Day trips from Florence - Pisa, Siena, Chianti & Fiesole
Pisa and its Leaning Tower, medieval Siena, the towers of San Gimignano, Chianti wine tours and Fiesole on your doorstep, transport, prices and timing.
By florenz.info editorial team · Travel editors · Last updated: June 2026
Contents
Florence is one of the best bases for exploring Tuscany. Some destinations are reached directly by regional train, with no need for a car or a guided tour, while others sit off the rail network and require a change or a tour operator. This guide sorts the best day-trip destinations by how to get there, cost and realistic timing, so the outing doesn't turn into half a day spent waiting around. For getting around in and near Florence generally, see the guide Getting around Florence.
Pisa, half a day for the Leaning Tower
Pisa is the simplest day trip. Trenitalia runs around 46 to 52 direct regional trains a day from Firenze S.M.N. station to Pisa Centrale; journey time is roughly 50 to 60 minutes, with the fastest services managing around 49 minutes. There's at least one train an hour during the day, more often at peak times. Regional trains need no reservation, and tickets cost from around €6 to €9 and must be validated before departure. Book via trenitalia.com.
All the highlights stand close together on the Piazza dei Miracoli, so Pisa works well as a half day, around four hours is enough, including a tower-climb slot. Worth knowing on tickets:
- Leaning Tower. The climb costs €20, the same for everyone, as there is no reduced tower ticket. The minimum age is 8, children who don't turn 8 within the current year aren't allowed up.
- Cathedral (Cattedrale Santa Maria Assunta). Admission is free, but requires a free timed-entry ticket from the ticket office.
- Combined ticket. Tower plus baptistery, Camposanto and museums costs around €27; the monuments alone, without the tower, cost around €7.
If you want to climb the tower, book early. Tower tickets go on sale on opapisa.it up to 90 days in advance and often sell out within hours during the high season from June to August. Entry runs in 30-minute slots for groups of 30; walk-up tickets are rarely a realistic option in summer. The compact size of the piazza makes Pisa an ideal half-day trip, easy to combine with a second destination.
Siena, worth the full day
Siena is the counterpart to Pisa, a full, rewarding day with the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, striped cathedral and steep old town. Trenitalia runs up to 16 services a day from Florence, as Regionale or Regionale Veloce trains; journey time is around 1:27 to 1:30 hours, with tickets from about €5 to €11 and no reservation needed. One drawback remains - Siena station sits outside the city walls, so you'll need to climb up to the old town from there.
A more convenient alternative is the bus. Autolinee Toscane (formerly SITA) runs line 131 Rapida from near S.M.N. station in around 1:15 to 1:30 hours, roughly every half hour during the day. The advantage over the train: the bus stops right at the edge of the old town, so there's no climb from the lower-lying station.
The centrepiece of a day in Siena is the cathedral complex. The OPA SI PASS costs €14, rising to €16 in the weeks when the cathedral's uncovered floor is on display (27 June to 31 July and 18 August to 15 November 2026); children aged 7 to 11 pay €3, under 6s go free. It is valid for three consecutive days and covers the cathedral, the Piccolomini Library, the cathedral roof (Porta del Cielo), the Museo dell'Opera with the Facciatone panorama, the crypt and the baptistery, plus a digital audio guide.
Opening hours for 2026, roughly: from 1 April to 31 October around 10:00-19:00 (Museo dell'Opera 9:30-19:30), and in the winter half-year (7 January to 31 March and 1 November to 24 December) around 10:30-17:30. Sundays and public holidays have shorter hours (around 13:30-17:30), with last entry 30 minutes before closing.
San Gimignano, beautiful, but with a change
The skyline of medieval towers makes San Gimignano one of Tuscany's most photogenic destinations
getting there without a car, though, is more involved. There is no direct bus from Florence; the connection always runs via Poggibonsi:
By bus. Florence-Poggibonsi on Autolinee Toscane line 131 (around 50 minutes), then connecting bus 130 to San Gimignano (about 20 to 25 minutes). The Florence departure point is on Via Santa Caterina da Siena, near S.M.N.
By train. Florence-Poggibonsi by train (around an hour, roughly hourly), then also connecting bus 130.
