Looking for the best day trips from Pisa? Read further and find out about it!
When it comes to Pisa, it’s leaning tower is the first thing that comes to mind. This significant bell tower is not the only monument that holds the top attraction in this beautiful Tuscan city. An exceptional architectural marvel, the Piazza del Duomo houses the well-known Miracles Square, Campo Dei Miracoli, the principal religious monument in the town, the Cathedral, the Tower, and a graveyard, the Campo Santo.
However, Pisa is more than just about the square. You may want to move a bit to explore the artistic beauty which makes Pisa one of the liveliest cities in Italy. The monuments, buildings, and museums still kept the memory alive when the Maritime Republic was the undoubted ruler of the Mediterranean Sea.
Pisa is still known as the Queen of Studies, and it got this title from Florence. Here are some of the best day trips from Pisa!
Do you need help planning your trips? Start here!
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Where to stay in Pisa
Booking.comTours to do in Pisa
Top Day Trips from Pisa, Italy
Florence
The homeland of the Renaissance and the capital of Tuscany, Florence is famed worldwide for its delightful landscapes and inimitable architecture. Having at least a few days to explore this amazing city to the fullest is recommended. But you should have at least a day if you have no time.
You can start your journey by a train labeled Regionale Veloce, which takes one hour for a ride for day trips from Pisa to Florence. You can also pick up the same train for a day trip to Pisa from Florence. The journey costs around 10 Euros per head. You can easily navigate the free highway to the city by road.
You can even explore it with your walking tour of just a whiz through the leading museums by going ahead with time to explore the streets and for some shopping.
Another solution is to skip going through the long routes because it is often confusing. Rely on a qualified guide, who can take you through the fantastic tourist attractions of the city, and you can also have time to feel the excitement. You may take a guided tour on your day trip from Pisa to Florence.
Where to stay in Florence: Find great deals and book from this link.
What to do in Florence? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Top 15 of the Most Visited Tourist Attractions in Europe
Lucca
Lucca is a beautiful and charming city and even more amazing than Pisa. The intact city walls cover the lovely houses, bustling cobbled streets, and towers on each corner. You can even bike or walk on city walls. Also, visit the Guinigi Tower and the serene cathedral, topped with centuries-old olive trees. If you are confused between Lucca and Pisa to stay in Tuscany, go with Lucca because it is enchanting and less crowded by tourists.
You can quickly get into this captivating and laid-back small town in 40 minutes as frequent trains travel between Lucca and Pisa, and it costs only 5 Euros.
Lucca has a breathtaking landscape as it originates from some of the best wines of Tuscany, its famous olive oil, and many scenic views. You can choose from organized tours from Pisa to taste the delicious wine of Lucca and explore the fairytale lands of Barga and Garfagnana around Lucca.
You may visit the age-old yet classic churches, essential to the pilgrims who visited Via Francigena, or stroll over the massive brick wall that secures the citizens. Lucca is more than just a convenient day trip.
Where to stay in Lucca: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in Lucca? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Top 18 Most Iconic Landmarks in Europe
San Miniato
This small town is just 35 minutes away, with its exit point off the main highway, which connects Pisa and Florence. There is no lack of tourist attractions here, especially the truffle festival, held in November, and its pristine skyline catches your attention when you drive past the age-old hamlet.
San Miniato is pretty, and it sits high and beckons tourists to come and visit the secluded and quiet streets and explore its secret corners. It is the ideal diversion for a half-day field trip to enjoy your accommodations in and around Pisa.
Where to stay in San Miniato: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in San Miniato? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Islands in Europe: Top 10 Best Island Holidays in Europe to Visit
Are you planning your travels? Here’re my top travel resources!
I’m a serial planner both in life and in travel – I have bucket lists, things to do, see, and everything. So, I always love when my life is sorted easily using tools and resources that would make my general planning a little smoother and easier. Therefore, in my many years of traveling the world, I’ve seen myself returning to these travel resources repeatedly. And here I am, sharing my tips to make your life easy and breezy so you can stress less, travel heaps, and focus on the fun part of travel!
