Day trips from Florence: train, bus or tour, what each costs and how long it takes

💡 The Short Version: Pisa is the easy trip: the fast regional takes 51 minutes from €9.80. Siena is 1 hour 28 minutes by direct train, Lucca 1 hour 20 minutes and San Gimignano 1 hour 4 minutes to Poggibonsi and a bus. Bologna is 37 minutes by Frecciarossa and Venice 2 hours 13 minutes. Chianti and the Val d’Orcia have no train: they are tours or a car. The Cinque Terre are 2 hours 5 minutes to 2 hours 44 minutes to La Spezia, and a coach tour from €41 is the cheaper day. Trenitalia changes its timetable in December. Or book a tour: the Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano dayad is €49 for 12 hours, the Chianti half-dayad from €49, and the Cinque Terre day tripad €55. A tour replaces a bus connection or a change of train (GetYourGuide).

The day trips compared

Train fares are Trenitalia’s “from” fares for a second-class single, doubled for the return; the Trenitalia app shows the exact fare for your date. Tour prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult.

A Trenitalia regional train at Firenze Santa Maria Novella. Photo: Moliva, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

When a tour is worth it

A coach tour earns its price where there is no train or the day has several stops.

• Chianti and the Val d’Orcia. No train reaches the wine villages, Pienza or Montalcino. The Chianti half-day toursad start at €49 for about 6 hours; the Val d’Orcia tourad is €92 for 11½ hours with Montalcino, Pienza and Montepulciano.
• Siena and San Gimignano together. On your own it is a train to Poggibonsi, a bus and the way back. A tour fixes the timetable for €49 and 9 hoursad, and adds Pisa in a 12-hour day from €49ad.
• The Cinque Terre. A coach tour from €41 for 12 hours costs less than €31.80 in train fares plus a park card of €17.30 to €35.00, though some listings sell the village trains as an extra. The train gives more time in the villages and no fixed return.
• Pisa and Lucca. A 9-hour tourad fits both in a day, from €59.

Not worth a tour: Pisa alone, where the train is €9.80 and the Tower €20 and a half-day tour from €37 buys the coach and a guide; Siena alone; Lucca; Bologna; and Venice.

The trips

Pisa

Fast regional 51 minutes · from €9.80 each way · Leaning Tower €20 · tour from €37

The Leaning Tower stands on the Piazza dei Miracoli with the Cathedral, Baptistery and Camposanto. The fast regional leaves Santa Maria Novella about every hour, and the square is a 24-minute walk from Pisa Centrale. The Tower is a timed slot with 251 steps and nobody under 8, and late arrivals are refused. The Pisa guide has the trains, the tickets and the half-day tours.

Siena

Direct regional 1 hour 28 minutes, hourly at :10 · from €10.80 each way · Duomo pass €16 until 15 November, then €14

The medieval city of the Piazza del Campo and the Palio, which runs on 2 July and 16 August. The last direct train back leaves at 21:40. The Siena guide has the Duomo, the Torre del Mangia and the order for a day. From Rome there is no direct train: see Tuscany from Rome.

San Gimignano

Train to Poggibonsi 1 hour 4 minutes, then a bus · from €8.90 each way · towers and civic museums €10

A hill town known as the Manhattan of the Middle Ages for its towers. The Torre Grossa and civic museums are €10, the Collegiata €7 and the three-day pass €15. The San Gimignano guide has the bus connection and the tours with Siena.

Chianti

No train · half-day tours from €49 · small groups €89 to €149

The wine hills between Florence and Siena, reached by tour, car or the Autolinee Toscane buses 365 and 370. The Chianti guide compares the half-day tours, the small groups and the Vespa and e-bike tours.

Cypresses and vines below Castello di Verrazzano in Chianti. Photo: Alfredo Borba, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.