With waiting time, expect roughly 80 to 120 minutes each way. Exact current timetables for lines 130 and 131 depend on season and day of the week and are published on at-bus.it. The town itself is small and can be seen well in three to four hours, because of the involved journey, San Gimignano without a car is usually combined with Chianti, Volterra or Monteriggioni on a guided full-day tour. Established tour operators run such day trips from Florence, often combined with Siena, Chianti or Monteriggioni; prices and inclusions vary by operator and are worth checking directly.
Two quieter alternatives are worth considering if San Gimignano feels too busy. Volterra is an Etruscan town whose Museo Etrusco Guarnacci holds one of the most important Etruscan collections, including around 600 cinerary urns, and is considered less touristy. Monteriggioni is a small, well-preserved walled town near the Florence-Siena route with its ring wall still intact (14 towers, 2 gates), noticeably less crowded and a good short stop on a Chianti or Siena tour.
Chianti, a wine tour with tastings
Chianti, between Florence and Siena, is the postcard Tuscany, cypress-lined lanes, hills and wine estates. The best way to reach the region without a car is a guided wine tour. As a rough guide to 2026 market prices: half-day tours with two wineries (around 4 to 5 hours) typically run €85 to €110 per person, and full-day tours with two to three winery visits, tastings and lunch run around €120 to €150 per person. Exact prices vary constantly by operator.
If you'd rather book directly with a winery, fixed prices are easier to plan around. Two specific addresses:
- Castello di Verrazzano (Greve in Chianti). The Classic Wine Tour costs around €32 per person, taking in the gardens and historic cellars and ending with a guided tasting, including an IGT Toscana and a Chianti Classico Riserva, alongside olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pecorino. Duration around 1 hour 20 minutes, without lunch; tours with lunch are available separately.
- Antinori nel Chianti Classico (San Casciano in Val di Pesa). Visits with tasting, on reservation, start from around €35 per person (such as the Tinaia Tour with 3 wines or the Bottaia Tour with 4 wines); premium experiences with lunch are available at the rooftop restaurant Rinuccio 1180. Open April to October daily 10:00-18:00 (last tour 16:00), November to March Monday to Friday 10:00-17:00.
The best time is the grape harvest, the vendemmia, typically mid-September to early October in Chianti Classico, warm weather, autumn colours and harvest festivals, with many estates running special harvest tours that include grape picking and first pressing. Spring is appealing too, with blossom and mild weather. Either way, book winery tours two to three weeks ahead.
Fiesole, the day trip on your doorstep
If you're short on time, head to Fiesole, the hilltop town with Etruscan roots and views back over Florence. It's the simplest day trip of all: bus line 7 (Autolinee Toscane, formerly ATAF) runs from S.M.N. station or Piazza San Marco to the final stop, Fiesole Piazza Mino. Journey time is around 18 to 25 minutes, with buses roughly every 20 minutes, daily, the standard city single ticket applies.
The highlights are the archaeological area with the Roman Theatre and the museums. Ticket options:
- Archaeological area plus Archaeological Museum. Combined ticket €10 (reduced €6).
- Archaeological area only. €7 (reduced €5).
- Area plus both museums, including Museo Bandini. €12 (reduced €8). A multimedia guide is included in each price.
Opening hours for 2026 are generous: from 1 April to 30 September daily 9:00-19:00, in October daily 10:00-18:00, and from 1 November to 28 February Wednesday to Monday 10:00-15:00 (closed Tuesdays). Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The panoramic view over Florence pairs well with Piazzale Michelangelo as a second viewpoint for a relaxed half day.
Planning your day
A quick rule of thumb for timing, to help you sequence trips:
- Half a day. Pisa (compact piazza, around four hours including a tower slot) or Fiesole (short bus ride, archaeological area and views).
- Full day. Siena (cathedral complex, Piazza del Campo and old town) or a Chianti wine tour with tastings and lunch.
- Full day with a tour. San Gimignano, best combined with Volterra, Monteriggioni or Chianti because of the change at Poggibonsi.
Two current notes worth flagging. Infrastructure and modernisation works are planned on the Florence-Pisa line for summer 2026; journey times and availability may vary, so check current timetables on trenitalia.com before travelling. And for time-slot tickets, the Leaning Tower, the Siena cathedral complex, winery tours, the rule holds throughout: book early, weeks rather than days ahead in the high season. For how booking works in Florence itself, see the guide Booking tickets; for when to go, see the guide Best time to visit Florence.