Day trips from Florence

Posted by mpduples on 02/24/19 12:28 AM

My wife and I are taking our 10 day honeymoon to Italy in May. We will have 4.5 days in Florence as our home-base. We plan to take 2.5 of those days to explore all that Florence has to offer, and 2 of those days to take day trips to explore nearby places. Looking for suggestions on good day trips from Florence (we will not have car).

We are thinking of taking 1 day to go to Pisa and Lucca. Seems like we can easily manage via trains and exploring on our own without any sort of guided tour.

Our other day trip is where we need some help. One idea we had was Siena and/or a winery tour. For these we would probably need to book a tour. Seems a lot of tours I'm seeing combine Siena with a few other towns which I feel like will be too rushed.

Open to suggestions! Thanks!

Posted by Frank

WPB, FL & Firenze

02/24/19 12:51 AM

3112 posts

Siena is really easy to do on your own. Take the direct bus. I haven't done a wine tour, but I believe half day and full day trips are offered, some of which include a big lunch. A wine tour might be a good option if one of your days is Monday when a lot of sights are closed. Be sure to check your guidebook for days when sights of interest are closed in Florence and in cities to which you're planning day trips.

Posted by Robert

Wilmington, DE, USA

02/24/19 01:36 AM

1070 posts

Siena! By all means, Siena! Take the bus (right next to Firenze S. M. Novella), it will stop right at the entrance to medieval part of the city.

Posted by Sandi

Winston-Salem, NC, USA

02/24/19 02:40 AM

26 posts

I love Siena also, but if you find that you're short on time, Arezzo is a marvelous choice for a day trip - only about 30 minutes by train from Florence and if you choose one of the frequent regional trains, it's very inexpensive.

Posted by ibflyin

02/25/19 07:10 PM

34 posts

Hello!
My wife and I did the same thing a bit over a year ago except during December. We loved Florence as a central location due to the uncertain weather at that time of year. If the forecast was rain to the west (Lucca/Pisa) we would consider other options like you mentioned Sienna and don't forget to consider stopping in Montepulciano as well. We found a tour that stopped at both and it was a wonderful low stress way to get there with a good guide.

There's a lot to see in Florence but we saved the big churches and museums for inevitable rainy days and it worked out nicely with our itinerary. The Galileo museum to me does not get enough good press but I loved it and it was a top choice of mine. We went to the top of the Duomo which was a treat because it was right at sunset.

We took a city bike tour as well in Florence. It's pretty hilly but the bikes were electrical assist and it's a great way to spend some time if the weather is good. Yes traffic in Florence is bad but our guide kept us all together and it was great fun with great views.

The shopping was great and the food was excellent.

Happy & Safe Travels!
Gary