nvl325

We want to do a couple day trips while in Florence. Looks like Lucca and Pisa are fairly close to each other- would it make sense to take a bus or train to Pisa, spend a bit of time there, and then bus or train to Lucca to spend the rest of the day, before returning to Florence?

Second day trip would be to Siena- I can hardly wait for that!

We have 3 1/2 days in Florence- rest of time to spend there, at Uffizi, Accademia, Bargello, and eating gelato, hopefully.

kybourbon

I would go to Lucca early (bus or train), tour around, have lunch and then train to Pisa. Everything in Lucca shuts down in the afternoon (1-4). Pisa doesn't.

Siena works better by bus.
http://www.sienamobilita.it/EN/index.html

JudyC

Another option is taking train to Pisa, then get on the bus to Lucca from the bus stop outside the entrance of Duomo, arrive Lucca for lunch.

willit

Lucca to Pisa by train works very well - about 20 minutes. If you get off at Pisa S.Rossore station you are only about 5 minutes walk from the "Campo dei Miracoli".

kybourbon

JudyC - If you arrive Lucca for lunch, there is nothing to do after lunch because everything is closed unless you hang around until 4.

cruiseluv

She could have a late lunch and then take a walk on the walls.

nvl325

thanks for the responses- just what I was looking for.

Do I need to buy Pisa tickets ahead? (For the Leaning Tower, etc.) I'd rather not lock myself in too much.

As far as the trip to Siena- should we include San Gimignano in that day? Siena sounds so fabulous I hate to take time away from a whole day there-

Jean

If your trip is between May and October, you should probably have your Leaning Tower tickets purchased before you leave home. And that's one reason why I suggest people go to Pisa first. Book the earliest time you can arrive at the Tower, and then the rest of the day is open to spend as little or as much time in Pisa as you want before you move on to Lucca. (Personally, Lucca didn't do much for me although many people here think it's wonderful. Ditto San Gim.)

If your trip is between June 16 and August 31, another option is to plan the Tower at the end of the day when it's open until 11 p.m. (Entrance allowed up to 30 minutes before closing.) In fact, if you expect high temps during the time of your trip, this might be a nice plan.

You cannot take bags or containers of any kind into the Tower. So, you'll need to factor in some time when you arrive to check your bags. If you miss your schedule time, you're out of luck.

kybourbon

To reserve a time for the tower:
http://www.opapisa.it/index.php?id=16&L=1&T=2

violetduck

Bookmarking

nvl325

I like the idea of seeing Pisa in the evening, and was looking to see how late the trains run from Pisa back to Florence. But when I was on the trenitalia site, it came back "no solutions found". Does anyone know about the evening train schedule?

Also, noodling around online, I see Pisa has a couple special events- June 16, street festival called Luminara, and on June 17 San Ranieri Day. Heard of these?

kybourbon

Enter a date within the next week to get schedules. They won't change much.

willit

"As far as the trip to Siena- should we include San Gimignano in that day? Siena sounds so fabulous I hate to take time away from a whole day there-"

If using public transport, it is possible to do both, but I do think it would be quite rushed. You could take a bus from Florence at around 8:30, get to SG around 10, Spend a couple of hours there, get a bus around 12:40 to Poggibonsi, change for Siena and arrive around 2pm. The last bus from Siena to Florence is around 8:30, so you have a good few hours. There is a slightly out of date timetable here
http://www.florenceitaly.net/it/busit.html

I like SG, but do feel that it is somewhat overrated. It has nice city walls, a good ruined castle, some superb ice cream, and the most disturbing frescoes I have ever seen. The views of the town and its towers can be quite stunning if you walk a mile or so into the hills.

That said, it might often be technically possible to walk from the main gate to the town square without touching the ground if you could step on the heads of the throngs of tourists. The main street appears just a succession of tourist shops - and you feel that quite possibly the soul of the city has been lost to the tourist trade.

I am very biased towards Siena - it ranks very highly on my all time favourite places list. Like Florence , it caters for tourists, but tourists are not the sole reason for it's everyday existance.