Day Trips from Florence

Florence is the best base in Italy for day trips and the worst city to leave, because everything inside it also needs booking. So the choice is not really Siena or Pisa. It is whether a day out beats another day in Florence, and for three of the eight below the answer is clearly yes.

One structural thing first. Tuscan regional trains are priced in kilometre bands with no return discount, so a return is simply twice the single, and there is nothing to gain by buying both legs together.

In 3 minutes:

• Bologna is 36 minutes away, less than half of Siena's 1h29, and it is left off Tuscan lists purely because it is over a regional border.
• Siena's inlaid marble floor is uncovered 27 June to 31 July and 18 August to 15 November 2026. It is covered most of the year.
• Tuscan bus fares rise on 1 August 2026, from €1.70 to €2.00 on urban tickets. Regional train fares are not changing.

Which day trip from Florence should you pick?

Note the third column. Three of these give you a multi-day pass for a single day's visit, which is worth knowing if your trip loops back through Tuscany.

What are the best day trips from Florence?

Bologna, the one that gets left out

Thirty-six to forty-one minutes on a Frecciarossa, around eighty-five direct trains a day, first at 06:55 and last at 22:25. That is the shortest journey of anything on this page, and it is shorter than Siena by an hour.

It gets omitted from Florence day-trip lists because it sits in Emilia-Romagna rather than Tuscany, which is a fact about administrative boundaries and not about your day. You get six to seven usable hours on the ground, more than Siena allows, in a city of porticoes, a leaning tower nobody queues for, and the best food in northern Italy.

The fare is genuinely variable. High-speed tickets are priced dynamically, so there is no fixed figure to quote; book ahead and it is cheap, book on the day and it is not.

Arezzo, if you book ahead

Thirty-three to forty minutes on the fast trains, forty-six minutes to an hour on the Regionale Veloce, around sixty-two direct services a day. The reason to come is Piero della Francesca's Legend of the True Cross in the Cappella Bacci at the Basilica di San Francesco, €9 including the booking fee.

The rule that decides everything: booking is mandatory and closes three working days before. Slots take thirty people every thirty minutes and you get exactly thirty minutes with the frescoes. Same-day booking is not accepted. A spontaneous Arezzo trip means you will not see the Piero, which is the entire point of Arezzo.

The exception is worth planning around. The first Sunday of each month is free and needs no reservation.

Pisa, as a half day

An hour on the Regionale Veloce, around seventy-eight direct trains a day. The Leaning Tower is €20 with no reduced rate, it is a timed slot bookable up to ninety days ahead, and arriving late means refused entry with no refund. Bags go to the cloakroom before the climb.

Two details the listicles miss. Children who have not turned eight by the end of the year cannot climb at all, and under-18s need an adult with them. And any monument ticket you buy includes cathedral entry, not time-slotted, so buying the cathedral separately is money thrown away.

Pisa is three to four hours, not a day. Pair it with Lucca. Through summer there is a reason to stay later: all six monuments open until 22:30 from 17 June to 31 August 2026. Our Leaning Tower guide covers the climb itself.

Lucca, paired with Pisa

The direct Florence to Lucca line runs 1h14 at best but averages closer to 1h42. The faster move is the Regionale Veloce to Pisa first, then Pisa to Lucca in about thirty minutes, which also gives you both towns in one day.

Lucca is a walled city you cycle around on top of the ramparts, with a tower that has oak trees growing out of the roof. Tower booking is recommended on weekdays and mandatory at weekends and on holidays. Three to four hours.

Siena, if you want one great thing

A direct Regionale from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, no change, 1h27 to 1h39, with around seventeen direct trains a day. The OPA SI PASS is €21 and covers the cathedral, the Piccolomini Library, the Museo dell'Opera, the Facciatone panorama, the crypt and the baptistery. It is valid three consecutive days, which is generous for a day trip and useful if you are looping back.

The 2026 reason to go is the floor. Siena's cathedral pavement is fifty-six inlaid marble panels that spend most of the year under protective covering. For "Il Sommo Bene" they are uncovered from 27 June to 31 July and again from 18 August to 15 November 2026, with extended hours and a floor-only ticket at €10. The Porta del Cielo roof walk rises from €14 to €16 during those windows.

Summer hours are 10:00 to 19:00, and the cathedral opens at 13:30 on Sundays and holidays. Five to six hours is right.

San Gimignano, cheaper than you have been told

The claim that you need a car for San Gimignano is wrong. Autolinee Toscane runs from Firenze HUB Montelungo, next to Santa Maria Novella, with one change at Poggibonsi, in an hour and a half to two hours. The fare is a dedicated fixed rate rather than a distance band: €7.50 each way, €15 return, or €11.10 if you buy on board. Buy in advance.

