Day Trips from Florence: Barga, Certaldo, San Gimignano and Lucca

Florence is well-positioned for day trips — the Arno valley and the surrounding Tuscan hills put a dozen worthwhile towns within 1–2 hours by car or public transport. The four below represent different aspects of the region: Barga for medieval Garfagnana atmosphere, Certaldo Alta for its Boccaccio connection and summer arts festival, San Gimignano for its towers and Vernaccia wine, and Lucca for its intact Renaissance walls and Puccini heritage. None requires more than a half-day to see the highlights, making it practical to combine two in a single day trip.

Barga (Garfagnana)

Barga is a medieval hilltop town in the Serchio valley north of Lucca, about 80 km from Florence — around 1 hour 15 minutes by car, or about 2 hours by train via Lucca. It sits in the Garfagnana, a narrow valley between the Apuan Alps (where Carrara marble is quarried) and the Apennines, and has a character very different from the Chianti or Arno valley towns further south. The Duomo of San Cristoforo at the top of the hill contains a significant Romanesque interior with a large polychrome pulpit; the views from the terrace over the Serchio valley and towards the marble quarries of the Apuan Alps are excellent. Barga has a strong Scottish connection — many inhabitants emigrated to Scotland in the 19th and early 20th centuries — and there is still an annual Barga Jazz Festival in August that reflects this transatlantic history.

The food of the Garfagnana is mountain cooking: farro della Garfagnana IGP (emmer wheat, grown in the valley since antiquity) appears in soups and salads; biroldo (a blood sausage made with pig’s head, spices, and pine nuts) is the defining local salume; lardo di Colonnata (cured fatback from the marble quarry village of Colonnata, 25 km west) is the best lard in Italy and worth buying directly if you venture into the Apuan Alps.

Certaldo Alta

Certaldo is a small town in the Elsa valley, about 35 km south of Florence — 40 minutes by car or 40 minutes by train from Santa Maria Novella to Certaldo station, then a funicular up to the medieval upper town (Certaldo Alta). The lower town is modern; the upper town is a well-preserved medieval brick settlement that functions as a quiet residential area with a handful of restaurants and the main cultural sites. Certaldo Alta is the birthplace and burial place of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375), author of the Decameron; the Casa del Boccaccio and the church of Santi Jacopo e Filippo (where he is buried) are the main sites. In summer, the upper town hosts the Mercantia, an international street theatre festival (late July), which briefly transforms the medieval streets into a performance venue.

San Gimignano

San Gimignano, about 55 km south of Florence, is the most visited of these four destinations and the one that requires the most strategic planning to enjoy. The 14 surviving medieval towers — remnants of the 72 that once defined the skyline — are genuinely extraordinary, and the town’s position on a ridge above the Elsa valley vineyards is photogenic in any light. The problem is crowds: in July and August the main streets (Via San Giovanni, Via San Matteo) become uncomfortably dense with tour groups between 10am and 5pm. Arriving before 9am or after 5pm changes the experience completely. The Museo Civico in Palazzo del Popolo has a good collection including Filippino Lippi’s Annunciation; the Collegiata (the main church) has a complete fresco cycle by Bartolo di Fredi covering the Old Testament. Vernaccia di San Gimignano DOCG — the white wine produced from the Vernaccia grape on the surrounding hills, Italy’s first DOC wine (1966) — is the correct thing to drink here.

Lucca

Lucca is about 75 km from Florence — just over an hour by train direct, or 1 hour by car. It is the most complete walled Renaissance city in Italy: the 16th-century bastioned walls encircle the entire historic centre, are about 4 km in circumference, and are wide enough at the top to be used as a public promenade planted with trees. Cycling on the walls is the standard Lucca activity. Within the walls, the medieval street plan survives around the former Roman amphitheatre — now the elliptical Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, lined with medieval houses built into the arena’s outer shell.

The Torre Guinigi (14th century) is Lucca’s signature monument — a brick tower topped with a grove of holm oak trees whose roots grow through the vaulted room at the top. It is climbable and the view from the canopy level is unusual. Lucca is the birthplace of Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924); the Casa Natale di Puccini on Corte San Lorenzo is now a museum with letters, scores, and personal effects. The Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi has a good collection of Flemish and Italian paintings.

Practical Notes

• Barga: Car recommended (1h15 from Florence); train possible via Lucca but slow. Best combined with a drive through the Garfagnana or a stop at Castelnuovo di Garfagnana
• Certaldo Alta: Train from Florence to Certaldo (40 min), then funicular to upper town. Very easy half-day; combine with San Gimignano (20 min by car or taxi)
• San Gimignano: No direct train — bus from Poggibonsi (on the Florence–Siena line) or by car. Arrive early or late to avoid peak crowds
• Lucca: Direct train from Florence (1h10–1h20); frequent service. Bike hire at or near the station for the walls circuit
• Combining: Certaldo Alta + San Gimignano works well in a single day by car. Lucca + Pisa is another classic pairing (30 min apart). Barga is best as a standalone or with a Garfagnana drive