Day Trips from Florence

Leave Florence for a day and you can lunch among vineyards, walk a walled medieval town or follow a footpath above the sea. Across the destinations below we offer 267 day trips and tours from Florence in 2026.

We would sort the options by distance first, since an hour on the road and three hours on a train make very different days. After that, your taste decides, and so does whether you want a train on your own or a driver on the country lanes.

Travellers have left more than 28,106 reviews on the trips shown here, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Of the trips shown here, the one with the most reviews is "Florence: Pisa, Siena, San Gimignano with Light Lunch", with more than 9,555 reviews and a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Close enough for half a day

Greve in Chianti is 45 to 50 minutes south of Florence by road, so a winery visit fits around a morning in the city. Pisa is the other short hop, with direct trains of 50 to 55 minutes that beat the car in suburban traffic.

An unhurried full day

Siena is about 1 hour 10 minutes away on the 131R express bus, which stops a short walk from the Campo. San Gimignano has no railway, so without a car you change at Poggibonsi for a local bus. Lucca has a direct regional train of about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Montepulciano is about 1 hour 30 minutes away by road. Montalcino lies a little further south, and public transport there takes several changes. The Val d'Orcia needs a car, and the drive between the cypress rows is half the pleasure.

A long day that starts early

The Cinque Terre are a train ride of more than two hours, via Pisa or La Spezia, and parking near the villages is almost non-existent. Venice is around two hours away on an early high-speed train into Venezia Santa Lucia. Assisi, in Umbria, takes a similar time by road, or by train with one change.

Medieval towns and Renaissance art

Siena is for history buffs and architecture lovers who want medieval streets without the pace of Florence. Its red-brick lanes lead to the shell-shaped Campo, where the Palio is raced. To go with a guide, see our day trips from Florence to Siena.

San Gimignano suits photographers and romantic travellers, with 14 stone tower-houses above the Elsa Valley. It gets very crowded at midday, so an early or late visit is calmer. If you would rather not choose, 42 of our trips visit Siena and San Gimignano on the same day.

Assisi is for art history lovers and anyone after a reflective day, religious or not, with Giotto's frescoes in the Basilica of St Francis.

Wine, cheese and slow lunches

Chianti suits wine enthusiasts and foodies after a slow day of Chianti Classico among vineyards and olive groves. It has no railway, so look at our Chianti wine tours from Florence before hiring a car. Wine lovers who want more than one valley can compare all our wine tours from Florence side by side.

Montalcino is for serious wine connoisseurs and collectors, who can taste Brunello inside its 14th-century fortress. Montepulciano suits architecture buffs and active foodies, with Vino Nobile cellars dug into the rock under Renaissance palaces.

First visits and easy family days

Pisa is for first-time visitors and bucket-list travellers who want the Leaning Tower and the Campo dei Miracoli without a tiring day. For that quick outing, start with our day trips from Florence to Pisa.

Lucca suits families and casual cyclists after a low-stress day, because the town is flat and everyone rides along the top of its walls. For sheer choice Pisa wins, with 49 trips on this page against 4 for Lucca.

Cliffs, cypress hills and canals

The Cinque Terre are for nature lovers, hikers and photographers who do not mind steep steps on a long, active day. Five pastel fishing villages cling to the cliffs, and our Cinque Terre day trips from Florence take you along that coast.

The Val d'Orcia suits photographers, romantics and road-trippers after the classic Tuscan scene of clay hills and lonely chapels. Pienza, its small Renaissance town, is known for Pecorino cheese. Travellers rate our trips through the valley 4.6 out of 5.

Venice is for ambitious travellers set on seeing a city built on water, even on a long, fast-paced day. If that is you, start with our day trips from Florence to Venice.

The real gap between these trips is the journey, more than the place itself. Pisa sits on a direct railway line, while the Chianti wineries are spread along country roads that need a driver. On Pisa and Siena trips, also check whether the Leaning Tower or the cathedral entry is included.

Table data is indicative and comes from the GuruWalk catalogue. Each activity's current details, including availability, are the ones shown on its listing when you book.