blockbuster sights it is interesting and less touristy than Siena. It has many restaurants and cafes on the tiny side streets and alleys. The final few blocks up to the very top of the hill can be steep.
Fiesole is the only place I haven't been, but by all descriptions it can be a quiet place to stay outside of Florence but not much of a day trip destination.
My $.02,
=Tod
Thanks so much for the feedback! Much appreciated. I think Siena is calling :-)
