San Gimignano & Volterra Day Trip from Florence
Fourteen surviving medieval towers, then an Etruscan town on a ridge
Florence from Florence: 122 km round trip, about 2h 20m behind the wheel, planned hour by hour.
Fourteen surviving medieval towers, then an Etruscan town on a ridge. It's a day out of Florence: 122 km of driving in total, about 2h 20m behind the wheel, and the rest of the day on your feet.
The plan below is paced so the driving doesn't eat the day: leave after breakfast, be back for the evening. Every stop can be swapped for one of three alternatives if it isn't your kind of thing.
Your days
Towers in the morning light, frescoes by midday, and a fortress-top sunset before the road home.
Park outside the walls and walk in through Porta San Giovanni straight to this square.
It rises right off the same piazza — an easy stroll across the stones.
A short uphill walk from the old town center to the fortress walls.
- Park in the paid lots outside the walls (Bagnaia or Giubileo) — cars aren't allowed inside
- Book Torre Grossa and Collegiata tickets online in advance, they sell out midday
- San Gimignano is small — a few hours cover it well without rushing
- Florence center is a ZTL restricted zone — avoid driving into it on return, use a peripheral hotel or garage
- Certaldo Alto+15 km
A quiet hilltop old town, birthplace of Boccaccio, with far fewer crowds than San Gimignano.
- Volterra+30 km
An atmospheric Etruscan-Roman hill town with alabaster workshops and a dramatic clifftop position.
- Monteriggioni+20 km
A tiny, perfectly intact walled village visible from the road — a five-minute detour worth the photo.
This route was drafted with AI. Please double-check roads, opening hours and local conditions before you go.
Questions, answered
- How do I avoid a ZTL fine in Tuscany?
- Assume every walled town centre is restricted, and park outside the walls. Look for the round white sign with a red border: that is the zone boundary. If your hotel is inside a ZTL it can register your plate for the nights you stay, but only if you give them the number in advance.
- Can I do Siena and San Gimignano in one day?
- You can, and plenty of tours do, but it makes for a rushed day: roughly two hours of driving plus two hurried towns. Doing one properly, with a Chianti stop on the way back, is a better day.
- Is Cinque Terre a day trip from Florence?
- Not comfortably by car: the villages are closed to traffic and the coastal road is slow, so you'd park at La Spezia and take the local train anyway. If Cinque Terre is a priority, go by train from Florence, or stay overnight.
- When is the wine country worth it?
- September and October for harvest, May for the countryside. Most small Chianti cellars want a booking a day or two ahead: walking in works at the larger estates only. And whoever drives tastes little; plan for that.
Worth reading first
Other routes you might like
Siena Day Trip from Florence
A shell-shaped square, a striped cathedral and a city that stopped in 1348
1 day · 184 km
Chianti wine road Day Trip from Florence
The SR222 through vineyards, with cellars and hill villages along it
1 day · 64 km
Lucca & Pisa Day Trip from Florence
A city wall you cycle around, and the leaning tower half an hour further
1 day · 175 km