We will be in Florence in May and are thinking about renting a car and taking a day trip to either Pisa or Siena. Which do you prefer and why? Which drive is nicer?

Pisa is easy to get into, and you can park within a few hundred yards of the Campo dei Miracoli in a secured lot. The drive from Florence is freeway and not remarkable.<BR><BR>And Siena, conversely, is... well dificult enough that I turned back (we realized that we had started too late in the afternoon and just shouldn't bother). Mostly freeway (I think - - I wasn't coming from that direction), but it still involves driving by way of some Chianti hill countryside.<BR><BR>But ease of getting there and getting parked is barely the basis for making a decision. Siena will probably be cited by far more people as &quot;more worthwhile&quot;. I personally think that Pisa is fairly interesting and cool beyond its touristy kitsch.<BR><BR>Neither one of these really needs a car to get there by the way. Train to Pisa or bus to Siena will be easier and a lot cheaper than a one day car rental.<BR><BR>Pisa primarily makes sense, in my opinion - - as a 3-hour stopover en route from Florence to the Cinque Terre, Genoa, France/Monaco, etc.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

I would not rent a car to visit either city. Pisa is a easy train ride from Florence and Siena a easy bus ride. I prefer Siena to Pisa but the leaning tower is the leaning tower I suppose. Have not driven to Siena but if the bus ride is any indication of the easiest way to drive there I would not recommend it. Would rent a car to tour the Tuscan countryside, or to go via Pisa to somewhere else as rex suggested.

We stayed in Florence in March, and around 12 noon decided to go to Pisa and took the train, it took and hour or so to get there and the train ride was very pretty and without any hassle at all, once we got to the train station we walked all the way to the field and was lovely, just a bit windy for my taste.

I prefer Pisa - Siena is pretty, but i don't see what the big deal is. Pisa, on the other hand, is etched in our subconscience and worth seeing at least for an afternoon. And the town of Pisa is cute too.

Oh my gosh, I have been to both and Pisa was SUCH a let down. I saw the tower, okay, then walked around to some other sites. The city had no charm (in my opinion). The drive to Pisa was actually quite drab and ugly. But, SIENA - wow!! First off, you get to travel through gorgeous Tuscany to get there! Then, just making my way through all the charming, twisty little cobblestone avenues lined with apartments with cute flower boxes and quaint shops and cafes to that magnificient black and white duomo - well, that is a memory etched in my mind forever. So, there ya have it, can you tell which I would choose? LOL!!

<BR>I'm with littletraveler. <BR>While I liked Pisa for a few hours (the Piazza dei Miracoli is indeed spectacular), Siena is absolutely fabulous. It's less than an hour drive if you take the main road (S2). If you like a really scenic drive, I would suggest you to take the S222 which goes all the way through the Chianti. <BR>Siena has many parking lots and underground parkings and we have never had a problem getting rid of our car. Leave early 'cause Siena is a rather big city and you will need at least a full day to enjoy it in a relaxed way.<BR>

<BR>Me again!<BR>The scenic drive to Siena will take about 1 hr 30 min., which is not too bad!

Siena is weell worth to rent a car, but only if you also get yourself a good map and drive there without using the superstrada. THus you will have the possibility to drive in a lovely countryside. Pisa is absolutely not worth renting the car since the best sight is from the train. Yet I would not stay the whole day in Pisa (the city was heavily bombed during Ww2 and, outside Piazza dei Miracoli, there is little left to see. A better option is to leave very eraly in the morning, make your way to Pisa and visit Piazza dei Miracoli (and the leaning tower) as eary as you can get there, before the crowds arrive, than go back to the station and reach Lucca, which is a far nicer town for a daytrip.

So, do you have to be in Florence for some reason? I know this is a minority opinion, but we hated Florence during a visit in May a couple years ago - it was hot, smelly, noisy, and there were long lines at both Uffizzi &amp; for David. The Uffizzi was worth it; never made it to David. It's the only place in Italy I've not thoroughly enjoyed. Preferable might be to base in Siena &amp; day trip to Florence. But then, we spent 4 days in Pisa &amp; rather unexpectedly had a great time - there's so much more to it than the Campo dei Miracoli. <BR><BR>At any rate, take the advice posted above about taking smaller roads to your intended destination keeping in mind you may get sidetracked &amp; never get there, but that's half the fun! (Be sure to buy a good road map)

Now in Florence you can reserve your tix to David and Uffizi and other galleries ahead of time so you bypass any lines. FYI.<BR>(I'd day trip to Lucca on train or drive Tuscany/Chianti/Siena).

You can easily take a train to either place from Florence and the train ride to Siena is quite relaxing through framing countryside...the trip up the hill to the town of Siena itself from the train station is easily done by frequent local busses. The leaning tower can be, for many, absolutely mesmerizing and for others I suppose so-so. Actually all FOUR of the major structures at the leaning tower also lean but not the 17 feet+ off the vertical that the tower does. Siena can be interesting to walk around in and seems much more &quot;old world&quot; than some of the larger cities. I would do both unless you have some other &quot;must see&quot; places in mind.

Pisa is an ugly, unfriendly, city; the Duomo area with the leaning tower are amazing, but the rest of the city is a dump. If you are going that way, Lucca is much nicer, and small enough to be quite manageable for one day. Siena is also nice , though much larger than Lucca. Parking a car is not difficult in either Lucca or Siena - lots are well marked and easy to find.

I would avoid Pisa without a doubt -- It is a dirty, tired city. Having been to Italy a few time, my first choice would be to go to Lucca, a beautiful walled city near from Florence. If you want to get to the coast, you can also go to some wonderful beach towns -- forte di marmi is probablky about 45 minutes from Lucca. Next choice for another &quot;city&quot; would be Siena, lot's to do for a day. But since you are already going to be in a large city with lots to do, if you are really inclined to rent a car, why not go for a drive in the Chianti region? Greve, Castillo in Chianti, many more towns. If you expect to drop in and do some wine tasting, it is not like Sonoma or Napa, most of the wineries require a reservation.

SIENA. I'd much rather go to Siena than Florence as well.

IMHO Pisa has the Leaning Tower, period. We saw it and left. it was a very unattractive city. We did not like it at all. Unless you MUST see the tower I would not waste me time. I would much prefer Siena.

Pisa or Siena?I suggest both!In Pisa the leaning tower is amazing and Siena it is a lovely town.Driving in Italy it is a hassle!we hired Mr.Cammilli for our day tripisa in the morning,stop for lunch at San Gimignano,Siena in the afternoon.I recommend to contact him at [email protected]

This message is actually for Alice Twain who responded to the Siena/Pisa question. That is just what I want to do, go to Pisa for a few hours from Florence, then go to Lucca for the rest of the day, and back to Florence. How do I do this? Bus, train? Couldn't figure out a way to write you directly.

Train. You can check for times at rail.ch or trenitalia.com.

Skip Pisa..Go to Lucca and Siena instead...Especially Lucca if you are driving. Much easier to access. And very pretty to walk around in.