Florence - Day Trips to Siena, San Gimignano, Luca or Pisa

Have you searched the forum?

Walk about Florence
Walks of Italy
ToursbyRoberto.com

All get good reviews here
Lucca 2 Cs

DIY discussion here
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/lucca-v-sienna

Good afternoon,

Yes, I am looking into a walking tour of Florence, and I continue to check the forum.

Specifically, I was looking for recommendations for small group or private tours of the above towns. Thought I found something interesting, but have since received not favorable information about them. I will look further into your recs. Thank you.

Paola Moschini is a great person and an excellent tour guide in Lucca: https://www.paolamoschini.com/

Lucca is an easy train ride from Florence and can be done with Pisa in one whirlwind day if you want to.

I have also used this company: https://en.turislucca.com/ and got a well informed local tour guide and they do other tours and will arrange transportation for you as well, but for Pisa and Lucca it is not really required.

With one day I would do Siena for a whole day. With more days I would look beyond that based on your interests.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

Thank you, Tod. Will check your rec.

Hard to make a decision. I really want to see Verona, but also Siena/San Gimignanao.

Very different vibes between those cities.

Verona is a chic, upscale, mostly pedestrian city in the bend of the Adige river with a cafe culture vibe and an intact Roman arena.
Siena is an amazing hilltown with an impressive cathedral and one of the all time great piazzas in Italy.
Both of these cities deserve a full day if you are going to explore them. San Gimignano is pretty but small and very touristy.

I would choose either of the other cities and dedicate a day to either of them. Choosing between them with no other context I would recommend Siena. It is more special as place and further from an "ordinary" city than most other destinations.

My $.02, it's hard to go wrong it's just different choices,
=Tod

Arezzo is a great town to visit. Not as overrun with tourists as the other towns.