ashwinb

Which towns/villages should I look for a day trip from florence. I would have already been to Siena and Pisa, so another smallish town with great views (typical tuscan countryside views) would be great. Also we would like to do a long walk somewhere in the countryside.

San Gimimgnano looks good, but would like to get more suggestions. The focus for us would be the countryside, and we would be using public transportation, so ideally I would like to get to some place by bus/train(and not too far away from florence,2.5 hrs atmost) and take a long walk in the countryside.

sandralist

Now for something completely different:

Machiavelli's house, about a 30 minute bus ride from downtown Florence.

http://www.villamachiavelli.it/en/

If you were interested, you could e-mail ahead to make sure the restaurant is open for lunch and that someone would be willing to give you a tour of the villa. The borgo where the villa is located is tiny, but you could take some nice walks from there.

I suggest it simply because it is so close to Florence and the daylight hours of December are quite short. A long return bus ride in the dark is not a lot of fun.

For what it is worth, I do not think the Tuscan countryside around San Gimignano is all that spectacular. It's nice, but isn't really the much-photographed countryside of Chianti or the val d'Orcia -- both of which are very hard to reach by public transport.

Two other characteristic Tuscan hilltowns you might consider for lunch + views that are reachable by public transport are the town of San Miniato (not to be confused with the church on the hill in the Oltrarno in Florence) and Certaldo Alto.

I have often heard Bagno a Ripoli has very pretty views and good restaurants and interesting sights, but I've never been

https://www.summerinitaly.com/guide/bagno-a-ripoli

http://www.toomuchtuscany.com/day-tr...agno-a-ripoli/

http://girlinflorence.com/2015/03/09...amic-neighbor/

PalenQ

Assisi could be nice - especially if into St Francis and religious sites - a nice stroll could be to the rural retreat where St Francis is said to have talked to birds and such - a few miles out of town.

Assisi is an hour or so by train from Florence.

ashwinb

Thanks! The towns certainly look great.
I just checked,trains to Assisi take atleast 2.5 hours,am I missing something? Are there fast trains?

PalenQ

Oops- I did that trip by train long ago - memory is getting poor - I just checked and yes 2.5 hours is about right. Sorry for mistake.

Jean

I can second the idea of Certaldo Alto.

Also, the spa town of Montecatini Terme and historical Montecatini Alto reached by funicular. They make an interesting contrast.

But, depending on the weather, I might just go to Fiesole by taxi or bus. Prato is also very close, just 20 minutes by train. Others will doubtless recommend Lucca, but it's almost 90 minutes by train from Florence.

Google the "Renaissance Ring" of hiking trails around Florence.

PalenQ

Montecatini Terme is practically countryside compared to most Italian towns - a spiffy spa town with a suave look and park-like setting - you can walk for miles from thermal establishment to another and the old town up top Jean talks about - right next to Lucca you could do both in the same day - Lucca being one of the finest walled towns in Europe - known for its slew of towers built by the wealthy during the Plague Years to escape both the rabble down below and the disease raging there as well. A Roman arena wall has been long ago incorporated into housing. Very very neat town.

I second highly Jean's nod to Montecatini Terme!

Fiesole makes a nice long uphill walk from Florence and short bus ride but there the Tuscan countryside in its finest can be seen and you can perambulate thru it - nice Roman ruins and a nifty bird's eye view over Florence laid out nicely far below.

tuscanlifeedit

I think I have a good idea:

Florence to Greve by Sita bus. They're fairly regular but you'll need to have the schedule.

The walk to Montefioralle. It's a beautiful walk and there are ring roads branching off if it's not far enough for you.

Montefioralle is a lovely little town to explore with a pretty church.

And Greve itself has a nice central piazza with a few shops, restaurants, cafes.

If you really want an outdoor adventure in lovely countryside, this would be great.

If you want a town to walk around, then I suggest Lucca. Lots to see and do but no countryside.

Keren

BM. Great ideas everyone, thanks.

Holly_uncasdewar

I'm curious about Certaldo. Is the Alto the only medieval part, or is the lower area, as well? Does the funiculare run year round? Where is the TI located?

PalenQ

I like tuscanfeed's recommendations a lot - plus Greve in Chianti is famous for its wine tours in town - never been there but that's one reason it'son my hit list.

http://www.greve-in-chianti.info/

this site lists wineries and nice walks from town.

Jean

Holly, Certaldo Alto is medieval. We didn't explore the Basso/lower town, but what we saw of it looked generally 19th C. with the occasional earlier and later building. The train station is within walking distance of the funicular. We took the funicular up and had a pleasant walk down. It runs year-round, but the hours change with the seasons.

http://www.turismo.intoscana.it/allt...er-of-tuscany/

http://www.bestsmalltownsitaly.com/t...uscany-center/

Our visit was before this article was posted, so I can't comment on the recommendations. We had a very good lunch (with nice views) at Taverna Antica which isn't mentioned.

http://www.divinacucina.com/2014/03/...hometownguide/

ashwinb

Great ideas! Thanks a lot everyone!
Thats a lot of information , let me see which place works the best for me.

Holly_uncasdewar

Thanks, Jean. Is there enough to see to justify an overnight, or is it best done as a daytrip?

annhig

another, simpler idea - get the bus up to Fiesole from the Piazza San Marco [the Academia is in the south-east corner, the Monastery of San Marco on the northern side of the piazza, with a great cafe on the south-western corner].

it takes about 30 mins, and when you get there there is a great view of Florence from a terrace opposite the bus stop. There is plenty to do for a short day - the Basilica, the roman amphitheatre and museum, and a little way up a hill, the monastery of San Francesco with a fascinating [free] museum in the basement full of the artefacts brought back by the monks from their travels around the world.

the restaurant in the middle of the square was fine - we were able to eat lunch outside but it was October not December. the buses don't run over lunch-time but that won't matter as you'll be eating won't you?

colonna

You could walk down the old streets from Fiesole, past a Medici villa and the stone bench where the bishop used to rest. It takes perhaps 15 minutes to get down to a large church/monastery (San Domenico?) where you can pick up the bus.

I'm definitely going to Machiavelli's house this year, thanks, sandralist.

Rhea58

One can easily take the train to Lucca, Vicenza, Verona
and Venice which I did recently.

sandralist

I'm something of a naysayer when it comes to going to Fiesole for a countryside or hilltown experience of Tuscany. Also, you need to look carefully at bus schedules for towns like Greve to make sure you can get a bus back, as I recall.

If you are starting from Florence, train trip to towns like Venice, Verona and Vicenza are very long, which is a problem in December, and not a countryside experience of anything.

colonna,

Be sure to e-mail ahead so the know you are coming! The tour of the house is very atmospheric, especially the old wine cellar.

colonna

Thanks again, sandralist, will do.

Jean

Holly, we stopped in Certaldo for most of a day but pressed on late in the afternoon. There are very few places that I wouldn't like a little more time to see, but I can't say what Certaldo would be like in the evening. The upper town has no main piazza which might affect the overall atmosphere at night.