My husband and I will be traveling to Italy in September/October 2017 along with 2 other couples. We have booked a villa in Florence for 6 days and would like to make this our home base for day trips. We have already booked a wine tour with Donatello due to recommendations we found on this forum. My husband and I would definitely like to visit Sienna and Orvieto. There are so many other beautiful towns and we know it's impossible to see them all. We're looking for advice on which town and/or tours are a must for 2 other days. We've been to Florence a few years ago and have already been to the Uffizzi and Academia Museums. Thanks in advance for any suggestions and recommendations anyone may have.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8169 posts
We stayed between Certaldo and San Gimignano on an agriturismo and visited them, Volterra and Siena. Since we had a car, we had the luxury of visiting at 4:00 p.m.--long after all the tourist buses have gone.
If you're staying in Florence, Siena is best visited by a bus as parking is very difficult and the bus takes you into the center city (while the train doesn't.) The buses line up across from the train station to the side of Mickey D's.
Orvieto is about a 90 minute ride south of Siena and is a little far for a day trip. It's a popular place to turn in a Hertz rental car and spending the night before taking the train into Rome (just over an hour.)
Posted by
OP
38 posts
Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the information on bus travel to Sienna. We are going headed to Rome after a week on the Amalfi Coast and may consider a day trip to Orivieto from there as I hear it's closer.
Posted by
824 posts
Lucca is also a very easy self-guided day trip via train. If you have a desire to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you can combine Pisa and Lucca into a single day. I would recommend seeing Pisa as early in the morning as you can so you beat the worst of the motor-coach crowd (very obnoxious!) and then head to Lucca for a nice afternoon.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Pistoia, a medieval center with an interesting market, Montecatini Terme, a spa town, but take the finuncalar to the old town, Alta, above.
and Lucca. The first two can be combined as a day trip. Lucca needs a full day.
If you like chocolate, some of the best are found in this area.
Bologna, full day. Modena ( Ferrari factory) and Parma. Could be combined.
All the above are quick by train.
Siena take the bus. Just make sure to check return times. The train runs later back to Florence.
To venture into Tuscany, a tour or car would be needed.
You will see some of it on your wine tour.
Have a wonderful time.