What else besides Florence and Pisa?

[ladocevita]

Been to Florence and Pisa many times. Besides Lucca where can we go for the day ?

[ladocevita]

Thanks 

[euro cruiser]

Are you looking for places that you can reach with public transit, or will you have a car?

[Hlitner]

Hmmm, there is an entire country depending on your starting point, how much time, etc.  But I will assume you mean from the Port of Livorno.  So let me just pop out a few names:  Lucca,  Voltterra Siena, San Gimignano, the S222 wine road through chianti, Colle val d'Elsa, and it goes on and on.  We have spent weeks in Tuscany and never got bored.   As to Florence, been there many times (including several muti night visits) and always found places to go, new restaurants to sample. museums, etc.

 

Your question reminds me of somebody who once said to DW, "we have been to Paris for a few hours" so now where do we go!   But, part of the issue for cruisers is what can you do on a port day.  And that depends on whether you limit yourself to cruise line excursions, private tours, rental car, trains, buses, etc.  We have often had cruisers ask us for "what to do" and in the next breath say they only take cruise line excursions.  If you are one those excursion folks you simply look at the options and make your choice.  With private tours you can go on your CC Roll call and see if anyone is putting something together and looking for another couple.   The truth about Tuscany (that is where you are when you dock in Livorno) is that much of the region is rural and can best be explored with a vehicle whether it be a rental car or a private car/driver.  Trains are somewhat limited to a few cities such as Florence or Lucca.

 

For what its worth, Tuscany is one of the most popular tourist regions in Italy.  Folks (including me) have spent weeks and even months in that part of Italy and are happy to return again and again.  If you want a relatively easy DIY day you could just use the trains to Lucca (a medium size walled town).  At Lucca you walk around, browse shops. enjoy a long lunch, walk or ride a bike around the walls, etc.  Finding a tour that combines San Gimignano with Siena or perhaps the Chianti wine area is a good option.  For those that only like towns, combining San Gimignano with Volterra would fill a day.

 

Hank

[edinburgher]

Besides Lucca where can we go for the day ?

 

Lucca would be our first choice.  Easy enough to reach and a lovely historic old town to wander and eat at least one gelato.  And walk the walls.   If into cycling, we saw several locations offering rentals.

 

We went by train.  One of the gateways to enter the old town was just moments away across the main road when you exit the train station (and I THINK just to the left) although others maybe have a better memory.

 

We combined it with Pisa on our first visit, second time we went directly to Lucca as we had enjoyed it so much. The second visit was more leisurely as we were not heading anywhere else.

Edited July 14, 2022 by edinburgher

[ladocevita]

14 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Are you looking for places that you can reach with public transit, or will you have a car?

Public transportation. Do not want to rent a car. 

[ladocevita]

13 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Hmmm, there is an entire country depending on your starting point, how much time, etc.  But I will assume you mean from the Port of Livorno.  So let me just pop out a few names:  Lucca,  Voltterra Siena, San Gimignano, the S222 wine road through chianti, Colle val d'Elsa, and it goes on and on.  We have spent weeks in Tuscany and never got bored.   As to Florence, been there many times (including several muti night visits) and always found places to go, new restaurants to sample. museums, etc.

 

Your question reminds me of somebody who once said to DW, "we have been to Paris for a few hours" so now where do we go!   But, part of the issue for cruisers is what can you do on a port day.  And that depends on whether you limit yourself to cruise line excursions, private tours, rental car, trains, buses, etc.  We have often had cruisers ask us for "what to do" and in the next breath say they only take cruise line excursions.  If you are one those excursion folks you simply look at the options and make your choice.  With private tours you can go on your CC Roll call and see if anyone is putting something together and looking for another couple.   The truth about Tuscany (that is where you are when you dock in Livorno) is that much of the region is rural and can best be explored with a vehicle whether it be a rental car or a private car/driver.  Trains are somewhat limited to a few cities such as Florence or Lucca.

