Florence Travel Answers

Hello and welcome to VT. We just returned from a 21 day trip throughout Italy covering some of the cities you mentioned. We overnighted in Verona. Nice but very commercial. Make sure and head for the river after visiting the Colosseum, Juliet's house, etc. Gorgeous sunsets at river side and a good chance to walk back to the center of town, We stayed 2 nights in Bologna and took day trips to Parma and Ferrara, both lovely smaller towns. Bologna also was commercial but GREAT food! Pisa - aside from tower, baptistry and crypt we didn't spend much time in - about 3 hours in total. We did take a trip to Lucca from there and LOVED Lucca! It is amongst our favorite small hill towns in Tuscany. The wall is amazing and has some lovely views. Are you going to Siena? Also lovely and some wonderful views. San Gimignano also has a wonderful atmosphere and some lovely views of the country side from the wall. We have some pictures on our pages of all above mentioned although no tips yet - I'm working on it. As to your question, bus gives you better opportunity to see the countryside. From Siena we took a bus out into the country, stopped off at a worthwhile location for a walk about and then walked back to the pick up/drop off spot. Waited about 20 mins for next bus and returned to Siena. I think next time we would rent a car for a day and drive into the country. Traiin travel however is much more convenient and quicker to get to your destinations. Italian trains are EXCELLENT, reliable and very user friendly. Make sure and validate your tickets after purchase and before entering the train at one of the yellow validating machines strewn throughout the station or platform. Not doing so can result in a fine. Homer

To feel a real Tuscany may be consider staying not only in cities, but is small villages or farmhouses - there is a wide offer of such accomodation both on www.booking.com or www.venere.com (here better choise). I liked the surroundings of Greve, Montepulciano, Lucca.

You will be able to explore much of Italy very easily by train and bus. trenitalia.com/homepage_en.h... will give you train times, details and fares in English. You should travel between the cities you mention by train, imo. Travel by bus Pisa>Florence requires a change and distances are much further between the other cities. Long-distance bus travel is less common in Italy than some other countries because the railway network is so good. Long-distance buses tend to use the major roads/motorways whereas trains pass through countryside, so you see no more (and possibly less) than you would by train. From Florence you can visit Pisa and Lucca by train. Siena is better by bus because the railway station is a long way from its historical centre: sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Fire... and San Gimignano by bus also, or by train to Poggibonsi and then bus: sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Fire... In one daytrip from Pisa you can take the train to La Spezia and explore the lovely Cinque Terre villages (taking the train between them) very easily. The same applies to Verona and Bologna (neither of which I have visited as yet). The Italian rail network is very extensive, so train is often the option of choice but there are ample local buses as well. Once you have decided on specific routes I can help you find the bus timetables. There are many local operators in Italy, as well as the major ones like Sita, so finding timetables is not always simple.

I would have to agree with train over bus as a means to travels between cities -we took a bus from Florence to Lucca and all we saw was ugly autostrada whilst an early morning train trip from Florence to Assissi years ago stays in my mind as a truly beautiful journey. By all means use local buses to get out of the city for a day.

Hello, I think you have your answer that train travel is the best way to get from point to point in Italy and you will cross miles of beautiful farmland and countryside that you might not even see from a car, so really a great way to go. As to the comments that Bologna and Verona are 'commercial' I am not sure what is meant. Most Italian cities of any size are filled with stores because Italians love the sport of shopping almost as much as soccer! Verona for sure is touristy because of the Romeo/Juliet thing, but there are lots of amazing things to see. I highly recommend going to the Castelvecchio and touring the museum (views from the parapets are splendid), the Roman theatre and museum across the river from the center are amazing as is the Arena di Verona (better preserved than the colosseum in Rome), and the duomo plus other churches (S. Anastasia, S.Fermo) are fantastic. I also recommend the Scavi Scaligeri which are underground Roman ruins paired with great photo exhibits. There is lots to do and see of interest if you get off the beaten Romeo/Juliet Path. As for Bologna...it is probably the best example of a true Italian city (confirmed by actual!) so I encourage you to spend more time there than just a few hours. The architecture is amazing (porticoes, Due Torre, Piazza Maggiore); it's home to perhaps the world's oldest university (Archiginnasio); has great museums (Pinocoteca, Morandi), churches (duomo, S. Francesco, Santuario della Madonna di San Luca, and yes, incredible food (stalls near v. Clavature in particular). In short, if you want to know Italians/Italy, you must visit and explore this city! OK have a great trip as you are sure to in il bel paese.

I have used all types of Italian trains on my visits and have not once experienced a late arrival.