Florence Plus Tuscany in 7 Days on a Budget
7 Days: Florence as a Base for All of Tuscany, Train and Car Both
This is the full version: Florence as a sleeping base for six day trips, four of them by train or bus (Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano, Lucca) and two of them by rental car (Chianti, then Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano). It extends the 6 day version with one more car day. If a week is more than you need, the 3 , 4 and 5 day versions cover the same spine, shorter.
Book these before you go
- Pisa tower ticket on opapisa.it : the only source that will not mark up the 20 euro face price, and peak-season slots sell out within hours.
- A rental car for days 6 and 7: check availability and rates on DiscoverCars . Book before you land, and keep the same rental across both car days instead of returning and re-renting.
- A Chianti winery tasting: reserve directly with the estate, since good ones fill up weeks ahead in peak season.
- A hotel within walking distance of Firenze Santa Maria Novella: compare rates on Booking.com .
The route at a glance
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from SMN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive and get oriented | - |
| 2 | Siena, full day | 1h20-1h30 by train |
| 3 | Pisa, half day | about 1h by train |
| 4 | San Gimignano | 1.5-2h door to door |
| 5 | Lucca | 1-1.5h by train |
| 6 | Chianti, car day | 40min-1h15 by car |
| 7 | Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano, car day | 2h-2h20 by car |
Day 1: Arrive and get oriented near the station
Land at Florence airport, or at Firenze Santa Maria Novella (SMN) itself if arriving by train. SMN is the station every train-based day trip below starts from, so use today to find your bearings around it: locate the regional departure platforms, pick up tram or bus tickets from a tabaccheria (or check fares on Autolinee Toscane ) if needed, and settle into a place to sleep within easy walking distance. Keep sightseeing light today; the deep in-city plan lives in our full Florence guide . An early night sets up tomorrow’s departure.
Day 2: Siena, the strongest single day trip
Catch a mid-morning regional train to Siena: about 10 euros one way, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes despite the short 50km distance, since no high speed line connects the two cities. Spend the day at Piazza del Campo (free), the striped Duomo exterior (free), and, if you want the view, a separate paid ticket up the Torre del Mangia. Pack lunch from a Florence market, or budget for a Sienese trattoria and its coperto, a legal per-person cover charge of 1 to 5 euros. Catch a train back before the evening service thins out.
Day 3: Pisa, in half a day
Pisa runs about 1 hour by regional train, 8 to 13.50 euros depending on the service. The Leaning Tower sits inside Piazza dei Miracoli with the cathedral and baptistery; book the official tower ticket on opapisa.it (see above) up to 90 days ahead, since peak-season slots sell out within hours, and kids under 8 cannot climb at all. Photograph the tower and the piazza, decide for yourself whether the climb is worth the queue, and be back in Florence by mid afternoon.
Day 4: San Gimignano, the slow connection
San Gimignano has no station of its own, so budget more time than money: a regional train to Poggibonsi (about 1 hour, roughly 7.90 euros) then bus 130 (20 to 30 minutes), or the combined ticket for about 6.80 euros one way (13.60 euros return) covering the whole route. Plan on 1.5 to 2 hours door to door. The medieval towers take only a few hours to see on foot, which makes the transfer the real cost of this day.
Day 5: Lucca, the relaxed one
Lucca runs about 10 euros one way and 1 to 1.5 hours by train, with frequent departures. Its Renaissance-era walls are intact and walkable, or rentable by bike for the full loop around the old town. This is the gentlest day on the itinerary by design, at a slower pace than Siena or Pisa.
Day 6: Chianti, the day the rental car earns its cost
This is the first day on this itinerary that genuinely needs a car: no useful train or bus network runs through the Chianti wine villages. Pick up the rental you booked above and drive the SR222 Via Chiantigiana past Greve in Chianti (30-40 minutes out) and Castellina in Chianti (20-25 minutes further). A realistic day covers two towns plus one winery tasting; budget 100 to 180 euros for the day between rental, fuel, tolls, tastings and lunch for a small group, and designate a driver who is skipping the pours.
Day 7: Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano, the long one
Keep the same rental car for a second day and drive 2 to 2 hours 20 minutes via the A1 to Montepulciano, inside the UNESCO-listed Val d’Orcia landscape of cypress-lined roads and rolling hills. It is a long day, 4-plus hours of driving round trip, for realistically Montepulciano plus Pienza, so do not add a third stop on top of it. Return the car this evening; nothing left in this itinerary needs it.
Do I need a car for the whole week, or just two of the seven days?
Just two: day 6 (Chianti) and day 7 (Val d’Orcia and Montepulciano) are the only legs with no useful train or bus alternative. Days 2 through 5 all run on scheduled trains and buses, where a car adds ZTL risk and parking cost without saving time. Renting for days 6 and 7 only, and returning it right after, keeps the extra cost contained to the two days it actually helps.
How far ahead should I book the Pisa tower ticket?
As soon as your Florence dates are fixed. Opapisa.it opens bookings up to 90 days ahead, and peak summer slots can sell out within hours of release. A booked slot cannot be changed, so settle the rest of that day’s plan first.
Should I swap Val d’Orcia for Cinque Terre?
Only if you are willing to make it an overnight instead of a day trip. The honest version of a Cinque Terre day trip from Florence is 5 to 6 hours of round-trip train time for 5 to 6 hours in the villages themselves, a 7am-out, 8pm-back kind of day that shortchanges both ends. Val d’Orcia, by contrast, is a genuinely workable single long day by car. If Cinque Terre matters more to you than Val d’Orcia, swap it in, but budget an overnight in one of the villages rather than trying to rush it inside this itinerary’s day 7.
Return the second rental day’s car the same evening: an extra night of parking in central Florence adds ZTL exposure for no benefit once the driving is done.