We will be spending 5 days in Florence in September. We will be renting a car in Siena after that for 5 days to do the hill towns, Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gimignano, etc. While we are in Florence we feel we will have one free day to "explore" out of Florence. We are wondering what the best place to venture out of Florence on a train may be. Pisa, or...? Can we get to Lucca on a train from Florence, and is it a worthwhile trip? Any suggestions would b greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Lucca's an easy day trip from Florence. You can rent bikes near the station and ride the tops of the city walls. It's a beautiful city and very laid-back in contrast to Florence.
Posted by
OP
Brier, WA, USA
34 posts
Thanks, Doug. Can you get catch the train from Florence to Lucca?
Posted by
Norfolk, USA
255 posts
Yes, you can get a train from Florence to Lucca. We are going to be in Florence in October and originally considered a day trip to Lucca so I had researched trains. We ended up deciding to take a bus trip to Siena instead.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
We loved San Gimignano. It's clearly a tourist town but very medieval and stirs the imagination.
I've heard good things about Montepulciano and Montalcino but haven't visited yet personally. There are some good threads on the two at Fodors.com.
We visited Lucca in October and weren't impressed. We liked the wall/park but didn't find anything else worth noting in the town. I would describe the town as flat, run down and graffitied with no views, hills, oceans or particularly pretty buildings. Maybe that's overly critical but visitors should be prepared for a let down.
Many people who love it seem to have been there in the summer when there are festivals and relatively light crowds. It was completely dead when we were there.
Posted by
Norfolk, USA
255 posts
We took the train to Pisa from Florence on our last trip to Italy. Very easy and enjoyable. Just remember to validate your train tickets. We knew that we had to do it and had done it elsewhere, but for some reason totally forgot to that day. Paid a 10 euro fine. The ticket made for a funny souvenir.
Posted by
Northborough, MA
636 posts
I would also recommend Pisa. Even though it's incredibly touristy, I was surprised by how awestruck I was of the Leaning Tower and the other buildings on the Field of Miracles. Not only are they (in my opinion) beautiful, the lean is really something to be seen (and, felt, when you climb it).