Day Trips from Florence to Siena, Pisa, and Lucca

Florence makes a good base for day trips, since regional trains and intercity buses leave its central stations for nearby towns. Pisa and Lucca are the easiest to reach by rail, about one hour to one hour and 45 minutes depending on the train. Siena is about an hour by bus or car, but check the train timetable before you book. Cinque Terre is a full-day trip of about two and a half hours each way. Bologna is the fastest long-distance option, at 35 to 40 minutes by high-speed train.

Regional trains stop at most stations. High-speed trains, such as the Frecciarossa and Italo, stop at fewer stations and cost more on most routes. Trenitalia, Italy’s main rail operator, sells both types, and so do aggregator sites that resell tickets. Timetables and fares change, so confirm times and prices on the official operator site before you travel.

Siena by bus, train, or car

Siena is about one hour from Florence by road. The road distance is 71.5 km, and the drive takes about an hour via the RA3 ring road, as this route description also shows. Parking in Siena is a separate question, and you should check parking rules for the historic center before driving in.

The bus is the simpler choice for most visitors. Intercity buses leave from the bus station next to Santa Maria Novella, the main Florence train station, and the fastest services take about one hour to one hour and fifteen minutes. One operator’s route page lists about 50 minutes, but that figure sits at the low end of the published range. Buses arrive at Piazza Gramsci, about a five-minute walk from Piazza del Campo, the main square. The intercity operator is Autolinee Toscane, so look for that name on the timetable. Bus frequency varies by day, with fewer buses on weekends and holidays, so check the timetable for your travel day.

Siena’s train station sits at the base of a steep hill, about 2 km from Piazza del Campo. The train route changes at Empoli, with about 30 minutes from Florence to Empoli and about one hour from Empoli to Siena, for a total of 1.5 to 1.75 hours. Direct trains are also reported to take about 1.5 hours. Check the Trenitalia timetable for the day you travel, and plan around the Empoli change until you confirm a direct service. Siena is not on a high-speed line, so no Frecciarossa or Frecciargento service runs this route.

From the station, the city bus (Tiemme line 3 or 10, about €1.70) reaches the center, and a taxi costs about €8 to €10. The walk from the station is at least 20 minutes, and it is steep. Confirm these taxi and city bus fares before you travel.

Published bus fares run about €4 to €10 one way. Train fares run from about €7 to €16 one way, and most listings cluster near €10. Fares change with booking time and season, so confirm the current price on the operator’s site. For the return trip, watch the arrival stop. Some return buses from Siena end at Scandicci and Villa Costanza, a Florence suburb, rather than the central station. Confirm the Florence drop-off stop before you book a return.

What to see in Siena

The main square, Piazza del Campo, is the reference point for every travel time to Siena, so plan your arrival around it. Check opening hours and entry fees for Siena’s sights on the official site before you go. The Comune di Siena is the city government and the best place to check museum hours, tickets, and any seasonal closures before you go. Build the visit around the walk from the bus stop or train station, plan for the hill climb, and allow time for the return bus.

Pisa and the Leaning Tower

Pisa is about one hour from Florence by regional train. The regional service takes about 50 minutes. Regional trains run every 15 to 30 minutes from Santa Maria Novella. High-speed trains take about 50 to 55 minutes and cost €15 to €25 with advance booking. The regional fare is €8.50, with no advance discount. Confirm the current fare on the Trenitalia site, since older listings show €10 or more.

Trains arrive at Pisa Centrale, which sits about 15 to 30 minutes’ walk from the Piazza dei Miracoli, the square with the tower. Allow about 25 minutes for the walk. Two alternatives save the walk. The LAM Rossa bus costs €1.70, runs about every 10 minutes, and takes about 15 minutes to the tourist market just outside the square. A taxi costs about €10 to €14. If you walk, build the walk into your schedule, because the train arrival time is not the time you reach the tower.

The Leaning Tower is the reason most people visit Pisa, and the climb needs planning. The climb costs €20, and you go up in a timed 30-minute slot. You book through the official Opera della Primaziale Pisana site, opapisa.it. Plan on booking two to eight weeks ahead. Book as early as you can, and book earlier in spring and autumn, when crowds are heavier. Children under 8 are not allowed to climb, and the tower is not accessible for people with mobility problems, so plan a ground-level visit if either applies.

Confirm three details on opapisa.it before you pay: whether the €20 climb ticket includes Cathedral access, the step count, and the opening hours.

A typical visit takes 15 to 20 minutes for photos from the square alone, about 30 minutes for the climb, and 30 minutes to 2 hours for the full complex. Most visitors spend 1 to 3 hours in total. A half-day plan works well: one published itinerary leaves Florence at 9:00 am and returns at 3:30 pm, which gives about 4.5 hours in Pisa. A full day runs from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, with about 9 hours in Pisa. Outside the square, the Lungarno embankment along the Arno, Piazza dei Cavalieri, and the National Museum of San Matteo are less crowded options. Check opening hours and fees for those sites before you go.

Lucca’s walls and towers

Lucca is a direct regional train from Santa Maria Novella, and the trip takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes. The Devour Tours Lucca guide gives about 1 hour and 20 minutes, which sits inside that range. Trains run about every 30 minutes, according to Context Travel. Check the current timetable on the Trenitalia site before you choose a train. Trains usually leave early in the morning, so an early departure leaves more time in Lucca.

You can buy a regional ticket at the tobacco shops inside the station, which is documented here. Return fares run from €10 to €18, so confirm the price before you pay. A bus from Florence takes just over 60 minutes at about €7. Check the operator’s current fare and timetable before you plan around the bus.