 

For what its worth, Tuscany is one of the most popular tourist regions in Italy.  Folks (including me) have spent weeks and even months in that part of Italy and are happy to return again and again.  If you want a relatively easy DIY day you could just use the trains to Lucca (a medium size walled town).  At Lucca you walk around, browse shops. enjoy a long lunch, walk or ride a bike around the walls, etc.  Finding a tour that combines San Gimignano with Siena or perhaps the Chianti wine area is a good option.  For those that only like towns, combining San Gimignano with Volterra would fill a day.

 

Hank

Thanks again Hank. Should of been more clear. We are going on the Regal Princess docking in Livorno on Sept 9. We don’t do excursions. We are DIY and have been to all places mentioned except Volterra. Is it possible to go there by train ? Hubby does not want to rent a car.  

[cruisemom42]

Here's a thought -- you may have visited Florence before, but have to been to Fiesole?  It's easy to get there by taking the train to Florence, then hopping on one of the frequent buses to nearby smaller Fiesole, about 10 km away. They have Roman and Etruscan ruins there as well as a small but charming museum. It is a pretty place to spend a day with a lovely old cathedral and some wonderful views of Florence on a clear day. 

 

Read more here:  Fiesole and its Museums: Visit Fiesole as a Perfect Day Trip from Florence (visitflorence.com)

[euro cruiser]

Volterra is beyond challenging by public transit, unfortunately.  Tuscany in general is tough.

 

One of my favorite places in Tuscany is Siena and you can get there by train with one change in Empoli.  If you can make the 8:12 departure from Livorno you can make the trip in two hours, it's usually about two and a half.  That's a lot of time on the train, but it's a possibility.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, ladocevita said:

Thanks again Hank. Should of been more clear. We are going on the Regal Princess docking in Livorno on Sept 9. We don’t do excursions. We are DIY and have been to all places mentioned except Volterra. Is it possible to go there by train ? Hubby does not want to rent a car.  

Going to Volerra is not practical via train and the regional buses are too darn slow.  The reason we know this region (and much of the country) is because we often do long driving trips and also will often rent a car on port days.  In the case of Tuscany, having a car (or car/driver) is really necessary if one wants to explore outside the major cities.  It sounds like you have already had your fill of the easy port day train options (Florence, Pisa, and Lucca).  

 

Unless you can hook up with some others (perhaps on the CC Roll Call) and do a private tour you might be out of decent options.  In such a case we often suggest folks just go back to Florence since it is such a fantastic city with many potential options.  Whenever we are driving in the region, we always try to spend 2 nights in Florence (Hotel David is our home away from home).  

 

As to rental cars, although it is our primary choice when in Europe we certainly understand folks not wanting to drive in Italy :).  Over the years (and having driven more than 10,000 miles within Italy) we have acknowledged that the Italians are crazy (but safe) drivers.

 

Hank

[euro cruiser]

Or return to Pisa.  We spent a couple of hours in the museum, which most visitors walk right by.  

 

Opera della Primaziale Pisana: sito ufficiale – Opera del Duomo Museum (opapisa.it)

 

Or forget the tower area entirely and walk around the center of town, it has a huge, old university which means a diverse population and lots of interesting architecture:  Art and culture | Comune di Pisa - Turismo

[ladocevita]

Thanks to all of you for all the information you provided me. 

[euro cruiser]

There is also the "Little Venice" part of Livorno: Livorno | Visit Tuscany

 

My aunt went to see this once when she didn't have the energy to go to Lucca with the rest of us, she said it was interesting but didn't rave about it.

[caripoo]

San Gimignano or Lucca

[carlmm]

Indeed Livorno itself has its fair share of churches, a fortress, museums and such.

There are (used to be) self guided walking tours available from the the tourist information.

Likewise I second to look for what you might not have seen in Pisa as  I do not know how much time you have spent here. There are enough sights for at least three days.

[Mrs Miggins]

We got on the local bus to Castiglioncello - a small seaside town with good restaurants.  Someone on this board recommended it and it was delightful.

 

[WESTEAST]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:43 AM, caripoo said:

San Gimignano or Lucca

Agree Lucca, San Gimignano and will add in Siena.

[ladocevita]

5 hours ago, WESTEAST said:

Agree Lucca, San Gimignano and will add in Siena.

Thanks done, done and done ✅