The best day trips from Florence are Siena, Bologna and Lucca, all reachable by direct train or bus in 38 to 80 minutes, while Cinque Terre is the hardest at 2.5 hours each way. Pisa and San Gimignano deserve half a day, and Chianti only works with a tour or a car.
| Destination | Travel time | Transport | Self-guided | Tour | Time needed | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BolognaPorticoes, food, medieval towers | 38 min | High-speed train | € 30–80 | – | 6–9 h | Worth a full day |
 ChiantiVineyards, wineries, Greve | 58 min | Tour coach or bus 365A | – | € 65 | 5–8 h | Only with a tour |
 PisaLeaning Tower, cathedral, baptistery | 1 h | Regional train | € 39.60 | € 58.50 | 2–4 h | Worth half a day |
 ArezzoPiero della Francesca, Piazza Grande | 1 h | Regional train | € 28.60 | – | 3–4 h | Worth half a day |
 SienaPiazza del Campo, striped cathedral | 1 h 15 | Rapida bus 131R | € 35.60–37.60 | € 58.50 | 5–7 h | Worth a full day |
 LuccaWalled town, towers, bikes | 1 h 20 | Regional train | € 17.80 | € 65 | 4–6 h | Worth a full day |
 San GimignanoMedieval towers on a hill | 1 h 29 | Train + bus | € 34.60–39.60 | € 58.50 | 3–4 h | Worth half a day |
 VeniceCanals, St Mark's, the Rialto | 2 h 14 | High-speed train | € 55.80–124 | € 120 | 8–10 h | Better to sleep there |
 Cinque TerreFive cliffside fishing villages | 2 h 33 | Regional train via Pisa | € 53.80–66.80 | € 41.65 | 7–10 h | Better to sleep there |
 Val d'OrciaPienza, Montepulciano, Montalcino hills | 2 h 55 | Tour coach or car | – | € 119 | 8–12 h | Only with a tour |
No destination from Florence matches this filter.
Last checked: · Train times and fares from Trenitalia's journey planner for Wednesday 7 October 2026, bus times from Autolinee Toscane timetables valid from 5 October 2026; opening days and prices from each attraction's official site.
Three ways to use your free days, from the single trip we would pick to a full set.
With one free day, go to Siena. It fills 6 hours without rushing and no other trip here gives you as much for a single ticket. Take the 08:10 direct train, start at the cathedral at 10:00, eat near the Campo and walk the contrade after lunch. One warning: go on a weekday, because on Sundays the cathedral only opens at 13:30.
Day one is Siena on a weekday, as above. Day two heads west: take the 09:09 direct train to Lucca, walk the walls, have lunch, then ride about 30 minutes to Pisa for a late tower slot when the lawn has calmed down, and return on one of the frequent trains to Santa Maria Novella. Buy the tower time before anything else, because nobody is let in late and the best slots sell out first.
Keep Siena for the first weekday. Give the second day to Bologna: 38 minutes by Frecciarossa, a long lunch in the Quadrilatero and a late train back. Book that train a few days ahead or it costs up to € 35 each way. On the third day take the half-day Chianti tour, which runs about 5 hours and leaves you the afternoon or the morning in Florence. Do not try Chianti by bus on a Sunday, when only six buses come back from Greve.
What the weather does, how full it gets and which trips work best in each season.
Works bestVal d'OrciaLuccaSienaCinque Terre
Works bestCinque TerreLuccaPisa
Works bestChiantiSienaVal d'OrciaSan Gimignano
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°C) | 11.2 | 12.7 | 16.2 | 20 | 24.3 | 29.1 | 32.3 | 32.4 | 27.3 | 21.5 | 15.6 | 11.4 |
| Average low (°C) | 2.1 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 8.1 | 11.9 | 16 | 18.4 | 18.5 | 15 | 10.9 | 6.4 | 2.6 |
| Rainy days | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
Climate averages: Wikipedia, Florence: climate table for Florence Airport, 1991-2020 normals (NOAA)
Regional trains keep most trips cheap because fares are fixed: € 8.90 to Lucca, € 9.80 to Pisa and € 10.80 to Siena each way, on the day or a month ahead. Bologna is the exception. A late Frecciarossa costs up to € 35 each way against € 10 for the slow regional, so book early. Lucca's walls and the Pisa lawn are free. For several towns in one day the tour wins: from € 58.50 for Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano with lunch.
Eat by destination. In Siena order pici and take home panforte or ricciarelli. Lucca means tordelli with meat sauce and farro soup. Bologna is the big lunch of the list: tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo, mortadella from the Quadrilatero stalls. On the Ligurian coast go for trofie with pesto, focaccia and fried anchovies. San Gimignano pours Vernaccia, Chianti its own red with finocchiona. For Cinque Terre and Val d'Orcia days, pack breakfast and water: starts are early and stops are short.
The same destinations, sorted by what you want from the day.
Worth a full dayThe capital of Emilia-Romagna, a brick-red university city of porticoes and food markets, 38 minutes north of Florence by high-speed train.
Only with a tourThe wine hills between Florence and Siena, where estates are spread along country roads and the market town of Greve is an hour away by bus.
Worth half a dayA university city 80 km west of Florence whose main sights all stand on one lawn, the Piazza dei Miracoli, an hour away by regional train.
Worth half a dayA hill town in eastern Tuscany with Piero della Francesca's fresco cycle in the Basilica of San Francesco and the sloping Piazza Grande, an hour by train.
Worth a full dayA medieval hill city 70 km south of Florence, built around the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and a cathedral with an inlaid marble floor.
Worth a full dayA flat walled town west of Florence, ringed by 4.2 km of Renaissance ramparts you can walk or cycle, 1 h 20 away by direct train.
Worth half a dayA small walled hill town 55 km south-west of Florence with 14 surviving medieval towers, reached by train to Poggibonsi and a 20 minute bus.
Better to sleep thereA car-free city of canals in the Venetian lagoon, centred on St Mark's Square and the Rialto, 2 h 14 from Florence by direct Frecciarossa.
Better to sleep thereFive coastal villages in Liguria linked by a short train line and footpaths, about 150 km north-west of Florence and 2.5 hours away by train.
Only with a tourA valley of hill towns and cypress-lined farm roads south of Siena, where Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino sit too far apart to link by public transport.
