Often, when a traveller decides to visit Tuscany, it’s part of a bigger travel that covers a lot of places in Italy: Rome, Naples, Milan, Venice…
If you are looking for information about how to reach Tuscany from other Italian cities this post is for you. For convenience, we will use Florence as a reference point.
From Rome to Florence
Florence and Rome are divided by 282 kilometres (176 miles) and the easiest way to cover the distance is by train. Frequent trains run from south to north, both from Roma Termini and Roma Tiburtina stations to Santa Maria Novella (Florence main train station). This is a good option, also because you will avoid any parking problems.
By train: The fastest way to reach Florence from Rome by train is with “le Frecce,” that takes only one hour and thirty minutes. Those trains are quite expensive and need a reservation. The prices are 43€ for the second class and 63€ for the first class. If you are looking for something cheaper (but slower) take the trains that cover the distance in two to four hours. Another option is Italy’s private high-speed rail line called Italo, which leaves from Rome’s Ostiense and Tiburtina stations.
By bus: There is a bus that connects Roma with Florence and Sena group covers it. Check your travel on the website. The price is around 25€.
By car: As said before, you don’t need a car to visit Florence (and cars aren’t allowed in the city centre), but maybe you need it to visit the surroundings. An option can be renting a car directly in Florence. Anyway, to reach Florence from Rome by car you can take the A1 highway and the tool is around 18€ (you pay the toll at toll booths at the exit of the highway).
By airplane: Florence has an airport at just 6 kilometres from the city centre.. There is a direct flight from Florence to Rome with Alitalia.
From Naples to Florence
Florence is 470 km (270 miles) from Naples. Visiting Florence from Naples can’t be considered a day trip, but it’s not difficult to organize a trip for a couple of days.
By train: you can take one of the Frecciarossa or Frecciargento (as we call the high speed fast trains) with no train changes required, and all in around three hours. The cost varies from 68€ (second class) to 160€ (executive) one-way. Cheapest trains are of course very slow (around 5 hours) and could be a good option if you have a lot of time. If you plan the travel before, anyway, look for the saver fares on the Trenitaliawebsite. Remember that the ticketing system doesn’t allow sales for travel dates that are 90 days from today’s date.
By bus: There are at least two options for travelling by bus from Naples to Florence: with Sena group(around 35€) and with Leonetti & Gallucci. Bus is the cheapest option but it’s also a very long journey (more than 6 hours).
By car: Same as Rome: you don’t need a car in the city centre. The trip is around five hours and the cost of the tool is about 33€.
From Milan to Florence
Florence is 300 km (about 186 miles) from Milan.
By train: To get from Milan to Florence you have a few options, but the easiest one is to take the train. The fastest train option is the “Frecciarossa” train which makes the trip in about one hour and 45 minutes. A first class ticket on the fastest train costs about €70, and a second class ticket on that train is about €52. You need a reservation in addition to your ticket. Slower trains connecting Milan and Florence can take around 4 hours: a first class ticket costs about €38 and a second class ticket costs about €28.
By bus: A few Italian bus companies provide long-distance bus service. You can try with Sena, iBus,Eurolines. The price is between 20 and 30€ and it takes about 4 hours.
By car: Driving from Milan to Florence takes about 3 hours and 30 minutes and the tool costs about 25€.
From Venice to Florence
Florence is 260 km (about 161 miles) from Venice. Since they both are important stops during a tour in Italy, getting from one to the other is something many travelers want to know about. Also in this case, the best way to move is by train.
By train: You can reach Florence from Venice both with the fast trains of Trenitalia and Italo in just 2 hours. One-way tickets in first class are around €70, and second class is €45. There is also a cheapest option but it takes till 5 hours. Remeber that the high-speed AV (that means fast) trains do require reservations in addition to train tickets.
By bus: There’s a partnership between SENA, Baltour, and Eurolines groups. They run coaches from Venice to Florence every day and the trip is about 5 hours one-way. Buses leave Venice a couple times a day, so you’ll need to plan out your departure. A one-way ticket costs 24€.
By car: The toll is less than 20€ but you can’t enter inside the city centers of Florence and Venice. Choose this option only if you want to discover the surroundings of the two cities.
By airplane: It’s not a good idea to fly between Tuscany (both Pisa and Florence airport) and Venice because there’s no direct flight and routes requires a plane change in Rome.