10 Best Day Trips from Florence
There are so many great spots to visit that are the perfect distance as a day trip from Florence. Most of these are accessible on your own, but also if you’re looking for a more structured trip there are tons of options for guided day trips from Florence. Guided tours tend to be more efficient if you’re trying to see multiple spots in one day, but if you’re not on a time crunch many of these places can easily be reached by local train!
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Tuscan Wine Tour:
Best Overall
This would be my top recommendation for a Florence day trip. Tuscany is unbelievably beautiful (pictures just do not do it justice) and the wine is incredible. I used to not like red wine, and after having a few glasses of Chianti Classico, my mind was completely changed!
You can plan your own Tuscan wine tour, but generally this would mean needing to rent a car (the roads are narrow and windy + you’ll be drinking) and you’ll need to research and find wineries on your own. Most of them are small, family run wineries without websites, etc. For this trip I do recommend a guided tour. You’ll learn much more, you don’t need to worry about driving after drinking & the tour guides know the local wineries and, in my experience, have great recommendations.
The most recent tour I did left Florence in the morning and stopped at two wineries. Both were stunning and the wine was fantastic. You get a tour of both wineries as well as a tasting. These tasting are generous and there is no lack of wine. At the second winery you’ll also have a traditional Tuscan lunch. The food was incredible. We went through Tuscan Wine Tours and I would absolutely recommend them!
Cinque Terre:
Best for Hiking & Cliffside Ocean Views
I’ll preface this by saying it’s a long day trip from Florence, but I love a good jam packed day to see as many things as possible! So if you’re in Florence and want to see Cinque Terre, it’s definitely doable! There are tours you can sign up for, but it’s also easy enough to get there on your own and explore.
Just take the train to La Spezia from Florence, It will take about 2 and a half hours to get from Florence to La Spezia. At the La Spezia station make sure you buy your Cinque Terre pass. This will get you unlimited access to the 5 Terre Express, a train that runs every few minutes between La Spezia and each of the five towns of Cinque Terre + it will get you access to the hiking trails.
If you don’t have time to visit all 5 towns, I recommend prioritizing Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare! Manarola and Vernazza are the most scenic and a good place to stop for a drink of lunch. Monterosso al Mare has a beach and is a great place to end, so you can spend some time relaxing on the beach.
Check out my full blog post on taking a day trip to Cinque Terre from Florence here
San Gimignano:
Best for Visiting Tuscany without the Wine Tour
San Gimignano is a quintessential Tuscan town. It’s encircled by stone walls built hundreds of years ago. It’s a perfect town for wandering through for a few hours and the views of Tuscany from the edge of the walls is incredible. You can get there from Florence by train & bus, but it was a bit of a pain and I’d probably recommend just taking a bus tour from Florence. I took the train to Poggibonsi and then ended up waiting a long time for the bus to San Gimignano. With all the time spent commuting It probably would have been easier to just take one of the bus tours that stops in San Gimignano, Pisa and Sienna!
Verona:
Best for Romance & Literature Enthusiasts
Verona is one of my favorite cities in Italy. The charming town, most known for being the home of Romeo & Juliet, is reachable by direct train from Florence. The high speed trains take just over an hour and a half from Florence and runs many times a day.
Verona can easily be explored in a day; visit the Verona Arena, located in the main town square. The impressive amphitheater was built in 30 AD and is still in use today, and you can purchase tickets to see an opera there. Stroll along the Adige river on either side for beautiful views of Verona. If you’re a Shakespeare fan, you can also visit Juliet’s house, which is thought to be the inspiration for the infamous play.
Bologna:
Best for Foodies
Bologna is a heaven for food lovers! Bologna is the birthplace of some of the absolute best Italian foods, and any day trip to Bologna should include at least one meal (if not two) to try some of the Italy’s best cuisine in between exploring the stunning Porticoes and catching the views from the top of the Asinelli tower.
Some can’t miss local Bologna food items are:
- Tagliatelle al ragu (spaghetti bolognese)
- Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Parma Ham
- Balsamic Vinegar
All are local to Bologna, and trust me, they are better here than anywhere else in Italy! There are tons of great restaurants to try, particularly along Via Augusto Righi, but my top recommendation is Trattoria Caffe del Rosso!
Pisa:
Best for Hitting All the Instagrammable Stops
Pisa is super close to Florence if you’d like to see the infamous tower (only about an hour by train) Other than that, there’s not a ton going on in Pisa. Luckily, many of the tours combine a short stop in Pisa with some other classic Tuscan towns, like Siena, Lucca or San Gimignano!
Siena:
Best for History Lovers & Rooftop Views
Siena is famous for it’s signature red medieval brick buildings. It’s a great day trip from Florence. There are busses that run between Florence and Siena that take about an hour and a half. Siena is also included on many tours from Florence. It’s a small town so you can explore in a couple of hours!
Fiesole:
Best for a Quick Day Trip
Fiesole is a small village located in the suburbs of Florence. It’s reachable by bus from right outside Santa Maria Novella (across the street near the McDonald’s) in about 20 minutes. The busses run regularly all day. The charming village offers stunning panoramic views of Florence and is also home to a well-preserved ancient Roman Amphitheatre and Roman baths.
Fiesole is a great place to spend an afternoon exploring during your trip to Florence!
Venice:
Dreamiest Day Trip from Florence
I recommend adding Venice as a separate stop to your trip vs. taking a day trip there from Florence. But, that being said, it is possible to visit as a day trip if you don’t have time to stay in Venice. High speed trains take just a little over two hours to run between the two infamous Italian cities.
Venice is a great city to wander aimlessly and enjoy an Aperol spritz (or two) at one of the many cafes along the water. You can see my full Venice travel guide here!
Rome:
Best for Seeing all of Italy’s Most Infamous Landmarks
I recommend adding Rome as a separate stop to your Italy trip and staying there at least two days. The infamous Italian capitol has tons for visitors to see and do, but if you can’t add it as a separate stop to your trip, it can be visited from Florence as a day trip! The high speed trains take about an hour and a half and run many times every day.
Rome is impossible to see in a day, but you can choose which sites to visit! My top recommendations are the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps (at sunset) But some other lovely sites are the Vatican, Pantheon, Piazza Navona & Trastevere.
Check out my full Rome travel guide here!
Other:
If you have extra time in Florence and are looking for more day trips in addition to the above Lucca & Viareggio are good options!
If you check out any of these day trip options from Florence let me know what you think in the comments! Or if you think there’s a great day trip option from Florence on here that I missed, definitely let me know. If you want to ready my full Florence travel guide you can find that here. Or, check out some of my other Florence blog posts – like best restaurants & the best bars in Florence
