We are spending one day in Florence. From Zurich to SMN Station arriving at 7:12. We plan to see Leaning Tower of Pisa (just for a picture taking) and go to The Mall (an outlet store). Is it better to rent a car or ride the train, that is if we want to accomplish these in 1 day? We have our luggage with us. We're thinking leaving them at the left luggage if we take the train. Is our plan doable? Any suggestions? Early evening we are heading to Rome.

I don’t think the outlet malls are worth it amyway, I went once and found nothing.

Pisa is an hour by train from SMN. My guess is by the time you get there and take a picture and get back to Florence, it will be 10:30 am at the earliest. This does not count any time for breakfast, lines at the Tower, or any time lost on your part in getting from Pisa train station to the Tower. It also assumes you will not see anything else in Pisa. Finally, It assumes you will feel like doing this after spending all night on the train from Zurich, with no shower, etc. before heading out.

With regart to the Mall outside Florence, make sure it is open on the one day you will be there, and that it is open during lunch hours. You will probably need to take a taxi. There is bus service, but with your limited time I am not sure it is worth it. It takes about 45 to an hour to get to the outlet areas. I would figure at least $30 one way for the taxi. To go all the way to Florence just for an outlet mall is really silly, IMO, but certainly doable for a day, albeit an exhausting day. I don’t think the outlet malls are worth it amyway, I went once and found nothing.

If you really want to do this, I would take the train from Florence to Pisa, and a taxi to the outlet mall in Florence. One day car rental is very expensive and I think you will spend more time trying to find the car rental agency and getting into and out of Florence than anything else. If you really want to rent, consider renting from the airport where the car rental desks are easy to find and you don’t have to figure out how to get out of the city (lots of one-way and narrow streets and some traffic issues.) The airport is about 10 minutes by taxi from SMN, should cost under $10 each way.

You can store your luggage at Florence station, either in lockers or at a luggage check. There is a small charge.

You are missing everything else in Florence. This sounds like a crazy idea, but is doable if you want to.

>You are missing everything else in Florence. This sounds like a crazy idea, but is doable if you want to.<

Agreed.

Thanks! Great info and just what I needed to know. I'm glad I found this forum cause I've been clueless for days. Actually, before we do this we would have come out from Trafalgar Tours which means we're just passing by to do what we missed the first time.
Maybe we'll scratch The Mall from our To Do...

I agree that for one day I would stick with the main sights that there are to see in the Florence city center.

I can't believe I'm missing an outlet mall - what kinds of shops are located at the mall outside Florence? Also, how do we get there? =)

Mary, just type <Florence outlets> without the carets into the search box at the top of your page. Press "search," and a whole bunch of related posts will appear from the archives. Happy shopping!