Day trips from Florence

Three easy train travel options are Pistoia, Arezzo and Modena. All have lots to see and aren't overrun with tourists. I often use Lonely Planet's Italy guidebook for information on towns not covered in Rick's. You may want to check for market days which, although interesting, can take away from a town's charm.

Michelle,
Getting to hill towns from Florence using public transportation can be done, but it is a little tricky. It will just add to your adventure!

I suggest a trip to San Gimignano. It is a charming hill town. Also look at getting to Volterra. Greve is also a nice destination and an easy bus ride, but it is not really a hill town.

When will you be traveling? All of Italy is "overrun by tourists" during the high season. We went two weeks before Christmas and had a wonderful time. Even Florence was not too busy. Still, even then, we saw a fair number of tourists in the hill towns. The two places where we saw no tourists was Greve and Radda.

This will give you an idea regarding public transportation from Florence to San Gimignano.

You might consider Volterra as a day trip from Florence. I took two buses from Florence to reach this lovely hill town, which is known worldwide for its alabaster. I took a bus from Florence to the small town of Colle d'Else, where I took a smaller bus (really a van) to Volterra. It didn't take that long and it was worth the journey. The fact that there is no train service from Florence to Volterra probably reduces the number of tourists. You have to make a little more of an effort to get to Volterra, which features a wonderful Etruscan museum and numerous shops owned by artisans who work in alabaster. I shipped home a beautiful alabaster lamp and purchased other exquisite alabaster pieces.

Siena is certainly worth a day trip but it will be packed. Busloads of tourists congregate around the magnificent campo. I've done this almost mandatory day trip and I've spent eight days there. It's an excellent alternative to Florence as a "base of operations."

Another option is to take the #7 bus (half hour) from San Marco up the hill to Fiesole. A cute little town with some Roman ruins and fabulous views of Florence. We had a marvelous lunch at Fiesolano right on the main piazza.

We are hoping to go back to Venice,Florence and Rome end of May 2019. Last visit we didn't have time to go to Fiesole and would like to make it next trip. I read in Rick's Florence book about the #7 bus. Do you have to purchase ticket in advance or can you purchase on bus?

Thanks.

Bologna is worth a day trip. Only about 45 minutes by train from Florence. You won't find the hordes of tourists there; only Italians going about their daily lives. Lots of University students also. There are many wonderful sites to see in the Old Town, and the food is great.

Siena is a must. That will take most of your day. If you can squeeze Monteriggioni, near Siena, that would be great. There are buses connecting Siena to Monteriggioni.

Volterra would be nice, but, in my opinion, getting there without a car is too convoluted and time consuming. San Gimignano is more doable, as it is much closer.

Lucca+Pisa can be done together. Lucca deserves more time. Neither is on a hill, but Lucca is worth a visit. Pisa is ok, but you probably want to see the leaning tower and the Duomo. A couple of hours in Pisa are more than sufficient.

We combined Montecatini Terme/Alto and Pistoia in that order. While we drove, they're both easy to connect by train.

http://welcometuscany.it/tuscany/pistoia/montecatini-alto-high-town-funicolar-station.htm