We are booking our first Rick Steve's tour-The Heart of Italy for June2023. Our last tour stop is Florence and we are thinking about staying a couple of days extra in Florence. Does anyone have any suggestions of places/near by towns to visit? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Posted by
MD
484 posts
Everyone typically recommends Lucca and/or Siena. I did a day trip to Lucca when I was in Florence in the spring. It was a lovely little place to wander around. I never made it to Siena, so I'll be going there when I visit again in December. Everyone says it can't be missed. I also did a little trip up to Fiesole in the spring too. It was an easy bus ride and the views of Florence from the town above were beautiful. I think I was only there for a few hours, so I still had plenty of time to wander around Florence for the rest of the day.
Posted by
Irving
2971 posts
I’ve been to all three places KRS mentions and Siena is my favorite and Lucca my second favorite. If you can spend two nights in Siena and rent a car on your full day in Siena drive along the Sienese Crest Road and visit Pienza’s old town then drive to Montepuliciano.
Siena is best at night after the day trippers leave. You can order a lemoncello in a “to go” cup (or grappa) and walk around Il Campo square or sit on the ground with the others. The next day pick up a car and drive along the hilly scenic Sienese Crest Road. The scenery along this route is what makes Tuscany famous. There are many landscapes and in my opinion is more beautiful than Napa / Samona valleys. I haven’t been to the wine country in Oregon yet or Alsace in France but Tuscany is stunning.
Oh, and you can take a direct bus from Florence to Siena (1h 15m) that will drop you off in the old town and is where you want to sleep.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
By train…
Bologna (37m). Montecatini (55m).
Pistoia (30m). Prato (10-30m). Lucca (1H20m).
Certaldo (52m). Pisa (1Hr).
By bus…
Siena (1H20m) , Greve in Chianti (1H25m).
San Gimignano 2 busses # 131 & 130 w/change in Poggiobonsi
Train &bus Castellina in Chianti & Montereggioni
Hope this is of some help.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2835 posts
Lucca and Siena are great choices for a first-timer to Italy.
For something off the usual tourist track I second the idea of Montecatini Terme - a very pretty and relaxing spa town not far by train from SMN.
We particularly like the short day trip (half day actually) by bus up to Fiesole - 30 minutes but a world away from the tourist crush in Florence. There's lots to see including a pretty stroll along a belvedere walkway that looks out over Florence and the valley of the Arno below. There are a number of nice places for lunch, and if you're really ambitious you can continue the scenic walk for about a mile thru a shaded wood to Monte Cecere where there's a small marker memorializing the world's first experimental test flight by Leonardo and his gallant crew in 1508. There's a table there if you want to grab a sandwich-to-go for a picnic.