Firenze is the natural base for Tuscany. Trains run half-hourly from Santa Maria Novella to Pisa and Lucca, buses cross to Siena in an hour and a quarter, and Chianti or Val d’Orcia are a guided-tour or hire-car day. Six honest day trips, plus a seventh that stretches into an overnight if you have the time.
Choose your day trip
Cinque Terre
Five villages on the Ligurian coast. Two-and-a-half hours by train each way, one connection at La Spezia. The honest verdict: it is a long day, and August is a mistake. May, June, or September are the honest months. Read the guide.
Pisa
Piazza dei Miracoli in three hours. Half-day sensible. One hour ten by direct regional train, €9.30 each way. Combine with Lucca for a full day if the season is right.
Siena
Piazza del Campo and the Duomo interior. Direct bus from SMN in one hour and 15 minutes. The 129 Rapida is the express service. Book Palio dates carefully if that is your target.
San Gimignano
Medieval towers on a hilltop. Best paired with Siena on a two-stop bus day, or as a guided-tour half-day with Chianti. One hour 45 minutes direct bus.
Lucca
Renaissance walls to cycle around, small piazzas, calm streets. One hour 20 by regional train. Better than Pisa if you have already seen the tower on a previous trip.
Chianti wine day
Two wineries with lunch, guided small-group tour. Cost bands €90 to €160 a head depending on the wineries. Hire a car if you have driven Italian rural roads before, otherwise book the tour.
Val d’Orcia
The cypress avenues Instagram made famous, before Instagram. Photography day, needs a car. Consider an overnight in Pienza if you have three days spare.
How to travel
Trenitalia and Italo run Florence to Rome, Milan, and Venice as full-length trips. Regional trains handle Pisa and Lucca. Buses (Autolinee Toscane) handle Siena and San Gimignano. Guided tours (small group, 12 to 16 people) cover Chianti, Val d’Orcia, and Cinque Terre. Hire cars are practical only if you are comfortable with Italian rural driving and ZTL (limited traffic zone) rules.
Which day trip suits which traveller
- First-timers: Pisa (short, iconic) or Siena (character, one hour by bus).
- Return visitors: Chianti wine day or Val d’Orcia photography.
- Photographers: Val d’Orcia at sunrise, Cinque Terre coastline at sunset.
- Food-focused: Chianti day with lunch at a fattoria, or Lucca for the small trattorie inside the walls.
What to skip
Do not stack two long day trips in a row. Do not attempt Cinque Terre in the first two weeks of August, it is airless and packed. Do not book a Rome day trip from Florence, it is a two-city trip at that point and Rome deserves its own days.
Where to base yourself in Florence for day trips
Santa Maria Novella is the practical base if you plan two or more day trips: the station is on your doorstep, the tram T2 reaches Piazza San Marco in eight minutes, and the Pisa airport bus stops opposite the station.