- Booking.com – I book all my hotels through this website and don’t honestly use anything else. They always have the best prices, in my opinion.
- Airbnb – If I’m traveling long-term to one destination, I book my flats through Airbnb.
- Skyscanner – The best place to find cheap flights on flexible dates. I use this a lot to score cheap flights within Europe!
- SafetyWing – Always travel insured! Never leave your home country without one. It is worth the extra money, I promise you!
- GetYourGuide – Hands-down, the best place to find cool and unique tours if you don’t feel like winging it, and go straight to a local expert. I use this a lot in new destinations to get acquainted with the area!
- My Pretty Wild World Travel Diary (coming soon) – A book you can write down your travel plans, create itineraries, track down your budget, and dot down memories along the way! A handy book you can keep and read later to revisit memory lane.
- Pretty Wild World Travel Planning Printables (coming soon) – Are you a nut like me when it comes to planning? Yes? Good. My travel planning resource in one zip file is an easy-to-use printable planner that comes with tips that helps you plan your travels during the planning stage, a pre-flight checklist, an itinerary planner, and so on.
Chianti region
There is no lack of wine regions in Tuscany; they are all truly exciting. If you want to taste wine and the charm of the countryside in Tuscany without going too far, Chianti is your go-to region near Florence. It is your best bet and is just 30 minutes of a drive south of the city.
However, it is located near Florence, which is very crowded with tourists compared to other regions. You will see a lot of vineyards in small towns like Montespertoli, San Casciano, Panzano, and Gaiole. You can have a full lunch and wine on a guided tour and visit vineyards or farms.
Where to stay in Chianti region: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in Chianti region? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Europe Holidays: Top 10 Awesome Destinations for Holidays in Europe
Montecatini
Within 40 minutes, you can comfortably lounge in some famous thermal water spas here. Montecatini is one of the best places in Tuscany as it has attracted the rich and the famous for hundreds of years to its pristine gardens and pools.
Montecatini offers cutting-edge services in a historical landscape for those looking to enjoy ultimate relaxation. If you are getting here, catch the cable car to the medieval borgo and have a quick walk, especially for the authentic experience of a small town and a delightful meal in the square.
Where to stay in Montecatini: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in Montecatini? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Summer in Europe: Top 14 Best Summer Destinations in Europe
Cinque Terre
Indeed, Cinque Terre doesn’t lie in Tuscany. But no one can resist the urge to visit the small and sleepy fishing towns dotted over Massa Carrara’s coast.
Take a day trip from Pisa to Cinque Terre to have a phenomenal experience to get insight into the site listed as UNESCO World Heritage. You can get the best experience in a private minivan. Along with wine tasting, it is limited to just eight persons on each tour.
What to do in Lucca? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Best Road Trips in Europe: Top 15 European Road Trip Ideas
Hold up! Have you thought about the importance of travel insurance?
Remember this: anything can happen. Travel is fun, but your health is more important; thus, I always, always, always recommend getting insured during the duration of your trip. I have benefitted from having one multiple times, and it has been covered for thousands of euros!
The latest one is not necessarily “health” related – it was during the peak of the unspeakable terrible C that consumed the world. I was living in Vietnam when I received an email from SafetyWing (my travel insurance) that if I want they’ll fly be back home to Finland as the world goes through a global emergency alert. I flew back fully covered, and dealing with SafetyWing was a breeze despite the roar of people in contact with them trying to get back home.
I can’t highly recommend them enough. Otherwise, I rarely get sick; hence I don’t always need to head to a hospital, but knowing that I have travel insurance makes me feel safe at the very least.
Read my post about why you should get travel insurance for more information. Otherwise, you can get a free quote from SafetyWing – they’re the best, in my opinion.
Bologna
Most of us never seem to agree when we love cities in Italy. Everyone may be fond of Bologna. Bologna’s name has always been linked with Bolognese spaghetti. But for the tourists, it offers something different from a firm and medieval feel.
