Florence and Lucca or Florence and Pisa...advise?

[twobluecats]

Hello! We will be on Disney's Magic in May, porting in La Spezia for one day. We have arranged a private tour for just the two of us with Rome in Limo. They are great! I really am trying to convince my husband that we don't have to have the Pisa photo as it can wait for another trip IF we can fit in Florence and Lucca instead.

 

This is the thing. After all the big cities (Rome, Naples, Barcelona, etc), I want to be sure and blend more small village-type stops into our itinerary. I just don't know that we would do much in Pisa. I know we will do Florence as we want to view the museums. But, Jany said Lucca could be an option instead of Pisa (I really wanted to to San Gimignano, but probably too far away).

 

Any advise on why we should consider Florence/Lucca or Florence/Pisa? This is all very new to me!

[alexandra cruiser]

Its a really quaint small city, surrounded by walls, no cars allowed in most areas.Great small shops and restaurants...we stayed 2 days on private tour and loved it...of course, there a many churchs,etc....But just fun to wander, window shop, eat, people watch,etc.....Florence is a must if never there before, but be warned, its VERY crowded...lines for most famous musuems, sights,etc.....try to get tickets online to most...if on ship tour or private,maybe they can help with that...We did it on our own and spent 3 days to see it all, gives you an idea how much to enjoy...Have a great time, envy you...Italy my FAVORITE country, maybe because I m half Italian eh????;)

[deadzone1003]

If this is your first trip to Tuscany, it should be Florence and it will take all day long. Since you do have a car, Pisa or Lucca is not too out of the way if you do decide on Florence. Pisa may lend to a dash-in and dash-out scenerio as you will be limited in time, especially if you have no desire to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. If La Spezia is your port, how come you are not visiting Cinque Terre? It's about an hour from La Spezia to Florence each way by car. With Cinque Terre, you just have to go to La Spezia Centrale from your ship, buy your ticket, and hop on a train.

[twobluecats]

Thanks for the info. To answer some questions, yes we are definitely going to have tickets for the museums in advance, purchased by our driver. And, I really did give Cinque Terre some thought as I love the idea of the quaint villages. But, I cannot go and not see Florence.

 

Just talked to my husband, and he thinks the world will end if he doesn't see the Pisa Tower. So, I guess my plan is going to be make the very most of Florence and spend as much time as I can there with a stop in Pisa on the way (or way back) for a photo op.

 

I guess the hilltowns will be on our next journey so I can get that fabulous small village feel!

[euro cruiser]

It's about an hour from La Spezia to Florence each way by car.

I think Deadzone is vastly underestimating the time to drive from La Spezia to Florence, it's more like an hour and forty five minutes, and that's not taking into account Florence's legendary traffic on the autostrade as you approach the city.

 

I would advise going to Pisa first, so that you'll approach Florence after the morning rush hour. It will take nearly an hour to get to Pisa; if you want to climb the tower, you'll need reservations.

 

From Pisa to Florence will take about an hour and a quarter, and the return from Florence to the port will be about an hour and three quarters.

[SAN]

Florence is a must!!! Pisa, go in take a picture of the tower and leave. My husband did climb the tower and made reservations the day we were there but we were there in April. My husband remembers only 10 people at a time. You have to climb all the way to the top without stopping, no turning around. Nice pictures from the top of the tower.

 

Lucca- Stayed 2 days on a land tour. Enjoyed the walk around the town on top of the wall around the older city of Lucca.

 

Yes, you must do the hill towns. We took a land tour of 14 days visiting the hill towns and villages of Italy, all north of Rome. Umbria, Tuscany, Cinque Terra, etc.

 

Next time, I want to see the south of Italy and Sicily. I am of Genovese decent, all four grandparents came from the same town in Liguria, Italy My husband grandparents came from Sicily.

 

You will have a wonderful time!!! Enjoy!!!!!!

[hylasgirl]

Hello! We will be on Disney's Magic in May, porting in La Spezia for one day. We have arranged a private tour for just the two of us with Rome in Limo. They are great! I really am trying to convince my husband that we don't have to have the Pisa photo as it can wait for another trip IF we can fit in Florence and Lucca instead.

 

This is the thing. After all the big cities (Rome, Naples, Barcelona, etc), I want to be sure and blend more small village-type stops into our itinerary. I just don't know that we would do much in Pisa. I know we will do Florence as we want to view the museums. But, Jany said Lucca could be an option instead of Pisa (I really wanted to to San Gimignano, but probably too far away).

 

Any advise on why we should consider Florence/Lucca or Florence/Pisa? This is all very new to me!

 

Twobluecats.... Well, great job in picking Romeinlimo for your day! I think if this is your first trip to the area, I would definitely make sure you spend most of your time in Florence. It is just amazing! Make sure you have Romeinlimo reserve you a spot for the Accademia museum for the David. I think seeing that is soooo amazing. And with a reservation you can walk right past the line and in through the door...

 

I have been to a few places in that area and I think you will be most happy with spending this first time seeing mostly Florence, and if you have time, stop at Pisa on your way back. I LOVED Pisa and you don't need long there.

 

Enjoy!