The Best Day Trips from Florence: Pisa, Siena, Cinque Terre and More

This post contains affiliate links. If you book through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

Florence sits in the middle of Tuscany, which makes it the best base in central Italy for day trips. Pisa and Lucca are about an hour away, Siena and San Gimignano a little further, and with an early start even the Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast is possible in a day. The trick is matching the trip to the time you have: some places reward a relaxed half day, others are worth a full, long day on a guided tour.

Here are the day trips from Florence we think are worth taking, how long each one needs and whether to go on your own or with a tour.

Day Trips from Florence Compared

Day trip	Tour length	Best for	On your own?
Pisa	about 6 hours	A short stay or a half day off	Easy by regional train
Pisa and Lucca	about 8 hours	Two very different towns in one relaxed day	Possible by train, with a change of pace
Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni	about 10.5 hours, with wine tasting	A first taste of the Tuscan hill towns	Hard to combine all three without a car
Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano	about 11.5 hours, with tastings	Wine lovers and Val d’Orcia landscapes	Only realistic with a car or driver
Cinque Terre	about 13 hours	Sea views and coastal villages	Long by train, a tour saves the planning
Pisa and Cinque Terre	about 13 hours	Ticking off both in one day	Not practical on your own
Assisi and Perugia	about 11 hours, small group	Umbria, art and pilgrimage history	Possible by train, but slow

Tour lengths are taken from the tour operators’ listings and include travel from Florence. Check the current price and meeting point on the booking page before you go.

Pisa: The Easy Half Day

Pisa is the simplest day trip from Florence. Regional trains run frequently and take about an hour, and the main sights, the Leaning Tower, the cathedral and the baptistery, are grouped together on the Piazza dei Miracoli. If you want to climb the tower, book a timed ticket in advance, especially in summer. A guided Pisa trip from Florence handles transport and the tower ticket for you; on your own, add our Leaning Tower tickets to the train journey. There is more to the city than the tower, as our guide to Pisa shows.

Pisa and Lucca: Two Towns, One Day

Lucca is the perfect contrast to Pisa: quiet, walled and made for walking or cycling along the ramparts. Combining the two on the Pisa and Lucca day trip gives you the famous photo in the morning and a slow afternoon in Lucca. If you decide to go back on your own, our guides to Lucca and how to spend one day in Lucca have everything you need.

Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni

If you only have one day for the Tuscan countryside, this is the classic. Siena has the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo and one of Italy’s great cathedrals, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval towers, and Monteriggioni is a tiny walled village on a hilltop. The three are hard to combine by public transport, which is why the guided day trip with wine tasting is the easy option, with a winery stop to break up the day.

Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano

For the landscapes of the Val d’Orcia and the wines of southern Tuscany, the Val d’Orcia day trip includes a Brunello tasting in Montalcino, free time in Pienza and a Vino Nobile tasting in Montepulciano. It is a long day, but these towns are spread out and hard to reach without a car. Read our guides to Montalcino and Montepulciano before you go.

Cinque Terre: The Long Day to the Coast

The five villages of the Cinque Terre are a long way from Florence, so a day trip means an early start and a late return. The Cinque Terre day tour takes care of the coach, trains and timing between villages. If you also want to see Pisa, the Pisa and Cinque Terre tour leaves Piazzale Montelungo at 07:00, takes a coach to La Spezia, then trains to Manarola and Monterosso al Mare, and stops in Pisa on the way back; groups are capped at 25 and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before. If you can, spend a night on the coast instead: the villages are at their best in the early morning and evening, after the day-trippers have left.

Assisi and Perugia: Into Umbria

Umbria is close enough for a day from Florence, and the small-group tour to Assisi and Perugia covers the hilltop town of Saint Francis and Umbria’s lively capital.

Something Different: Vespa, Cooking and Chianti

Not every day trip has to be about famous towns. Three alternatives give you a different side of Tuscany:

• By Vespa: the small-group Tuscany Vespa tour with lunch takes about six hours and follows country roads through the hills south of Florence, ideal for confident riders who want the classic Italian experience.
• Cooking in the countryside: the Certaldo, Monteriggioni and Castellina tour with a cooking class combines lesser-known medieval villages with a hands-on class, around nine hours in total.
• Chianti in an afternoon: the Chianti wine tour with tasting lasts about five hours and leaves your morning free in Florence.

Going on Your Own by Train or Bus

Several of these places are easy to reach without a tour. Regional trains from Santa Maria Novella run frequently to Pisa, about an hour away, and Lucca is on a connected line, so the two can be combined in one independent day. Siena is reachable by train or bus; the bus often drops you closer to the historic centre. San Gimignano, Monteriggioni and the Val d’Orcia are much harder by public transport, which is where a tour or a car makes the difference.

Going independently works best for one town per day. As soon as you want to combine two or three places in the countryside, a guided tour saves time, connections and the stress of driving into limited traffic zones.

How to Choose the Right Day Trip

• One free day, first visit: Siena, San Gimignano and Monteriggioni.
• Half a day only: Pisa, or an afternoon in Chianti.
• Wine lovers: Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano.
• Sea and colour: Cinque Terre, ideally with a night on the coast.
• Art and history beyond Tuscany: Assisi and Perugia.

Tips for Day Trips from Florence

• Start early: most full-day tours leave between 07:00 and 08:00, and the towns are calmer before the coaches arrive.
• Check the meeting point: tours leave from different places, including Piazzale Montelungo and the area around Santa Maria Novella station.
• Do not overdo it: one town done well beats three seen from a coach window.
• Keep a free day for Florence: our luxury guide to Florence and perfect day in Florence help you plan it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best day trip from Florence?

For most first-time visitors, Siena and San Gimignano. Together they give the clearest picture of medieval Tuscany and its countryside in a single day.

Can you do Pisa and Lucca in one day?

Yes. Both are on the train line west of Florence, and organised trips cover them in about eight hours.

Is the Cinque Terre too far for a day trip from Florence?

It is possible but long, around 13 hours on most tours. If you can, spend a night on the coast instead.

Do I need to book day trips in advance?

In spring, summer and early autumn, yes, especially for small-group tours and the Leaning Tower climb. Many tours offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

Where do day trips from Florence leave from?

Most leave from around Santa Maria Novella station or Piazzale Montelungo nearby, but some use the Villa Costanza coach station outside the city. Always check the meeting point on your ticket.

Plan Your Stay

Arriving by air? A pre-booked private transfer from Florence Airport takes you straight to your hotel, and an eSIM for Italy keeps train times and tickets on your phone. For where to stay, see our guide to the best luxury hotels in Florence.

Related guides: read our articles on Leaning Tower of Pisa tickets, San Gimignano, a Val d’Orcia road trip, the Cinque Terre and Florence museum tickets.

For wine lovers, see also our guide to wine tours from Florence.

South of the Arno, do not miss Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.

To escape the city for a day, see our guide to the best day trips from Rome.