Day Trips from Florence: Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano and Chianti

Florence is the easiest base in Tuscany: trains and buses leave from beside Santa Maria Novella station, and most of the famous towns are an hour or so away. Here is what each is good for and how to get there.

Siena

Florence's medieval rival: a Gothic city built around Piazza del Campo, the shell-shaped square where the Palio horse race is run in summer, with the striped marble cathedral and its museum on the hill above.

• Getting there: buses run from Florence to Siena and drop you near the centre; trains take about an hour and a half and arrive at a station below the town, linked by escalators and buses. Check both timetables.
• Time needed: a full day. Stay into the evening when tour groups leave.
• Don't miss: the cathedral floor and the Piccolomini Library; the view from the Torre del Mangia if you can face the climb.

Pisa and Lucca

Two cities on the same railway line west of Florence, easy to combine.

• Pisa: the Piazza dei Miracoli with the Leaning Tower, cathedral and baptistery takes two or three hours. Climbing the tower needs a booked time slot. The rest of Pisa, a university town on the Arno, is pleasant but often skipped.
• Lucca: enclosed by complete Renaissance walls topped with a tree-lined path. Rent a bike and ride the walls, then wander to the oval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro and the church of San Michele in Foro.
• Getting there: regional trains from Florence take roughly an hour to Pisa and a little more to Lucca. Check the timetable for the best connection between the two.

San Gimignano

The hill town of medieval towers, beautiful from a distance and busy inside. Go early or stay late.

• Getting there: by bus, usually with a change at Poggibonsi; allow a long journey. Many people combine it with Siena or Chianti on a tour.
• Drink: Vernaccia di San Gimignano, the local white wine.

Chianti

The wine country between Florence and Siena: villages such as Greve, Panzano and Radda, olive groves, cypress-lined roads and estates offering tastings.

• Getting there: buses reach Greve in Chianti in about an hour. Beyond that, public transport is thin.
• Best option: a small-group tour or a private driver, so nobody has to drive after tastings.
• When: the grape harvest runs from about September to October; tastings are offered all year, but book estates ahead.

Fiesole (half a day)

Not really a day trip: the hill town above Florence is 20 to 30 minutes by city bus. Roman theatre and baths, Etruscan walls, and views back over the city. See Fiesole.

Tours or independent?

• Independent works well for Siena, Pisa and Lucca, which have frequent trains or buses and walkable centres.
• Tours make more sense for Chianti and for combining San Gimignano with Siena in one day.
• Avoid tours that promise four towns in a day. You will see more of the bus than of Tuscany.

Practical

• Validate paper regional train tickets before boarding if your ticket requires it, or use digital tickets.
• Weekend and summer trains are busy; travel early.
• Many town museums close on Mondays or have short winter hours. Check before you go.