Day trips from Florence

[origami]

I'm planning what to do in Florence over Spring Break and looking into possible day trips. 2 adults, 2 young teenagers. Any recs? If you did this did you book a tour? I'm not sure how feasible it would be to rent a car and DIY the whole thing. 

[meowmaps]

It feels like a lifetime since I was in Florence but it’s very easy to day-trip from there independently. Train trips to Siena or San Gimignano are popular. Siena is really lovely, I never got to San Gimignano. You can also take a bus to Fiesole, a very quaint and pretty town about 15 minutes from Florence.

[dutchgirl678]

We went to Siena by bus. It was super easy and we had a blast. We just wandered around the town by ourselves, climbed the tower in the big square and saw the interior of the pretty church and of course had a fantastic meal. Lucca, Greve in Chianti, or San Gimignano also sound lovely. I would skip Pisa.

But it would also be a possibility to book some tour that will take you to the countryside and stop for a cooking class or food/wine tasting somewhere. You can rent a car and DIY, but I know in Florence itself there are whole sections that are off-limits to cars during most of the day. I don't think driving is the issue but parking is and I personally wouldn't want that kind of stress.

[mrsukyankee]

I'm such a huge fan of Lucca and Siena. I did not like Pisa at all and would skip it. You really don't need a car. There are a lot of trains that go through Florence - definitely direct to Siena & Lucca. They would take around an 1-1/2 hours, more or less.

[turkletsmom]

We took a direct bus from Florence to Siena for the day in 2022. It was easy and cheap. We bought our tickets at the bus station in the morning and just spent the day walking around and eating. We didn't climb the dome inside the cathedral but we did climb to the top of an outdoor section (I can't remember what it was called) which was a much easier climb and had amazing views of the countryside. Absolutely magical.