Lucca’s train station sits just outside the city walls. Walking times to the old town vary by route. The walk to the first stop takes about 8 minutes, and the walk through the Porta San Pietro gate takes about 2 minutes. Either way, the old town starts within a few minutes of the platform. The same guide suggests arriving by about 9:30 am on an early train, and it recommends leaving Florence between 8:30 and 9:00 am to arrive between 10:00 and 10:30 am. It also suggests catching a return train no later than about 8 to 9 pm. Those are planning suggestions, not timetable entries, so check the departure board on the day.

Driving to Lucca takes about 55 to 70 minutes on the A11 for roughly 80 km, depending on traffic. Park at the Parcheggio Carducci, which sits just outside the Porta Santa Maria gate and is signposted from the ring road. Lucca’s historic center has a limited traffic zone, known as a ZTL, where entry by car is restricted. Driving into it without a permit can bring a fine. Entry without a permit can bring a fine, so check the Comune di Lucca website for the current rules and penalties before you drive.

The city walls are the main attraction. The circuit is about 4.2 km long. They were built between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries, and a full lap takes about 20 to 30 minutes at a walking pace, not counting stops. The walls are open 24 hours a day at no charge, but confirm this on the Comune di Lucca website before you plan an evening walk. Bike rental on the walls costs about €5 for an hour or €12 for a full day. Confirm the current price before you rent.

The Guinigi Tower is the best-known tower in the city. It is one of the few surviving 14th-century towers in Lucca, and its top has a small hanging garden with large, old holly oaks. You climb about 230 steps to reach the top. From the top, you see the town and, on clear days, the Apuan Alps. Check hours and fees with the Comune di Lucca before you go. The Clock Tower, the Torre delle Ore, shows the clock mechanism and offers a view that includes the Guinigi Tower. Its opening hours and fees also need checking.

Between the towers and the walls, Lucca has several sights that do not require tickets. The Piazza dell’Anfiteatro is an oval square built on the footprint of a Roman amphitheater, and the layout is the easiest feature to recognize from the square. The Cathedral of San Martino has a marble facade and reliefs carved in a Romanesque-Gothic style. San Frediano has a mosaic facade that shows scenes from the life of Saint Frediano. San Michele in Foro is a 13th-century Gothic church listed as open 9 am to 7 pm daily and free. Confirm hours with the church before you visit.

Some travelers combine Pisa and Lucca in one day. One itinerary suggests an early train to Pisa, one to two hours at the square, a 30-minute train to Lucca, and a return of about 1.5 to 2 hours to Florence. That plan depends on a 30-minute Pisa-to-Lucca leg, so verify it on the timetable before you commit to the day.

San Gimignano through Poggibonsi

San Gimignano does not have a direct train from Florence. Most travelers take a regional train to Poggibonsi and then a bus to the town. The train takes about 30 minutes and costs about €5, and bus 130 from Poggibonsi takes about 25 minutes. The local bus takes 20 to 25 minutes. The total trip runs about 1.5 to 2 hours. Bus numbers are reported as 131 from Florence and 130 or 133 from Poggibonsi, so confirm the route with the bus operator before you travel. Buses run about once an hour, with a transfer at Poggibonsi. Intercity buses from Florence leave from the main bus station near Santa Maria Novella.

Driving takes about one hour. The town’s old center is compact, and most visitors spend half a day there. Florence Tourism suggests at least three to four hours. Midday in summer is busy, so arrive early in the morning or come in the late afternoon. San Gimignano has 14 surviving medieval towers, and its skyline is the reason many people visit.

Cinque Terre as a full day

The train to Cinque Terre takes about 2.5 hours each way, the longest of the day trips covered here. A change in Pisa may be needed, and La Spezia is also named as the change point. Confirm the change point on the Trenitalia timetable before you book.

Once you reach La Spezia, local trains reach each village in about 5 to 10 minutes. A Cinque Terre Train Card, which allows unlimited village trains and access to the trails, costs about €22 per day in 2026. Check the Cinque Terre National Park site for the current price and rules before you buy. The villages need four to five hours on the ground. Florence Tourism recommends leaving Florence by 7:00 or 7:30 am for six or more hours in the villages, and it recommends leaving the villages by 5:30 or 6:00 pm. The last trains from La Spezia to Florence run to about 9 pm. Florence Tourism puts the whole day at 13 to 15 hours door to door. Fares to La Spezia run about €15 by regional train or €25 by high-speed train.

Bologna by high-speed train

Bologna is the fastest long-distance day trip in this article. High-speed trains, including Frecciarossa and Italo, take about 35 to 40 minutes. Published times are 37 minutes and 35 minutes. Regional trains take longer, about one hour to 1.5 hours depending on the service. Fares depend on how far ahead you book. Fares start at €9.90 each way when booked two to four weeks ahead, and other fares run €15 to €30. Book early on the Trenitalia or Italo sites to get the lower fares. Modena can be paired with Bologna as a second stop, but check train times for that combination separately.

Chianti, Volterra, Orvieto, and Arezzo

Chianti and Val d’Orcia have no train station that serves the main landscape areas, so most travelers use a rental car or guided tour. Volterra and Cortona are about 1.5 to 2 hours by car. Orvieto is listed at about 2 hours and 15 minutes. Check the route and fare before you plan the trip. Arezzo is close to Florence by rail, so check the current travel time on the Trenitalia timetable before planning a day there.

Trip times at a glance

Key Takeaways

• Book the Leaning Tower climb early: The climb runs in timed 30-minute slots, so book through opapisa.it before you travel.
• Check the Siena train before you go: Confirm on the Trenitalia timetable whether a direct train runs, and plan for the Empoli change if it does not.
• Start early for Pisa and Lucca: Both trips take about an hour or more by regional train, and a morning departure gives you the most time in each city.
• Set aside a full day for Cinque Terre: The trip takes about 2.5 hours each way, and the whole day runs 13 to 15 hours door to door.