Pisa/Lucca or SIena as day trip?

Both are great...just different. If you have always wanted to see the tower do the Pisa/Lucca day. Every day in Italy can be memorable... all depends on what you make of it.

I much preferred my day in Lucca and Pisa to my day in Siena, but that was in 1989 - who knows which I would prefer now. They are indeed very different. Don't be so sure you will want to spend only a day seeing Florence. You may find there's more you want to see, or that you just want to spend some time relaxing there instead of running from sight to sight. If you go to Lucca and Pisa, do go in that order. I spent my morning and afternoon in Lucca, then got to Pisa at about 3 or 4 PM. The souvenir vendors were literally packing up, the day trippers were largely gone, and the marble looked lovely in the afternoon light.

You can't go wrong with either choice, but my vote is Pisa/Lucca. I enjoyed Siena for the 1 day that we visited there, but I am not enamored of it as so many other Italy-lovers are. I think I went expecting way too much and it just didn't deliver the impact I expected. Pisa is sort of a "Must-do" for so many people even though once you get past its Leaning Tower, it is nothing special...yet it is quite intriguing and a fun couple of hours. Lucca, however, is utterly charming and I AM enamored of it, in the same way I am enamored of Assisi--it is just thoroughly captivating in its small streets, ancient ramparts, architecture, etc.

I've been to both recently, and my vote would be Pisa. I've heard Lucca is wonderful too. Siena really did not wow me at all...and we tried it three different times just to make sure. Cheers!

If it makes any difference in opinion - my wife wanted to do something "off the beaten path"... We will probably do a Tuscany day trip as per my original post, and then was thinking of one of those other options as well. Pisa I've heard can be touristy, but its something we havent seen. I've hear Lucca is nice, but I've heard people rave about Siena too (though not in this particular thread :).

Pisa is a perfect day trip. Only the tower and church to see. I absolutely LOVE Lucca and Siena so I think a day trip would not be enough time for these two cities. Lucca is smaller so it would allow you to see more of it in a one day trip. Siena needs, at least, 3-4 days.........in my humble opinion.

Faced with the choice- Siena. The view from the tower is my deciding factor.

Well, none of those is off the beaten path as all three are tourist destinations. If you really want to find your own little obscure place in Italy, rent a car and take off and drive. Take a turn whenever you feel like it and see what you find... or get a map and look for the smallest village you have never heard of and go visit. I can assure you, if it's Italy you will more than likely find some good food and wine, and a wonderful memory that no one else has.

Well, if its off the beaten path you're wanting, then I have several suggestions for you. We just got back from 5 months living in Perugia, and explored all over the place, preferring off the beaten path. Spello, Spoletto and Montefalco. I loved all three. Montefalco has the amazing sagrantino wine, so if you like wine, this is a great place. There's a place called L'Alcamist there, which is a great little restaurant. We have coffee at a place just off the main square that was awesome, and very local-only. Cheers!

Even though many of the other posters have covered these topics exhaustively I think I have a different take than many people have of Pisa. I was incredibly moved by the beauty of the place. The piazza dei miracoli is stunning and would warrent being a tourist destination even if the tower did not lean. The price of climbing up the leaning tower is quite high but for such an iconic place I was happy to pay it. I found the baptistry to be very beautiful and thoroughly enjoyed touring the duomo. On a 7 week stay in Italy where I was in an out of so many duomos and churches and cathedrals I am almost ashamed to say the interiors of some of these relgious buildings ran together in my mind. The interior of the duomo at Pisa stands out in my memory as amazing. I will never forget the stunning ceilings, columns, pulpits, and floors of this duomo. The interior and exterior were breath taking for me. I also really enjoyed strolling along the arno and coming across the tiniest church I have ever seen, the adorable Santa Marie della Spina. Those are just my views and I do not think you could possibly go wrong, on the other hand, by visitting Siena. Siena is another place I fell in love with (maybe you can tell I fell in love with most of Italy). If you do go to Siena be sure to take the climb up the tower of Mangia because the view from the top is well worth the sore legs you get from all those steps. All in all, I would lean toward Lucca with its unique cathedral and domed walls and Pisa over Siena though. This is a great dilemma to have though as all three are beautiful and memorable places to visit.

In my opinion Siena beats Pisa and Lucca hands down. The city is gorgeous and the Duomo is outstanding on a much more human scale than St Peters. I would recommend using the available electronic guides for about 2 euros. Don't miss the small library room in the Duomo. If you can you should try to visit San Gimignano also. We used it as a base last May for our day trips. Yes,very touristy, but get over that and you will find a beautiful town and surroundings with very friendly and helpful residents. Have a great trip, now I want to go back.

While the baptistry and tower at Pisa are indeed lovely, it is a shame that the town itself is just awful. Even the McDonalds is dirty and overpriced. The streets are trash strewn and filled with vendors selling knockoffs of everything. I would say, hands down, it is the best case study in Italy of rampant tourism ruining a town. Finally, the last time I was there on a rainy day in October 2010, the historic sites closed two hours early, no explanation except that it was raining and few people were there. Lucca is charming, so I would try to see Pisa's best and move on to Lucca. Plan a make a long walk in Pisa from the lots where you park to the sites. Siena is full of history and charm, and I completely agree with the above poster about the charms of Umbrian towns, adding Assisi.

I had two experiences visiting Pisa. The first time was on a RS tour. We parked at a big lot and walked thru the junky touristy area. Ugh! The second time, I arrived by train and walked to the tower, etc. from the train station. It was a completely different experience. The town is intersting and walkable. Students milled around. I walked over the river, and thru the town and university area getting to the Field of Miracles. There were abundant eating places along the way.

If you want off the beaten path, those three aren't it. They would be very different day trips from each other. We enjoyed Siena very much, their Duomo is one of my favorites, and Lucca as well for a lazy relaxing day. Pisa was so-so for us. It might make a difference which day you want to use for this day trip, Sundays can be really slow in Lucca. With just a long weekend really in Florence, it might be better to just enjoy Florence. Where else are you going to visit and what interests do you have?