Tuscany without a car

You can see a surprising amount of Tuscany from Florence without ever renting a car. The cities are well connected; the hill towns and wineries are not. Here is what works on public transport, what does not, and where a tour fills the gap.

Easy by public transport

Siena: the Autolinee Toscane 131R bus takes about 65 to 75 minutes and arrives at Piazza Gramsci, a short walk from the Campo; its Florence stop has moved with roadworks, so check at-bus.it. The train takes about 90 minutes and stops below the walls. Pisa: regional trains from Santa Maria Novella take about 50 to 80 minutes for around €9; the Leaning Tower is a 20-minute walk from Pisa Centrale. Lucca: about 80 minutes by regional train, with the walls a few minutes from the station. All three work as a relaxed DIY day.

Possible, but slow

San Gimignano: train to Poggibonsi (about an hour), then bus 130 or 133 (20 to 25 minutes); 1.5 to 2 hours each way and about €10.50. Montepulciano and Pienza: buses exist but are infrequent, and linking them in a day is not realistic without a car. Chianti: buses reach Greve in Chianti, but the estates are on country roads with no service at all.

When a tour is simply easier

Anything that combines two hill towns, or a town and a winery, is where the day tours earn their price: from about $76 for Siena, San Gimignano and a Chianti tasting, or about $100 with a farm lunch and Pisa, all from next to the station. Uber in Florence mainly books licensed taxis, and there is no ride-hailing in the countryside, so for a private day out book a driver in advance. And if you do rent a car, park outside the walls: historic centres are ZTL zones with camera fines that arrive months later. For how to string towns together over several days, see the Tuscany itinerary guide.