Day trips from Florence

Pisa is an obvious one. Get off at Pisa S Rossore, and it's a less then 10-minute walk to what everybody wants to see. It's easily combined with Lucca. They children will like a walk over the city walls.
Another classic is Siena. The railway station there is a long way from the city centre, so best done by bus. The bus station in Florence is just across the main railway station.
If you've got a car, a trip to one of the hill towns south of Florence - Montepulciano, Montalcino or Pienza, to name a few - is rewarding. Try to combine it with the wonderful abbey of Sant'Antimo, if only for its setting.

I'm in the same boat and looking for ideas. One thing that appealed to my 13 year old daughter was a Gelato bike tour in Tuscany from I Bike Tuscany but I'm still awaiting to hear details back from them. It was a downhill ride (easy) and stopped somewhere to learn how to make Gelato and then of course, eat it! We are also considering Siena but it seems like all of the tour leave out Florence.

Fiesole (city bus no. 7)
Siena (bus)
Pisa (train)
Lucca (train or bus) - can also be done on the same day as Pisa since they are very close
Arezzo (train)
Cortona (train) - can be done on same day as Arezzo, since they are close and Cortona is small. Do Cortona first, which is farther.
Pistoia (train)
Montecatini Terme (train) - can be done with Pistoia
San Gimignano (bus or train+bus)
Certaldo (train) - can be done with San Gimignano, since they are close.
Chianti Hills (bus, but a car would be better)
Bologna (train)

There are many more, but some of the smaller towns may be best done by rental car.

check ideas here:
www.borghiditoscana.net

tonfromleiden, thanks, Pisa is a great idea. That was on our list to show the kids but I didn't realize how close it was to Florence. I'm putting all your suggestions on our list, hill towns are another great idea. Thank you!

Dana, Gelato tour is a great idea! I'll look into it. My 13 year old son and 11 year old daughter might even agree on that one!

Roberto, thanks for the comprehensive list! I'm compiling your ideas to send to our host to see which ones they still haven't seen either. I'll check out the website too! Thanks again.

These would be my picks from Roberto's exhaustive, yet fantastic list...
--Fiesole (city bus no. 7)
--Siena (bus)
--Pisa and Lucca (train)
--Cortona and Arezzo (train)
--Chianti Hills (SITA bus 365)
If you add your day to Venice, and 2 days in Florence itself, then your 8 day dance card is FULL.

If you do go to Lucca, consider renting bikes to ride around the top of the wall, rather than walking.

We will be in Florence 6/21 leaving 6/26 (we are also in NorCal if I get your username correct). Two adults and a 10 year old girl.

Aside from the regular stuff (Duomo, Uffizi and Accademia) we are doing two things:

1). Day trip to Bologna for the Ducati factory tour (factory only - museum is closed for remodel) MUST make reservations with Ducati in advance, but pay at the door. After that we are off to the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena. There are two Ferrari museums (they have a shuttle between them for a small cost) but as we are doing Ducati we can't swing both Ferrrari locations - however it is perfectly do-able to do both Ferrari museums in a day. Take fast train to Bologna, then regional to Modena. Ferrari has F1 simulators (alas my girl is not quite tall enough...) as a pay-to drive. All on the websites.

2). "Self-Drive Vintage Fiat 500 Tour from Florence: Tuscan Wine Experience". I booked with Viatour however you can book with the owners club directly I think. City bus #36 or 36A from station area in Florence down to the club at a villa. Couple neat options, one includes pool/picnic. Different costs but kids 12 and under are free.

I have a post up on this forum/Italy with COSTCO as part of the tag line. I turned on PM so feel free to ask me any questions.

So there's my ideas.

Edit: some might think the motorcycle and car stuff is not a traditional Italian thing - however motor-sports are quintessentially Italian with rich history. I think Enzo Ferrari said, and I paraphrase; "I don't care if the door seams are straight, what I want is for them (the drivers) to do is hit the gas and poop their pants". Even Detroit was never that bold - hahaha.

A trip to Bologna is only 30 minutes via high speed train. It has some great churches & museums. But the food is the main attraction.

Or you could connect from Bologna Centrale and head to Parma, Modena, etc. Parma is a gem. Hardly any tourists and it is really beautiful.

Thanks djp_syd and Rosalyn! More great info and distilled travel details.

Bud Light, yes to NorCal (Davis) and GREAT idea with Ferrari museum. Mentioned that to my friend and his wife has a hookup there. Maybe we'll bump into you there! Will you let me know how that wine tour was? I think we've got too many kids to swing that.

Pjackson, hadn't really thought of Bologna, will do more research there. Any food recs? Parma sounds right up our alley. Going to do a few touristy things just to make sure kids see the sights but we prefer off the grid destinations.

Thanks to everyone on this thread for the great suggestions! What a helpful group.

Also TOTALLY FREE - tickets for "The summer solstice in San Miniato al Monte Abbey of San Miniato, Galileo Museum" for this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.

http://www.eventbrite.it/e/biglietti-il-solstizio-destate-a-san-miniato-al-monte-25594406559

The discussion will be in Italian, however the light rays shining into the chapel will need no transation:

event details
Rediscovered after nearly 800 years, the astronomical function of the great zodiac marble of San Miniato al Monte. At 13:53 on 21 and 22 June , in the vicinity of the solar noon, a ray of sunlight illuminate the sign of Cancer announcing the Summer Solstice, the astronomical event a time coinciding with the feast of the patron saint of Florence, Saint John the Baptist (June 24).