Day Trip Must See Before You Die, Florence

Just before you die?
I will give you three options:
One
Two
Three

Roberto!! What a sense of humor!! Right in time for Halloween! But I rather agree. I could pick out my plot, pay for it, die and get buried in Italy!

Hmmm... Well I'd say some of the most stunning artwork I've seen in Italy were the 1500 year old Byzantine Mosaics in Ravenna, and other Early Christian Mosaics around the city, all naturally UNESCO World Heritage Sites

It's about 1:50 hr trip driving or around 2 hrs via train to Bologna - https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Florence-Italy/Ravenna

Will you have a car, or traveling by public transportation?

Consider going to Orvieto, Assisi, Spello, Montefalco, and Bevagna from Arezzo.

Possible day trips from Florence: Ravenna, Lucca, Pistoia, Bologna.

Wishing you a wonderful trip!

No car. I will rely on trains/buses. I've been to Oriveto- so glad I saw it before I die.

Thank you all, guess I can't go wrong with anything I choose, right, I mean it's Italy.

Thank you. I'm going to Pompeii. I would like ideas for a day trip from Florence.

Hopefully you won't be dying in the near future! There are lots of places in "day trip range" from Florence. What are you interested in most seeing?

I spent a solo week in Florence last November. It was my second trip there, so I had some time to venture out. But I also wanted to go to places either 1) my husband wasn't super interested in seeing when we return or 2) I wouldn't mind seeing a second time. The Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna was my choice. I LOVED that day trip and didn't mind the train journey at all. It was 30 minutes on a high-speed train to Bologna and then about 1:15 to Ravenna via a local train. Scenery was fine and train was almost empty.

The tourist area of Ravenna is tiny - you can walk end to end in about 20 minutes. I bought the Mosaici pass which you can find here: https://www.ravennamosaici.it/en/ . It's under 10E for nearly all the sites - I think I paid maybe 1E to see one not on the list. Because I went the week before Thanksgiving, the city was super quiet. Bring change for pay toilets - there aren't a ton of public restrooms in Ravenna.

I had a wonderful day, shot some wonderful photos, and wouldn't mind going back on a future trip. It's truly underrated as a tourist destination, but it's probably better that way.

How about a day trip to.........Florence? Florence is full of so many terrific things to see that would warrant a day trip if they were in any other place instead than being overshadowed by the Uffizi, Duomo, David, etc.

Palazzo Davanzati --- 14th century building that was the home of various families and is full of interesting homey things.

The Benozzo Gozzoli chapel, the mid-15th century Cappella dei Magi in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi

Bardini museum

San Miniato church up the hill from Piazzale Michelangelo

British Institute Library to read books about the 1966 flood of Florence or anything else that interests you

Museo Archeologico Nazionale

Ospedale degli Innocenti museum

....and lots more, such as all the churches containing art works still in place.

I've already spent six weeks in Florence (with only two half-day trips elsewhere) and would very much love to go back before I die!

Lucca is one of my favorites. Very relaxing, you can walk or bike along the wall.

You could combine Lucca and Pistoia as they're on the same train line. There are lots of interesting sights in both towns, with Pistoia being the less touristy of the two.

Since you have no car, Pistoia, Bologna, Pisa+Lucca are easy to reach by train.
While in Arezzo, if you are staying long enough, you can visit Cortona.

Pistoia and Lucca are my favorites of the above, but Bologna has a beautiful monumental cemetery at the Certosa, in case you get really interested in “necrotourism”, after my earlier suggestions in Florence. You are there for Halloween after all.

Thank you everyone! What am I interested in? History, textiles, lovely old buildings. Not very interested in wine tasting. It sounds like Ravenna may be a winner. Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
Roberto: Yes I will be there Halloween, but I can't find any events. Do people dress up and trick or treat like in the States? I did see one event, but it seemed geared toward college age and young-ish adults.
Best wishes to everyone!
I know I will have a wonderful time thanks you to all.

San Gimignano, Tarquinia

I don’t know much about Halloween in Italy.
It was totally unknown when I was growing up there. The first time I ever heard of the word Halloween was because of John Carpenter’s movie by the same name in the late 1970’s, which was reasonably successful in Italy at the time.
The spirit of Halloween has become popular in Italy, including the practice of trick or treat (“dolcetto or scherzetto” in Italian) only in this century, long after I moved to the US.
I don’t know if there are events anywhere going on, because that is not a time I generally visit Italy. But if you search online by googling EVENTI HALLOWEEN + NAME OF REGION OR CITY I’m sure something will come up.

I don't know anything about Halloween celebrations, but we just got back from Rome and Florence and the McCafe(McDonald's) in Florence was selling Halloween cookies.

If you like quiet and contemplative(amid the crowds in Florence), Museo San Marco in Florence has beautiful frescoes by Fra Angelico that he painted on the walls of the individual monk's cells. This was our 4th trip to Rome and Florence and we took a Walks of Italy Food Tour in Florence that took us to a part of Florence that we had not been to before-Santo Spirito. The church on the square there had beautiful music around 4:45 onSat-I think it was choir practice.

Don’t forget about the American Cemetry just 7 miles outside of Firenze, imagine Arlington in a Tuscan valley and that is how beautiful and humbling the cemetry is. American soldiers that were killed north of Rome are buried there and the iconic white crosses in rows shine brightly in the Tuscan sun. There is also a bus ride from Firenze to Fiesole, which is a fabulous little town high in the hills. At sunset, it is breathtaking. Deciding where to visit is always the issue, there are so many fabulous places!

Meanwhile, back in Florence: another vote for Palazzo Davanzati, for history, textiles, and lovely old buildings. Somewhere in the middle of the home, there is a room with many panels and drawers full of old textiles; pull out one drawer after another to admire and swoon over the artistry demonstrated in the textiles and laces. Throughout the building, the architecture of this Renaissance era palace is fascinating!

if you are planning on dying soon, perhaps see the Pope about an Indulgence?