Florence is a great homebase for exploring neighboring towns within the Tuscany region. This blog post will cover the day trips I’ve taken on my two visits to Florence, there are an overwhelming number of options out there so if these don’t fit your need feel free to investigate others!
Florencetown Shared Semi-Private Tuscany Grand Tour
The shared semi-private Tuscany grand tour visits Siena, San Gimignano, Chianti and Pisa. When I booked this tour five years ago, it also included a stop to Lucca but the itinerary has since changed. Overall, the tour has a duration of approximately 12 hours, runs year-round and is semi-private meaning a maximum of 8 people. Other popular companies offer similar tours but typically have 25-50 people requiring a coach bus for transportation.
The first stop is in the medieval town of Siena, where a walking tour guide will share their knowledge of the town’s history and annual world famous Palio race. From here we went to San Gimignano where we were given around 45 minutes of free time to explore the quaint town, shop and grab a gelato. Exploring all these Tuscany towns made me hungry, which was perfect timing for a lunch break at a Chianti winery. We had a wine tasting where we learned about the region and the vineyard along with pasta Bolognese for lunch. The final stop based on the new itinerary is Pisa…yes, the leaning tower of Pisa. When I took the tour, it was only 45 minutes in Pisa which was plenty to admire the tower and walk around, perhaps the day now allows more time to climb the tower if you wish. I thought this was a great day tour to get a taste of the other towns without having to relocate.
Best of Tuscany tour: Siena, San Gimignano, Pisa and Chianti in one day (florencetown.com)
Prestige Rent Small Group Tour Tuscany
The small group tour through Prestige Rent visits Siena, San Gimignano and the Tuscan Countryside. Yes…this should sound familiar as it is basically the same as the day tour above excluding the stop in Pisa. I thought about looking for completely different towns to visit, but I loved Siena on the first trip and found that Prestige Rent gave more time in each location as there was less to visit. The day is approximately 10 hours in duration and can have up to 25 people…although we lucked out and had only 5 including ourselves.
We began the day heading to Siena, where the driver who was also our guide shared plenty of information along the drive. When we reached Siena, he also acted as our walking tour guide sharing information about the medieval town. A little difference from Florencetown, once the walking tour was finished, we had about 90 minutes to spend exploring on our own, whether the tiny streets or the famous cathedral.
From here we continued onto a beautiful winery in Chianti where we took a tour of the property and barrel room and then experienced a wine tasting with a delicious pasta lunch.
The last stop was San Gimignano and like Florencetown, this stop was free for exploring on your own. The driver/guide did tell us some spots to walk for beautiful views and I had about double the amount of time I had from Florencetown which was great for trying Gelateria Dondoli! This was one of my favorite gelato spots on the entire trip…they had espresso which was great! I also love the charming towns shops…they have beautiful hand decorated pottery. I really loved that we went with Prestige Rent to come back to the beautiful Tuscany towns and have more time exploring!
Siena, San Gimignano & the Tuscan countryside – Prestige Rent
Prestige Rent Small Group Tour Cinque Terre
The small group tour Cinque Terre from Florence with Prestige Rent was wonderful! This tour…Kev and I went back and forth for weeks trying to decide if going to Cinque Day as a day trip would be worth it. I did research and most suggested 2.5-3 hours to get there whether by car or by train to only be there for 5-6 hours. It was a difficult decision before actually going but seeing just how beautiful it is… it is completely worth it! Of course, if you have time to stay for a night or two that would be even better, but we did not plan that before booking so a day trip was our option!
I ended up picking Prestige Rent because it was the only company, I saw stopping in only three villages to give more time in each. We visited Manarola, Vernazza, and Monterosso where guided tours and free time were given in Manarola and Vernazza and Monterosso we had three hours to eat, drink and explore! I liked that the day still felt relaxing with Prestige Rent. If you are looking for tours that see all five villages and have hiking, I saw two great options with Florencetown and Walkabout Florence (I’ve done tours with both) that include both but are a longer day. I hope to return on a future trip where I can stay in Monterosso, explore all five villages and hike at leisure.
Cinque Terre from Florence – Prestige Rent
Walkabout Florence Cooking Class
The Walkabout Florence Cooking Class and Lunch is located at a Farmhouse in Tuscany and includes a local market tour. Wow! This whole day was so much fun! We met one of our two cooks/teachers to begin the tour at the local market where we walked amongst the stands of fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses to meet the farmers and butchers and learn about the ingredients we would later use to cook. From here you take a short bus ride to a beautiful kitchen made of glass overlooking the hills of Tuscany where you will cook for the day! We learned how to make bruschetta with fresh bread and locally grown tomatoes and olive oil from the farm, pasta by hand with a meat sauce, individual homemade pizzas, a traditional Tuscan pork with potatoes and of course for dessert traditional Tiramisu. All that hard work paid off when we got to sit down and enjoy all the wonderful dishes with a glass of Chianti in the glass dining room overlooking those Tuscan hills. This was a highlight of our trip to Florence!
Florence Cooking Class and Lunch in Tuscany with Local Market tour (walkaboutflorence.com)
