Florence 2 Day Itinerary (Tuscany Base)
Two days from Florence is one real day trip, not more. This itinerary spends day one settling into the city itself (our full Florence guide covers the in-city sights properly) and day two on Siena, the single Tuscan day trip worth prioritizing over the rest. Need more time for day trips? Our 3-day through 7-day versions build outward from this same plan.
Book these before you go
- Check rates on Booking.com for a hotel near Firenze SMN, the departure point for the Siena train.
- A Siena day tour on GetYourGuide if you would rather not manage the regional train timetable yourself.
Day 1: Settle into Florence, not the sights
Arrive, check into a hotel within easy walking distance of Firenze SMN or the Duomo, and use the afternoon to get oriented rather than sightsee hard. This itinerary deliberately keeps day one light: the in-city sights (the Uffizi, the Duomo dome, the Accademia) each need their own advance booking and deserve their own trip, covered properly in our Florence guide and our Florence itineraries . For live ZTL maps and general planning, see Florence’s official tourism site .
Confirm tomorrow’s Siena train time tonight on Trenitalia and buy the ticket the evening before. Regional tickets do not need weeks of lead time the way museum tickets do, but checking the schedule the night before saves a stressful morning. Have dinner near your hotel and get an early night, tomorrow’s train is worth catching before 9am.
Day 2: Siena, in full
Take the regional train to Siena, 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes each way with around 30 departures a day from SMN. Spend the day on Piazza del Campo, the striped Duomo, and the medieval streets between them. This is a working city, not a photo stop, and it rewards a full day rather than a rushed half of one. Eat lunch in Siena itself rather than saving your appetite for the train back.
Return to Florence in the early evening. Regional connections run until late, but do not cut your final train back close if you have an early flight the next morning.
| Day | Focus | Transit from Florence SMN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florence orientation | None, already in the city |
| 2 | Siena day trip | Regional train, 1h20-1h30 each way |
Buy your Siena return ticket the night before rather than at the platform machine at 7am. The ticket-machine queue runs longer than you expect on a summer weekday morning, and missing the train you planned around costs you half your one day trip.