Florence Day Trips

The pleasant bus ride to this ancient hilltop enclave offers charming views of Florence and the Arno Valley. Fiesole's most notable landmark is the 3,000-seat, 1st-century-BC Roman Theater, home to the Estate Fiesolana performing festival. Fiesole has a pleasant semi-rural village feel to it, and is a favorite spot with Florentines seeking respite from the city heat on a sultry summer night.

This famous villa is worth visiting for its medieval tower, 19th-century rooms, and art, including an excellent bronze statue by Ammanati, and outside frescoes depicting Medici family exploits.

While its interiors are closed to the public, its lovely gardens are open and include a charming, sculpted animal grotto.

Built by Giuliano da Sangallo for Lorenzo il Magnifico, this is arguably the most beautiful Medici villa, set in extensive grounds. The main Hall is splendidly frescoed by the likes of Andrea del Sarto and Pontormo. Admission is free and there are escorted tours for both the Villa and the Museum of Still Life Painting.

If Florence is the cradle of the Renaissance, its arch-rival Siena has always clung to its Medieval heritage. The shell-shaped Piazza del Campo is one of Italy's most beautiful squares, where the historic Palio delle Contrade bareback horse race brings the city to a standstill twice a year (July 2 and August 16).

Also known as the Piazza dei Miracoli, Pisa's grassy Cathedral Square houses the elegant Cathedral, the ornate Baptistery, and the historic Cemetery, but people flock here for the iconic Leaning Tower. To preserve its precarious stability, only guided groups of up to 30 visitors at a time are allowed to climb the dizzying 294 steps.

Despite the decline of its textile manufacturing industry, Prato remains Tuscany's richest city. Prato's major landmarks are the cathedral of Santo Stefano with notable frescoes by Filippo Lippi and Paolo Uccello and an external pulpit decorated by Donatello, the 13th-century Castello dell'Imperatore and the Luigi Pecci Center for Contemporary Art.

The still-intact ring of defensive walls that have preserved this city's original character are now a charming 2.5-mile tree-lined promenade providing great views over the town center with its proverbial "one hundred bell towers,” while the peculiar shape of the Medieval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro betrays the Roman amphitheater formerly on this site.