What are the best day trips from Florence?

Siena over everything else if you only have one day. The Autolinee Toscane bus leaves Florence's Autostazione, next to Santa Maria Novella, roughly every hour. It costs about €8 each way and drops you at Piazza Gramsci in 75 minutes. From there it's a 10-minute walk downhill to Piazza del Campo, where the herringbone brick is warm under your hands if you sit on it in late June. The Duomo's inlaid marble floor panels are fully uncovered only from mid-August through October, so a summer visit means you'll see about half of them through the OPA SI Pass at €15. For lunch, Osteria Le Logge on Via del Porcione does a pici cacio e pepe for around €14 that's thicker and chewier than any pasta shape you'll find back in Florence. The last bus back leaves around 8:30pm, which gives you time for an aperitivo on the Campo as the shadow of the Torre del Mangia stretches across the piazza.

Lucca is the day trip for couples who disagree on the agenda. One of you wants medieval churches, the other wants to ride a bike and sit in the sun. The Trenitalia regional from Santa Maria Novella runs every 30 minutes, takes 1 hour 20 minutes, and costs €7.90 each way. The 16th-century walls are 4.2 km around, flat on top, and lined with plane trees that throw cool shade even at 35°C. Rent bikes near Piazza Santa Maria for about €4 per hour. The history person peels off at San Frediano to see the 13th-century mosaic facade while the relaxer does a second lap. You meet at Forno Amedeo Giusti on Via Santa Lucia, open since 1882, where a slab of focaccia with rosemary costs €3 and tastes like bread should always taste. The town is small enough that getting lost is pleasant rather than stressful, and you'll end up back at the walls within ten minutes of any wrong turn.

Bologna is 35 minutes from Florence on the Frecciarossa, tickets around €20 each way if booked a few days ahead. The city has the best food in Italy and this is not a controversial opinion among Italians. Walk under the 40 km of covered porticoes to the Quadrilatero market district, where Tamburini on Via Caprarie has been curing meats since 1932. A plate of mortadella, squacquerone cheese, and a tigelle bread basket runs about €12. The Due Torri lean at angles that make you briefly grateful for modern building codes. Climb the Asinelli tower, 498 steps, for a view of terracotta rooftops stretching to the Apennines on clear days. The university district south of Via Zamboni has cheap aperitivo spots where €8 gets you a spritz and a buffet. Last Frecciarossa back is usually around 10pm, so there is no rush. Bologna rewards aimless walking more than any itinerary could plan for, and the porticoes keep you dry if summer storms roll in.

San Gimignano works best as a half-day paired with Siena or as a standalone trip if you leave early. There is no direct train, so take the bus from Florence to Poggibonsi and change for the local 130 line, total journey about 1 hour 45 minutes and €7 each way. The 14 medieval towers remain from an original 72, and the town is small enough to walk end to end in 15 minutes. Gelateria Dondoli on Piazza della Cisterna has won world gelato championships multiple times, and the saffron and Vernaccia wine flavors are worth the queue. The Collegiata church has frescoes by Ghirlandaio that rival anything in Florence but with no crowd. Be warned that by 11am in summer the main street fills with tour groups from Chianti wine buses, so arriving by 9am or after 4pm gives you the town closer to how it feels in silence over dinner.