Bologna is a city of the university at its core, with the longest-running university in the world built in the year 1088. You will find the real contrast to the city in Bologna during your day trip to Florence. It is effortless to have a day trip out of Tuscany and Florence with a train trip of only 35 minutes.
An anatomical center and library with a vast range of coats of frescos and arms are available in the courtyards in the university buildings, including Archiginnasio of Bologna. The sensitive Neptune fountain in the grand buildings is a favorite meeting place.
The city’s Two Towers are iconic landmarks of Bologna and some of the last towers remaining in Bologna. The town gets a confined and intense feel in the undercover portico arcades, which line most of the Bologna streets.
Where to stay in Bologna: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in Bologna? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
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San Gimignano
It is a beautiful medieval walled city known for its excellent art and captivating towers. You can easily visit this small city as a day trip from Florence and Siena. It has a different atmosphere at night, which many travelers love to feel.
There is no train station at the medieval San Gimignano, but you can get there by taking a train ride to Poggibonsi (Poggibonsi-S.G) and a bus from Poggibonsi station to San Gimignano. The bus ride costs 3.6 Euros on each route, available every 30 to 40 minutes. You can get information about tickets and schedules at the tourist office located ahead to the right when walking off the train station.
San Gimignano can be seen from the bends of the highway. It is so valuable that it has been announced as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can plunge into the Middle Ages and get the feel of the same old-world charm that it had over 700 years ago while having a quick walk in the Old City.
Enclosed with the walls of the 13th century, the Old City is enclosed and accessed by main streets, which connect well to have two exotic piazzas. The House-Towers and Towers belonged to the financier aristocracy and the old merchants who built their huge towers while comparing others.
Where to stay in San Gimignano: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do San Gimignano? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Top 15 Beautiful Castles in Italy
Porto Venere
It is another historic town in Liguria, easily accessible from the well-known place of Cinque Terre. It is the most exotic location in the Gulf of Poets and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But it is still flocked by millions of tourists visiting Cinque Terre.
If you visit Portovenere by boat, you will fall in love with this ancient fishermen’s village when visiting the picture-perfect harbor covered by colorful landscapes.
It has an exotic location overlooking the nearest Palmaria Island. It is a great destination to grab a drink and have lunch in its café. Just relax and sit back while enjoying the exotic view of the boats.
Where to stay in Porto Venere: Find great deals and book from this link
What to do in Porto Venere? Book awesome tours with great prices from this link!
Read also: Top 20 Cheap European Holiday Destinations and Countries to Visit
What are my favorite travel must-haves?
As a frequent traveler, I’ve learned a lot throughout my years of travel, and there are five items that I always carry with me regardless of where I go and how long the trip is. Here are my five travel must-haves!
- Warm packable jacket – I always carry a light jacket, even when heading to warm countries. There hasn’t been a time I never used it, especially in airports and planes.
- Transparent toiletry bag – I often bring a carry-on if I’m only traveling within Europe for a few days. Life is so much easier to go through security checks with a transparent toiletry bag.
- Kindle Paperwhite – I love a good read and always take my Kindle everywhere. It keeps me entertained during long flights and waiting times.
- Powerbank – I don’t know how I could travel without one! Having a power bank saved me a ton since I carry a lot of electronic devices with me.
- Travel Adapter – I never leave my luggage without a travel adapter! I carry one with me all the time. It is just one of that travel-must haves that doesn’t hurt to have in your bag at all times.
Planning to visit Italy? Check out these posts!
- Italy Points of Interests: Places to visit, Castles to check out, and Christmas markets
- Rome Travel Guides: Things to do, Day trips
- Florence Travel Guides: Things to do, Day trips
- Venice Travel Guides: Things to do, Day trips
- Pisa Travel Guides: Things to do, Day trips
- Bologna Travel Guides: Things to do, Day Trips
- Naples travel Guides: Safety in Naples
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