By Kelsey Gibson

Day Trips from Florence

While there are numerous things to do in Florence, day trips are the perfect way to travel if you have limited time and want to see somewhere new!

Here are a few places that are perfect for a one-day trip:

Verona

Many Italians are very proud of the little town called Verona because it is one of the first cities travelers from the north go through. Located in between the popular cities of Milan and Venice, it is a pure depiction of simplicity and romance and is home to the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. Here you can write love letters and wishes on paper and stick it on the walls below Juliet’s balcony in hopes that she will make these love wishes come true.

You can spend hours reading these heartfelt, passionate, and unforgettable letters of people from around the world. Even though Verona is mostly known for the setting of Romeo and Juliet, it has much more to offer. The Piazza delle Erbe is a beautiful open square full of markets selling all kinds of souvenirs during the day and full of people having an apertivo during the evening. This renaissance town is also home to their exquisite Arena of Verona.

This arena resembles Rome’s Colosseum, and even though it is smaller in size, it is still an incredible sight worth seeing! Verona has many attractions and sights to see, but it is also the perfect place to sit back, relax with a glass of wine, and enjoy the beauty of the architecture and people or even take a stroll around the whole town in just an hour or so! Definitely a must do day trip and is only about 3 hours away via train from Florence!

Cinque Terre

While working in Florence, the Amalfi Coast was hard for me to get to since it was a bit further away. I would have had to take a couple days off to really embrace the gorgeous beauty of it all and did not want to cut my time short. However, the next best place to enjoy the coastal cliffs of the Italian Riviera is Cinque Terre, meaning the 5 lands. These 5 ‘lands’ include Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Cinque Terre is the perfect place for a quick getaway full of sunshine, clear blue water, and some limoncello! The train is easy to hop on and off of to get to each different ‘land’; however, if you are going in the middle of the summer be prepared for the crowds.

My advice would definitely to try to avoid peak season, but it is still well worth the visit! You can also opt out of the train hopping and take a ferry, which I definitely recommend, because you are able to have a different perspective of the cliffs from the water. The last option is to hike between the different towns.

These hikes are a little more strenuous than a stroll through a park, but the views from above are worth a little bit of sweat! Everyone needs a little exercise after some limoncello and pesto too, right!?

If you want to avoid the moving around, pick a place and stick to it! Monterosso al Mare definitely has the most beach area to relax on and it is easy to either rent a chair and umbrella or you can set up your own towel on one of the public beaches! Either way, you get to enjoy the same view! This trip from Florence to Cinque Terre is also about 2.5 hours, but can have at least one, maybe two different train changes (most likely Pisa and La Spezia).

Chianti

When thinking of day trips from Florence, you don’t have to go too far to have an incredible day experience. What is the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of Tuscany…WINE! What better of a day trip than a wine tasting in an old vineyard somewhere in the hills of Tuscany. Better yet, why not the land of the black rooster, Chianti! Joining a tour to Chianti for the day was easily one of my favorite days in Italy last summer.

Driving from Florence through the winding roads of Tuscany is truly unbelievable and makes you feel as though you are in the middle of a movie. Pictures do no justice here. Last summer I took a cooking class and wine tasting through the restaurant Touch at the Colle Bereto vineyard and it all took my breath away!

The drive out there would be enough within itself; however, when you arrive to these old vineyards, you really get to enjoy the passion, pride, and love of these winemakers while they tell you the history behind each one of their wines. Best part about organized tours to a vineyard, is that you won’t have to worry about the driving after a couple glasses of wine! Time and distance varies depending on where exactly you decide to go, but on average, Chianti is about 30 min – 1.5 hours away!

Florence is a spectacular place and there are so many surrounding places to see.

Need some more tips and ideas for taking a day trip while visiting Italy? Contact our Custom Travel team here

Kelsey is the Part Time Assistant Travel Consultant for Travel Italian Style and is a student at the University of Mississippi studying Hospitality Management with a minor in Spanish and Business Administration. Kelsey took part in an exchange program in Argentina in high school which created a flourishing passion for travel and learning about other cultures. From then on she took every advantage to study abroad and backpack through Europe. This past summer, Kelsey interned for a local restaurant, Touch, in Florence, Italy and fell in love with the Italian culture. She was able to have a real local experience by making friends with coworkers and locals. She wants to make it possible for everyone who travels to be completely immersed into the culture in order to gain another perspective and to be able to enjoy life even more.

Day Trips From Florence, Italy