moflo-your online guide to Florence

In Tuscany you can go to the beach, the mountains or the countryside. All are close enough to go for a day, especially if you rent a car. The buses and trains are pretty good as well. Personally, I love to get out of the city and go to the mountains north of Lucca - its beautiful.

A good day trip from Florence would be to the city of Siena. I'd recommend taking a bus out of the SITA bus station. If you're looking at S.M.N. train station, it's around the left side across the street (you might have to ask someone). Try to check the schedule for a direct route because otherwise you'll be stopping at every little town in between. Check out the website above for the schedule. It's also possible to hike Cinque Terre in a day. I'd leave fairly early in the morning and take a train out of S.M.N. station to La Spezia Centrale. Once you arrive at La Spezia, buy a Cinque Terre day pass which includes train transportation between towns, as well as entrance to the trails. From La Spezia, take another train to either Riomaggiore(first town) or Monterosso(last town) depending on which way you'd like to hike. For an easier walk I'd suggest Monterosso-Riomaggiore but if you want a slightly tougher climb, you can go the opposite route.