Where to stay outside of Florence but with public access to the city?

Look into Fiesole which is just outside the city and has local bus access into Florence proper. You would need to confirm the schedule but people often use Fiesole this way dating back to ancient times. Even if you get stuck it's close enough that a cab is an option that wouldn't completely blow your budget.

My other suggestion would be Pistoia or Prato. Both are modern towns with ancient historic centers on the same train line. Prato is about 20 minutes by train while Pistoia is about 35 minutes. I personally would probably choose Pistoia but Prato is fine if access to Florence is your main focus. This is the same train line that continues to Lucca and Viareggio on the coast.
The trains from around 6:00am until about 10:00pm.

You don't specify which towns you're looking to visit but Prato has some train connections including a local train that goes to Bologna which is probably about the same amount of time as going into Florence and then taking the fast train to Bologna instead.

Have a great visit,
=Tod

Hi, Giangilberto from Milan, so you need to see what you mean by north because if north of Firenze you mean for example Bologna and Emilia There are high-speed trains that take you to Florence in half an hour if you mean for example the hills above Florence there are very quiet but you have a mobility problem.
The criterion in my opinion to evaluate is not looking for the city but looking for the train station, a quiet town on the Florence-Prato-Pistoia line offers both. A scenic hilltop ten kilometers from the station means being dependent on a car and with that comes the problem of the limited traffic zone in Firenze center town.
One more thing, you're travelling at the end of October, and the end of October it is no longer high season, in the province the regional train timetables thin out in the evening, if you have, for example to have dinner in Florence and return to your countryside village the advice is to check the last available journeys trains in the night.

You can find quietness in the city itself. You just have to stay in the right neighborhood and in the right street.

Two years ago, we spent all of November (and a few days on either side) in Florence. It was plenty tranquil staying in San Frediano in the Oltrarno. Restaurants within a 5 minute walk and, just for instance, the cathedral is an 21 minute walk from the Porta di San Frediano and the main train station is a 15 minute walk. There are also buses.

Although I love both Pistoia and Prato, it seems like a hassle to take the train into and out of Florence if what you really want to see is in Florence.

It would help to know how many nights you have and what you want to see and do in Florence.

I haven’t stayed there, but I think the area around Via Venezia, or just north of it, could work for you. Very few tourists go past the Accademia, and even fewer go past San Marco. You’d be in a much quieter area while still being within a short walk of the historic center.

I think this would be better than staying in another town and having to take the train into Florence every day.