Day Trip outside Florence Lucca/Pisa or Chianti/Pisa?
 

Looking to book a tour for a day trip out of Florence. I don't want to visit too many towns/areas b/c it is still just a day trip and don't want to feel rushed through it all...with that said, I'm looking to book a tour that includes Pisa and either Chianti (winery) or Lucca (I haven't done much research on Lucca, but from I hear, it's a beautiful town).

Suggestions/recommendations/opinions?


Thanks!!

Pistoia is on the way to Lucca.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...ith/5936373712

Lucca is a GREAT town -- we just stopped over for lunch and a nice walk-around, but want to go spend more time another trip! It's got a very different feel than Florence.

Pisa does not fit with Chianti.
Think Siena/Chianti or Lucca/Pisa

Hi SamNYC,
I agree with @bobthenavigator -- Siena would pair better with Chianti.
Which one you choose depends on your interests:
Siena/Chianti will offer both architecture and wine.
Lucca/Pisa will focus more on architecture.
Both are great -- you can't go wrong!
Have a great trip.

It seems Pisa is a must for you. I'm not a fan of Lucca, so I would look at a Pisa/San Gimignano or Pisa/Volterra combo.

Thanks for the suggestions so far...since I don't have a car, I will need to use either bus or train to get around...should I book a tour or try and explore on our own?

Pisa, Lucca, or Siena are all quite doable by train or bus.
If you want a rural experience you will need a car, a driver, or a commercial tour.

This thread interests me, we (husband and I) are planning a day trip to Lucca/Pisa from Florence on a Sunday in November. I have assumed, but not yet asked or done my research, that we can arrive by train to either one, say, Lucca, first, visit, then hop on another train and go to Pisa, visit, then get on a train back to Florence. Is this accurate, does anybody have any suggestions as to bus vs train? Thanks!

I don't know of any tour companies, personally, as we are more do-it-yourselfers. I could see where a tour could conceivably get you to two different sites with time for a lunch between the two, but it would be a check-list of sights seen without much in-depth interaction taking place.

I know there are people who feel you can "do" Pisa in a couple of hours, and maybe that is true if you just want to snap a cheezy photo of you holding up the Leaning Tower and run through the Duomo, but you won't really get a feel for the true charm of Pisa, or any of the other towns for that matter...imo, of course :)

If you can't find a tour company, Pisa is very easy to visit from Florence via train, and you can continue on to Lucca from Pisa. If you are planning on visiting both the same day I would plan on taking a taxi from the train station to save time, though walking is so much more an essential part of the cultural experience for me.

Happy Travels.

I was in Florence earlier this year. I took the train to both Pisa and Lucca - easy from Florence. Half a day for each. I'm glad I've "done" Pisa but I found it very tacky. I also thought Lucca would be terrific but found it merely OK.
For me Siena was the star and I want to go back and spend more time there. I took a one day tour with Artviva, this took in San Gimignano, Monteriggionne, a lunch at a winery and then Siena. Not cheap but they did the organising and it was great to get to the other places - San Gimignano and Moteriggione super places too.

Agree with Mary24. Siena is the place to go and we absolutely love the Chianti area. Small towns such as Panzano and Montefioralle are lots of fun to visit. If you can arrange for a bus tour or a guide with a car, you can see much more than if you are taking a train or bus and doing it on your own. If you want to visit only Siena, the bus is more convenient than the train.

Main advantage of a tour is that you don't have to figure out when and how to switch or get off trains or buses and then go to the second destination.

Viator lists several day trips out of Florence, usually hitting 2 or more places over the course of a 10 hour trip.

They used to have one that stopped by San Gimignano and then on to Siena. You can get a SITA bus to Siena for a fraction but the tour is easier to plan and you have a guide who presumably has some useful info. to impart.

They also have tours of one or two Chianti wineries, so if you do enough tasting, then you don't have to worry about driving or figuring out the transport schedule.

We were in Florence a year ago June and went on trips to Pisa/Lucca and San Gimignano/Sienna.

On the Pisa/Lucca trip we had little interest in Pisa other than the area near the Leaning Tower.

After doing some research I found that there is a little known train station after Pisa Centrale that is less than a 10 minute walk from the Tower. Pisa San Rossore.

Not all trains stop there so you have to check the schedules.

When we got off there were about half a dozen other people who got off as well. We walked thru a little gate and could see the Tower several blocks away.

I had a schedule with me so I knew when the next train came by on the way to Lucca. We got back 10 minutes before the train arrived and in a few minutes got off in Lucca.

Lucca is a very nice little city. We wandered thru the town and when we got to the far end we rented bikes and rode around the town on top of the wall.

We stopped several times for the view and for a picnic.

We were in Florence last month and agonized over the Pisa/Lucca vs. Chianti decision. We ended up renting a car and doing both.

On Saturday we left Florence at about noon and drove to Lucca, where we spent 3-4 leisurely hours, including lunch, shopping and renting bikes. It was our kind of town, and we even would consider going back and renting a place in the area. Not too touristy or crowded, great food, good shopping, lovely setting, with an upscale vibe. Added bonus: the bike path has Romanesque ruins. We then arrived at Pisa at about 6 pm, the perfect time/perfect light to snap a few photos.

On Sunday, we ventured into Chianti on route 222, also at about noon. The scenery is spectacular almost as soon as you get out of Florence. We stopped at several wineries where we bought wine, of course, but also olive oil and extraordinary vinegar. Then we happened upon a wine festival with mostly locals in Panzano, where we lingered, went to meet the famous butcher, then had a late lunch - All very charming, another town where we would consider revisiting. We thought about continuing on to Siena, but we were with our son, who needed to get back to Florence. It was also the height of the season, and we didn't want to spoil the day by having to join the hoards waiting to get into restaurants and museums.

Renting the car was super-easy, convenient and probably more affordable than joining a tour. We reserved a Renault and were upgraded to a fantastic little Mercedes C class. (I drove on the first day, and Mr. Crosscheck, who's not a huge fan of wine, was our designated driver on the Chianti day.) We got the GPS and parked it overnight in the rental garage, so we didn't have negotiate driving in Florence.

I would not recommend going on an organized tour to any of the places we visited - you will want to relax and move at your own pace. But a hired driver would probably be fine.

Correction: B class

No, I am not going on that weekend, thanks for the heads up, anyway!
found this on another forum:

http://slowtalk.com/groupee/forums/a...61/r/316101271

It seems that a way to see both in one day is Florence SMN to Pisa Centrale or Pisa San Rossore, spend half a day, then Pisa San Rossore to Lucca, then Lucca back to Florence SMN in the evening after dinner.

Wow..thanks for all the responses. From what I'm hearing, Pisa isn't a must-do. Going to do some more research on Siena and see if we'll make a stop there instead.