Day Trips from Florence
There are many day trips you can take from Florence, with most of them located throughout the beautiful Tuscany region. In this blog, I’m going to go over some of the top day trip destinations from Florence, what we personally did, and what I would recommend based on our experience.
Top Day Trips from Florence
Pisa: One of the most iconic landmarks in Italy, Pisa is famous for the Leaning Tower. It’s one of the most popular day trips from Florence and is very easy to get to — the train ride takes about an hour.
Siena: Siena is another top day trip from Florence. This beautiful medieval town is known for its Gothic architecture and historic charm. Siena is fairly large and filled with shops, restaurants, and a lively main plaza. It’s also home to the stunning black-and-white Siena Cathedral, which is absolutely worth visiting.
San Gimignano: San Gimignano is a classic medieval town known for its famous towers, which historically symbolized wealth and power. The town also offers beautiful views of the Chianti region. Located near Siena, San Gimignano is definitely worth visiting if you’re exploring the area.
Chianti Wine Region: If you’re looking for a peaceful day surrounded by rolling hills, vineyards, and great wine, the Chianti region is a perfect choice. It’s one of Italy’s most famous wine regions, known for producing the popular Chianti wines.
Cinque Terre: Cinque Terre is a stunning coastal region made up of colorful seaside villages that offer pristine views and classic Italian summer vibes. It’s about 2.5–3 hours away by train from Florence, so if you want to spend the day enjoying the ocean and sipping an Aperol Spritz, you’ll definitely want to leave early in the morning.
Bologna: Bologna is a vibrant city that food lovers will especially enjoy. Many people say it has some of the best cuisine in Italy. It’s also less touristy than many other Italian cities and can be reached by high-speed train from Florence in about 35 minutes.
If you’re a car enthusiast, the Bologna area is particularly exciting, it’s home to Ferrari’s headquarters and factory, and you can visit the Ferrari Museum nearby.
Our Day Trip From Florence
We booked a full-day tour through GetYourGuide that included stops in Pisa, Siena, and San Gimignano, along with a wine tasting and lunch in the Chianti region.
I’m going to be completely honest and say we did not enjoy this tour. It’s actually one of the only tours we’ve ever disliked when booking through GetYourGuide.
Our day started early in the morning, and we had to meet outside of Florence to get on the bus. This was the first frustrating part because the meeting point was not convenient. It definitely felt like we could have met somewhere inside the city instead.
The bus itself was unfortunately pretty miserable. It was a packed double-decker bus with no air conditioning and very little airflow. The transportation alone made the experience uncomfortable and really affected how much we enjoyed the day.
Our first stop was Pisa. Even though we didn’t have a lot of time here, I actually loved it. Honestly, there isn’t a ton to do in Pisa beyond seeing the tower, so the amount of time we had felt perfect.
Taking photos with the Leaning Tower was really fun, and one thing that stood out to me was how vibrant and green the grass was around the Piazza dei Miracoli. The architecture and landscaping here were beautiful.
After Pisa, we headed to the Chianti region for lunch and a wine tasting. This part of the day was super fun. We had a great lunch, tasted several wines, and even ended up shipping some wine back home.
Next, we visited Siena. We spent about two hours walking around the town, shopping, and stopping at the Siena Cathedral. The Duomo here is absolutely stunning and definitely worth seeing.
By this point in the day, though, we were starting to feel extremely tired and honestly a bit sick. There was so much getting on and off the bus, and we had already spent hours sitting in the heat. The packed schedule and long bus rides unfortunately started to affect our mood.
Our final stop was San Gimignano. We spent about an hour here, but unfortunately we didn’t really get to fully appreciate it because we weren’t feeling great. Even so, it’s clearly a beautiful medieval town with incredible views.
Overall, the locations themselves were great, the tour itself was just too much. The biggest issue was the bus transportation. If we had done this route by car, I think we would have enjoyed the day much more.
What I Recommend
I highly recommend visiting Pisa. It’s a short and easy trip from Florence and definitely a must-see. The Leaning Tower is one of those landmarks that’s hard to believe until you see it in person.
You can easily visit Pisa in the morning and still have the rest of your day in Florence. You could also pair it with another stop like Siena or the Chianti region.
If you didn’t spend time staying in Tuscany during your trip, I would highly recommend taking a day trip to the Chianti region for wine tasting and visiting medieval towns like San Gimignano. However, if you’ve already spent several days in Tuscany, it may feel a bit repetitive since the scenery and experiences will be very similar.
If you enjoy architecture and historic towns, Siena is definitely worth a visit. The city has a lot of historical significance and was actually a major rival of Florence in the past. The Siena Cathedral is one of the most beautiful churches in Italy and may be worth the trip just to see this unique duomo.
Personally, I don’t recommend spending 5–6 hours of your day traveling to Cinque Terre from Florence. Instead, I would add it into your Italy itinerary as a separate destination and stay there for a few nights.
If I were planning this day trip again, I would rent a car from Florence and create my own route. I would start by driving to Pisa early in the morning, then head to San Gimignano for lunch. After that, I’d stop at a winery in the Chianti region before ending the day in Siena.
Interestingly, I’m not sure why our tour visited Siena before San Gimignano, because San Gimignano is actually on the way to Siena when coming from Pisa.
Renting a car gives you much more flexibility and control over your day, which would likely make the experience far more enjoyable.
If you really don’t want to rent a car, I would recommend choosing a smaller group tour with around 6–10 people. That will likely give you a much more comfortable and relaxed experience.
Ultimately, the best day trip from Florence will depend on what you most want to see and what your overall Italy itinerary looks like. If you’ve already spent time in Tuscany, you might simply want to take a quick trip to Pisa.
Another option is stopping in Siena on your way to Florence from another part of Tuscany instead of planning a separate day trip.
Hopefully this helps you in deciding where you’ll be taking your day trip!