The Cinque Terre

Train 2 hours 5 minutes to 2 hours 44 minutes to La Spezia · from €15.90 each way · park card €17.30 to €35.00 · coach tour from €41

Five villages on the Ligurian coast. The Treno card is €22.00 to €35.00 until 1 November 2026 and €17.30 from 2 November; the Via dell’Amore is open one way, and the Blue Path from Manarola to Corniglia is closed. The Cinque Terre guide has the trains, the cards and the tours.

Other trips

Lucca

Direct regional 1 hour 20 minutes · from €8.90 each way · walls free · Pisa and Lucca tour from €59

Direct regional trains leave Santa Maria Novella at 07:09, 08:09 and 09:09, and return at :31 past each hour from 16:31 to 22:31 in 1 hour 19 minutes to 1 hour 21 minutes. The station is 1.1 km, 14 to 15 minutes’ walk, from Piazza Napoleone and the Torre Guinigi. The city walls are a 4.2 km circular path round the whole historic centre, built between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries, and free to walk (turismo.lucca.it). The Torre Guinigi is 45 m high with holm oaks growing on top, and the Torre delle Ore 50 m; booking is advised on weekdays and compulsory at weekends and on holidays (turismo.lucca.it). GetYourGuide’s 2-hour walking tour along the wallsad is €15 (1,995 reviews), and the Pisa and Lucca day tourad €59 for 9 hours.

The roofs around Piazza dell’Anfiteatro in Lucca, from the Torre Guinigi. Photo: Palickap, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano

Train to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme from €15.90, then a bus · tour €92 for 11½ hours

The valley of Pienza, Montalcino and Montepulciano has been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 2004 (whc.unesco.org). No train reaches Pienza or Montalcino. Trains from Florence to Chiusi-Chianciano Terme take 1 hour 46 minutes to 1 hour 48 minutes on the fast regionals (09:04 and 11:14) and 2 hours 17 minutes on the 07:32; the 16:48 fast regional returns in 2 hours. Trenitalia also sells one ticket from Florence to Montepulciano with a bus for the last leg, from €16.80, in 2 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 8 minutes. The tours: From Florence: Val D’Orcia Tour with Wine Tastingad is €92 for 11½ hours with two wine tastings and pecorino (1,479 reviews), and Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano & Wine Tastingsad is €92 for 12 hours (471 reviews). Tuscany from Rome compares the tours from Rome.

Bologna

Frecciarossa 37 to 38 minutes · from €23.90 each way · regional from €10.00

Frecciarossa trains leave Santa Maria Novella at 07:10, 07:20, 07:55, 08:20 and 08:36 among others, and return from Bologna Centrale from 17:02 to 20:27. The EuroCity takes 1 hour 12 minutes from €13.90, the Intercity 1 hour 17 minutes from €10.90 and a regional with a change 1 hour 16 minutes from €10.00. Frecciarossa fares move with the date and how early you book. Italo, the other high-speed operator, also runs these routes. Bologna’s airport has a shuttle bus to central Florencead from €22; see airport to the city.

Venice

Frecciarossa 2 hours 13 minutes to 2 hours 14 minutes · from €47.90 each way

Frecciarossa trains leave Santa Maria Novella at 07:20, 08:20, 09:20 and 10:20, and return from Venezia Santa Lucia at 16:26, 17:26, 18:26 and 19:26. On a weekday in October the last direct train back leaves at 19:26. Venice’s day-visitor access fee trial ended on 27 July 2026: no payment is needed now, and whether it returns in 2027 is for the city to decide (cda.ve.it). Slower trains with changes take 3 hours 59 minutes to 4 hours 33 minutes from €22.65. The Venice access fee has the 2026 rules, what to book before you go to Venice the city tickets, and day trips from Venice lists this train from the Venice side.

The Campanile and the Doge’s Palace from the Giudecca Canal in Venice. Photo: kallerna, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Before you choose a day

Airport to the city and Florence public transport cover the first and last day, and driving in Florence covers the limited traffic zone for a hire car. What to book before you go to Florence has the city tickets, 3 days in Florence shows where a day trip fits between them, and where to stay in Florence compares the areas, with hotels near the Duomo for the centre. For the month, see the best time to visit Florence.