Day tours around Florence, Italy

Which tour are you booked on? I’m thinking of the April 8-18 tour.

We took the bus from Sienna to Florence. It took maybe an hour or hour and a half. Sienna was fun to walk around and the cathedral is beautiful. That would be a do-it-yourself tour I guess, though.

Have you been to Florence before? If not, I'd spend at least 2 of those days in Florence. Although I have not done this tour I looked at the itinerary and it only spends on full day and 1 half day there. The included sites are the Accademia and the Bargello. There is so much more!

I see Siena is on the tour so I won't suggest that.

I’ve not yet made the short (about 4 miles) trip outside of Florence to the northeast, but Rick Steves has suggested Fiesole as a worthwhile side trip.

Fiesole is lovely and quiet.
If you don’t mind hills you can walk up a path through the houses to get to a flat area with a fabulous view over Florence.
The archeological park is worth a visit too.
Local buses go up and down frequently……can’t remember the number of the bus, but it only takes 20 minutes if that.

There's plenty to see and do right in Florence. Sights that would be the pride of other cities are sometimes overlooked in the shadow of Florence's many top sights. But if you do want to head out, I once did a round trip Florence - Lucca - Pisa - Florence in a day by train. That was a full schedule, and didn't leave as much time in Lucca as I would have liked. Visiting just one of them would have allowed a slower pace. (You may already be visiting Lucca on your tour.) There's also a special historic train called Dante's Train (basically a tourist train using historical railcars) that travels out of Florence to the northeast. I think it used to go to Ravenna, another city with some top sights (excellent mosaics, and other things), but it appears that train may now end a bit short, in Faenza. It may still be possible to get to Ravenna by other connections, but I haven't checked the schedules to see if that could work out in a day. Looking at their website, I can't find any available dates, so I'm not sure this is still running. If it's not, regular train service should also be able to get you there, I think (unless there's still remaining damage to the tracks from flooding last year). Bologna is another city you might like to visit, also easy to reach by train. Parma and Modena are also nearby, but maybe too much to try to add to a day trip to Bologna. All these things I'm listing are things you can do independently by train.

We did the Tuscany Tour last year and totally enjoyed it including a couple of days in Florence before it began. We chose to visit Pisa the day the Tour started at 4pm. We took a morning train to Pisa and then a bus ride to the Pisa Tower. We did not climb the Tower but visited the Baptistry and Cathedral, returning to Florence in time for the Tour Meeting. I think the itinerary mentioned that you could also visit Pisa on your own from Lucca at the end of the tour, however I don’t recall anyone doing that from our group.

I posted a similar question last year and got a response from a Forum Member that they did a “Marble Paper Making Class”. We researched and had the most wonderful experience at Giannini Firenze a bookmaker and producer of special art paper that has operated since 1856 ( https://www.giuliogiannini.com/en/product/78-141-141/workshop-at-the-studio/784/marbled-paper-class-.html )

My wife and I knew very little about the history of this form of art and Maria provided a very personal and enthusiastic sharing of her family’s many years as artists in Florence. We brought home art paper uniquely created by us as well as purchasing others from the studio. This was a WOW experience that we will remember for years to come.

Enjoy the Tuscany Tour.

Thanks for all the recommendations!
I’ve been thinking about possibly a shopping/cooking class or similar.

I think you have one cooking demonstration on your tour. My first time in Florence was on a Rick Steves Best of Italy tour many years ago. We also had a cooking demonstration, but not in Florence. I'm not familiar with any in Florence. I've been there several times independently after that tour. I see your itinerary includes a Sant Ambrogio market tasting, and I see there's something called Pasta Class Florence right near that, but I know nothing about it. Maybe your tour includes something like that as part of the tasting? I don't know of any shopping classes, if that's what you mean, but there is shopping. Some of traditional merchants have been displaced by modern chain stores, etc., but there's still quite a bit (a bit touristy, with eager sales people) in the San Lorenzo district, Beginning opposite at the Basilica di San Lorenzo on the north side, there's still a few traditional leather shops. Continue up the street away from the church from the Y intersection at the northwest corner (Via dell Ariento) to the Mercato Centrale (Central Market), and go inside. You'll see lots of street stalls, and a different shopping experience than the high-end international designer shops between Piazza della Signoria and Santa Maria Del Fiore. Jewelry shops more over toward Ponte Vecchio. There's sometimes temporary markets set up in Piazza di Santa Croce too. There's also a leather school behind Basilica di Santa Croce (Scuola del Cuoio S.r.l)., a good place to shop for leather goods, and learn a bit. There's many things not on your tour itinerary that you could also visit. Basilica di Santa Croce (guided tour), The Uffizi, nearby Galieo museum, Pitti Palace museums with many excellent paintings and pietra dura (inlaid stone). If you like the pietra dura, there's another museum devoted to it over near the Accademia museum (Opificio delle Pietre Dure). Don't forget the evening passagiatta, a walk for example between Piazza della Repubblica and over the Ponte Vecchio. You should see some buskers (street musicians). Palazzo Vecchio, Piazzale Michaelangelo for the classic view of the city, and nearby church of San Miniato for another good view, and check out the cemetery behind it too. Visit Basilica di San Lorenzo, and its Biblioteca Medicea (historic library). I assume you know to see Santa Maria Del Fiore, which can include visiting the dome, basement, Giotto's tower, and the separate baptistery, and Piazza della Signoria. Orsanmichele. There's still more. Some things may have a long wait to get in, and for some, you should try to make reservations in advance.

I think I remember seeing a cooking school upstairs in one corner of Mercato Centrale in Florence that I mentioned in my previous post. (Found it: https://cucinaldm.com/en/, and I do see some short classes listed). That market is mainly a lot of food vendors with all sorts of specialties. This market may be similar to the Sant Ambrogio market your tour visits (I haven't visited that one), but I think Centrale is bigger. And I see Tripadvisor lists a few other cooking schools in restaurants (looking at the review of the above, there's others listed as recommended experiences nearby: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187895-d6754352-Reviews-Scuola_di_Cucina_Lorenzo_de_Medici-Florence_Tuscany.html)

I took a pasta making class in Florence through Eating Europe last Spring and it was lots of fun. It was held in the Oltrarno area and was about 100 euro.

I’ve taken 4 cooking classes in Florence over the years. The best was from Chef Michele at Riva Lofts.

Pisa is easy to do from Florence.