Two-Day Trip to Florence and Pisa, Italy

Florence and Pisa are gorgeous cities with tons of stunning historical, architectural, and natural sites to offer. Packing all of the sites in both cities into a two-day trip is impossible.

Pisa is a pretty small town, and most of the main tourist destinations are located within the same square, so a trip to Pisa can be done in a few hours. Florence is a much bigger city, so I could definitely spend a few days there without getting bored or having to repeat activities.

If you commit to a busy schedule, like I did, you can do and see a lot in just two days. Overall, I feel very content with my two-day trip to Florence and Pisa. That said, I definitely want to return and see more of Florence especially!

These two days factored into a larger trip where I visited multiple cities in Italy with my aunts. Before heading to Pisa, my aunts and I spent a weekend in Rome. You can read about my experiences in the Eternal City, here.

Through this post, I scrapbook my adventures in Pisa and Florence.

---

Day 1: Sightseeing in Pisa and Eating in Florence

My aunts and I set out super early to catch a 6:20AM train from Rome to Pisa. We arrived in Pisa before 9:00AM, and prior to visiting any sites, we dropped our luggage off at a storage locker near the Pisa Centrale train station.

From there, it took about 25 minutes to walk to the main historical and architectural sites, including the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa and the San Giovanni Baptistery. Of course, we began by taking pictures with the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

When we finished taking pictures, we purchased tickets to enter the Baptistery and the Pisa Cathedral. Then, we entered these impressive buildings and spent a bit of time admiring them. Next, we strolled around the Cathedral Square, and eventually we came across some helpful signs with detailed descriptions of each of the buildings in the area. 

Once we finished at the Cathedral Square, we retrieved our luggage and returned to the train station to grab a train to Florence. Our train from Pisa took an hour and 15 minutes to reach Florence.

In Florence, not wanting to take a taxi, we carried our luggage for a good twenty minutes through the streets to get to our hotel. After checking in, we explored the city simply by wandering up and down the gorgeous streets in Florence’s historic center.

We had a fantastic lunch at Coquinarius Bistro, an upscale Florentine restaurant with a warm, inviting vibe.

After lunch, we wandered around a bit more. During that time, we took some pictures around Florence and picked up some souvenirs for friends and family. I found Piazza della Repubblica to be a nice place to take pictures.

After returning to the hotel for a brief break and to make plans for the next day, we set out again to see a bit more of the city. We made sure to swing by the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, as well as Ponte Vecchio, a unique-looking pedestrian bridge with small, colorful buildings across it.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Later, we ate a relaxing dinner at La Ménagère, a pretty bistro and cocktail bar that also sells flowers and gifts.

Day 2: Uffizi Gallery, Giardino di Boboli, and Panini

Since we didn’t even have a second full day in Florence, we got started early. After an amazing brunch at our hotel in Florence, we arrived at the Uffizi Gallery by 9:00AM, and we spent the next two and a half hours admiring the impressive collections of art and the building that houses them.

When we finished up with the museum, we returned to the hotel to check out and ask them to hold our bags. Then, we spent the next two hours exploring a bit more of Florence, specifically the Giardino di Boboli, an extensive Renaissance Era garden great for hiking, strolling, and gazing out at the city skyline.

Giardino di Boboli, Florence, Italy

On the way back to the hotel to retrieve our bags, we picked up paninis to go at Panino. I loved the panini I ordered, and the place has great vegan and vegetarian options in addition to more traditional paninis for meat lovers.

Back at our hotel, we grabbed our bags and hopped into a taxi to go to the train station. Then, we boarded our train to Venice…