5 days around Tuscany by public transportation
Dear ritzcircle,
I'm happy and thrilled as well for your trip to Tuscany
First I'd like to share with you my thoughts about your trip. I'm actually thinking that it could be more convenient for you 4 renting a car for those days you're outside Florence. In fact if you think about the costs of round trips for 4 people, tours and time spent waiting you realize that the cost will be the same as a rental car. Furthermore driving around you'll be free to stop wherever you like and visit as many places as you wish to.
Anyway this is my personal opinion and I hope you'll think about it.
Back to your question Tuscany is a unique breathtaking panorama (and I'm not exaggerating
). Since you are flying to and from
Pisa I suggest you spend some time there and visit the famous Piazza dei Miracoli where stand the Leaning Tower and the Cathedral.
In
Florence you cannot miss the spectacular views of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo and from Giotto's Bell Tower.
I then suggest you visit
Chianti, that of course is famous for wine and landscapes. Read the article about
tips on moving around Chianti so that you can have a better idea.
The only problem regarding not driving in Tuscany are bus and train schedules, as well as connections. I strongly suggest you carry with you bus and train schedules. You can find bus schedules at Florence central station and download train schedules from the Internet.
Then you can visit
Siena and from there move to
San Gimignano and towards
Valdorcia. Siena is the city of the Palio and Piazza del Campo is really stunning. The medieval city of San Gimignano has a beautiful city center enclosed in ancient walls.
Valdorcia is the classic scenario for Tuscany postcards. So if you want scenery you really have to go there.
Montepulciano,
Montalcino,
Pienza,
Buonconvento and
San Quirico D'Orcia are certainly remarkable cities, as well as their surroundings. From Florence you need to go to Siena and from there get buses to other destinations in Valdorcia. You can even think to take a bus tour. Here you have information about
public transportation in the province of Siena.
From Siena departs also a special steam engine train, called
Nature train, that crosses the beautiful countryside. The only problem are schedules, since it departs only on determined days. I recommend you visit the website (unfortunately only in Italian) to check schedules and see if it fits your plans.
Well, I really hope my suggestions help you planning your thrilling trip to Tuscany.
I also hope you'll share you experience with us
