Best Weekend Trips from Florence (From Students Who Actually Did Them)
Florence is easily one of the best home bases for studying abroad in Europe. You are sitting right in the middle of Italy with trains going everywhere, cheap flights out of Pisa and Bologna (both about an hour away), and a semester's worth of weekend trips within a few hours in every direction. The problem is that most students waste their first few weekends figuring out where to go. I watched it happen last fall. Kids would wait until Thursday night to start planning and end up overpaying or just not going at all. So here are the trips that every Florence student ends up talking about when they get home. These are not from a Google search. They are from students who actually did them.
1. The Tuscany Wine Tour (Day Trip)
This is the one. If you only do one thing outside of Florence all semester, make it this. You get picked up in a van, drive through the Tuscan hills, hit two wineries, eat a massive family style lunch with pasta and fresh bread and olive oil, and then wander around San Gimignano which is this tiny medieval town that looks like it was built for Instagram. The whole thing takes about 8 hours and runs 130 euros. You come back stuffed, sunburned, and convinced it was the best day of your semester. One of our members from last fall still texts me about it. She said it ruined every other day abroad for her. Book it early because the good tours fill up weeks in advance, especially in September and October.
2. Amalfi Coast (2 to 3 Days)
The Amalfi Coast is the trip everyone dreams about before they even land in Italy. This is a full weekend, not a day trip. Stay in Sorrento because it is cheaper and easier than Positano, and use it as your launch point. Day one, take a boat to Capri. Swim in the water, explore the island, eat seafood with a view. Day two, ferry to Positano and spend the afternoon on the beach surrounded by those colorful cliffside buildings you have seen in every travel photo ever. Fair warning, the boats can get choppy so if you get seasick easily, take something before you go. Book the boat day at least two to three weeks ahead during peak season or it will sell out. The boat days are what make this trip special so do not skip them.
3. Cinque Terre (Day Trip or Overnight)
Five colorful fishing villages stacked into the cliffs along the coast. You can hike between them, take the train, or do a mix of both. Monterosso has the best beach. Vernazza has the best views. Manarola at sunset is one of those moments where you just stand there and stare. It is totally doable as a day trip from Florence since La Spezia is only about 2.5 hours by train, but staying overnight lets you see the villages after the day tourists leave. That is when it gets really magical. Bring good shoes because the trails are no joke.
4. Rome (Weekend)
Rome is three hours by train and you can find tickets for under 20 euros if you book a week or two ahead. The Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon. you already know the highlights. But here is what most guides do not tell you. Trastevere is the neighborhood you want for dinner. It feels like a completely different city. Narrow streets, amazing food, locals actually hanging out. Skip the tourist restaurants near the main sights and eat where the Romans eat. Two full days is enough to hit everything without feeling rushed.
5. Venice (Day Trip)
Venice is only two hours from Florence by high speed train which makes it one of the easiest day trips you can do. Get there early, get lost in the alleys, ride a vaporetto down the Grand Canal, eat cicchetti at a bacaro, and grab a spritz by the water. You do not need a gondola. Honestly they are overpriced and kind of awkward. The real Venice is just walking around with no plan and stumbling into something beautiful every five minutes. Be back in Florence by dinner.
6. Interlaken, Switzerland (Weekend)
This is the adrenaline trip and it is a full weekend commitment from Florence. Interlaken sits between two lakes in the Swiss Alps and it is where students go to skydive, paraglide, canyon swing, and bungee jump. Yes it is Switzerland so it is more expensive than your average weekend trip, but it is worth every cent. You jump out of a plane at 15,000 feet with the Alps underneath you. I have sent probably 200 students to do this and not a single one has told me it was not worth it. Book the skydive at least a few weeks out because slots fill up fast in summer and early fall. Fly into Zurich or take the train from Milan.
7. The Dolomites (Weekend)
If you are even slightly outdoorsy, the Dolomites will blow your mind. These are the jagged mountain peaks in northern Italy that look like another planet. This is a weekend trip, not a day trip. It is about a 4 to 5 hour drive from Florence so rent a car with friends or take a bus to Bolzano and go from there. You can hike Tre Cime, drive through the mountain passes, stay in a rifugio up in the mountains, and wake up to views that do not feel real. Heads up, the trails can be steep and exposed so bring layers and real hiking shoes, not your white sneakers. Fall is the best time because the crowds thin out and the colors are insane.
How to Actually Make These Happen
Here is the thing about weekend trips from Florence. Everyone says they are going to do them and then the semester flies by and they only did two. The students who get the most out of their time abroad are the ones who book things early and commit. That is exactly what Flextrip helps with. I have done all of these trips. I know the best routes, the best times to go, which activities are actually worth it, and which ones are tourist traps. Text me and I will help you plan your whole semester of weekends so you are not scrambling last minute every Thursday night.