Florence/Livorno: See Florence and do Tuscan wine tasting in one day?

[Red Butler]

We're in port in Livorno for 12 hours (8 to 8) on a Tuesday. Ideally, we would love to both try a wine tasting in Tuscan countryside and have a couple of hours to see Florence.

 

Has anyone had success in doing this, or do you recommend just picking one or the other? Would this be feasible by driving one's self, or would a private driver be the only real option?

 

With the time between port and Florence, I'm wondering about the logistics of doing both activities even if we hired a private driver. Thanks for your input.

[euro cruiser]

You can do both either driving yourself or with a driver, but it will be more efficient with a driver so you don't have to worry about wrong turns/getting lost or losing time parking.

 

Obviously you won't see a whole lot of Florence but you can get in a couple of hours before you'd need to head out to your wine tasting. Enough to see the highlights from the outside and, if you get a ticket ahead of time, to see Michelangelo's David in the Accademia if you want to.

[Red Butler]

Great, thank you for the reply.

[vplsh]

We did both on our cruise last month. Our driver arranged a stop for us at Pitti winery on the way back from Florence to the port. We had plenty of time at the winery and arrived back at the ship with an hour to spare.

 

We used italytoursharing.com (Joe Bananas) and it was fantastic!!

[Hlitner]

Lets try and put it all in perspective. DW and i have spent months exploring Tuscany and have barely dented the region (that is the real perspective). So you are simply looking at some tours that will let you see the most in the least time :). The typical cruiser dilemma.

 

I do have some additional thoughts. Florence is one of the great cities of the world (especially for tourists) and 2 hours in Florence is like trying to enjoy a world-class meal at a fast food restaurant. For those who have never been to Florence we generally recommend spending an entire day in the city. While wine tasting in some of the nice family owned small wineries (between Florence and Sienna) can be fun (we love to do it) it is arguably not the wisest choice for folks that want to enjoy Florence. The reality is that wineries exist all over the world, but there is only one Florence.

 

So now we will sit back and eagerly read other opinions :)

 

Hank

Edited August 7, 2015 by Hlitner

[aquilegia]

I agree entirely with Hank. You can do wine tasting anywhere but Florence is a gem and you're not going to be able to appreciate it in 2 hours.

[maryann ns]

I agree with Hank totally. We have had five days in Florence so far and barely scratched the surface.

 

However not everyone is into history and art. Even then just strolling around Florence is wonderful.

[bubblesqueaker]

We are just back and did the San Gimignano and Volterra tour. Highlight of my cruise, it was amazing!