The San Gimignano Pass All Inclusive is €15, or €12 reduced, valid three days, and covers the Palazzo Comunale, the Pinacoteca, the Torre Grossa and the other civic museums. The Palazzo Comunale alone is €10, but €11 buys the same plus a timed slot for the Torre Grossa — a one-euro difference that decides whether you climb the tallest tower in town. Buy the €11.

Bus and pass together is €30 for the day. Three to four hours on the ground.

Chianti, the one case for a tour

Autolinee Toscane line 365 runs from Firenze HUB Montelungo to Greve in Chianti in sixty to ninety minutes, with around twenty to twenty-five weekday departures and a reduced Sunday service.

It will get you to a pretty market town. It will not get you to wine. The estates are spread across country roads the bus does not serve, and the fundamental problem with driving yourself is that the entire purpose of the day is drinking. This is the one destination on this list where paying for a tour is the correct decision rather than a lazy one, and a Sunday attempt on public transport can strand you. The Chianti day trip guide covers what a good one includes.

Cinque Terre, if you must

No direct service. Florence to La Spezia and then the local Cinque Terre line, realistically two and a half to three hours each way. Access is now actively rationed: the Via dell'Amore requires a timed booking, is capped at 400 people an hour with 200 entries every thirty minutes, and gives you a maximum of thirty minutes to walk 900 metres. It is included in the Cinque Terre Card and cannot be bought separately. Card prices vary by season and expected attendance.

Five to six hours of travel for five on the ground, arriving in the busiest window, into a park whose own infrastructure is telling you it is oversubscribed. Do it from La Spezia or Monterosso with a night there, not from Florence in a day.

What most visitors get wrong

They pick by fame and end up on the longest journeys. Cinque Terre and Siena are the two most-searched day trips from Florence and they are the two longest; Bologna and Arezzo are both under forty minutes and get skipped.

They also treat booking as optional. Arezzo closes three working days out and Pisa's tower is a hard timed slot with no grace period, so the two destinations here that most reward planning are the two people plan least. Decide those on the day you arrive in Florence, not on the morning you want to go.

And they count Fiesole as a day trip. It is city bus line 7 on an urban ticket, twenty to thirty minutes out, which makes it a half-day or an evening. If you go, note that the Museo Bandini opens Friday to Sunday only, so the €12 combined ticket is worth nothing Monday to Thursday.

Staying in? The Uffizi ticket guide covers the booking that actually matters, and the Firenze Card piece works out whether the city pass earns its price.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best day trip from Florence?

Siena if you want one great thing: a direct regional train, no change, and a cathedral complex covered by a single €21 pass valid three days. Bologna if you want a city, because it is 36 minutes away on a fast train, which is less than half the time Siena takes. Arezzo if you want a Piero della Francesca fresco cycle and can book three working days ahead.

Do you need a car for San Gimignano and Chianti?

For San Gimignano, no. Autolinee Toscane runs from Florence with one change at Poggibonsi, and the fare is a fixed €7.50 each way or €15 return. For Chianti, effectively yes. The bus reaches Greve, but the wineries are on country roads the bus does not serve, and you cannot taste and drive. Chianti is the one destination here where a tour is the rational choice.

Is Cinque Terre a good day trip from Florence?

It is the weakest on this list. There is no direct service, so you spend five to six hours travelling for about five on the ground, arriving in the hours the villages are most crowded. The Via dell'Amore now needs a timed booking, is capped at 400 people an hour, and gives you 30 minutes to walk 900 metres. Stay a night in La Spezia or Monterosso instead.

How far in advance do you book the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

It opens up to 90 days ahead and it is a timed slot, not a flexible ticket: arrive late and you are refused, with no refund. Entry is €20 with no reduced rate. Children who have not turned 8 by the end of the year cannot climb at all, and under-18s need an adult. Any Pisa monument ticket includes free cathedral entry, so never buy the cathedral separately.

Does Fiesole count as a day trip from Florence?

Not really. It is city bus line 7 on an urban ticket, twenty to thirty minutes from the centre, so treat it as a half-day or an evening rather than a day out. If you go, the archaeological area is €7, the area with the archaeological museum €10, and all three sites €12. The Museo Bandini opens Friday to Sunday only, which makes the €12 combined ticket pointless from Monday to Thursday.

Book Arezzo and Pisa the day you arrive. Everything else here you can decide over breakfast.