Every week, someone tells me they’re thinking about renting a car for their Tuscany trip. And every week, I try to talk them out of it — at least for this part of it.
Florence, Pisa, and Lucca sit close enough together that a car actively works against you. All three historic centers have restricted traffic zones that fine you automatically if you drive in without authorization. Parking is scarce, expensive, and saves you no time. Meanwhile, the train between these three cities is frequent, cheap, and drops you within a five-minute walk of the center.
This is the guide I give my own guests when they want to do this leg independently — what the trains cost, how long they actually take, and the small mistakes that trip up almost every first-timer.
You don’t need to plan this in advance
Here’s the part that surprises people most: you don’t need to book these trains weeks ahead — and there’s no discount for doing so anyway.
Every leg of this route runs on Trenitalia’s Regionale service. These are ordinary local trains, not the sleek Frecciarossa advertised for Rome or Milan — and that’s exactly what you want here. Regionale tickets have a fixed price regardless of when you buy them, there’s no assigned seating, and you sit wherever there’s a free spot.
You can genuinely decide the morning of, walk up to the station, and buy a ticket ten minutes before your train. Booking ahead saves you a queue — nothing more.
Florence to Pisa: The leg You’ll do without thinking
Trains leave from Firenze Santa Maria Novella — Florence’s central station — and arrive at Pisa Centrale, a short walk from the Leaning Tower.
This is one of the most frequent routes in Tuscany: departures roughly every fifteen minutes throughout the day. The trip takes about an hour on slower services, or as little as 50 minutes on faster ones.
Cost: around €9–10 per person.
Two things worth knowing before you board:
- No café car on Regionale trains: grab a coffee before you leave — the ride isn’t long enough to need more, but you’ll be glad you didn’t skip breakfast.
- Validate paper tickets before boarding: there are small green or yellow machines on the platform. Skipping this step is the single most common — and most easily avoidable — way to end up with a fine.
Pisa to Lucca: barely long enough to sit down
This is the leg that convinces most people Lucca was worth the detour before they’ve even arrived.
From Pisa Centrale, trains to Lucca run constantly — around thirty a day — and the journey takes as little as 20 minutes, rarely more than 35. First trains leave Pisa around 5:25am; the last is usually just before 10pm. There’s no real risk of getting stranded.
Cost: around €4 per person.
Landing at Pisa airport instead of Florence? Take the PisaMover shuttle straight to Pisa Centrale, then hop on the same regional line toward Lucca. You never have to set foot in central Pisa if the tower isn’t on your itinerary that day.
Lucca back to Florence: the leg most people rush — and shouldn’t
There’s a direct regional line from Lucca straight back to Firenze Santa Maria Novella — no changes needed — and it happens to be the prettiest stretch of the whole triangle.
The route winds through the hills north of Florence, past Prato, Pistoia, and the spa town of Montecatini, with the occasional villa or bell tower rising out of the countryside. It takes around an hour and twenty minutes, with trains roughly every thirty minutes at busier times of day.
Take the window seat. Look up from your phone. It’s a genuinely lovely way to close out the day.
One small note: some Lucca–Florence trains also stop at Firenze Rifredi, a station in the north of the city. If that’s closer to where you’re staying, it can save you a taxi.
Cost: around €9 per person.
How much does the whole loop actually cost?
Budget around €25–30 per person for all three legs combined — Florence to Pisa, Pisa to Lucca, and Lucca back to Florence. That’s often less than a single taxi ride within Florence, and it comes with considerably better views.
Buying and using your tickets without the overthinking
This is where people spend more energy than necessary. Here’s what actually matters:
- Buy through the official Trenitalia app, or through Trainline or Omio if you prefer booking in English.
- No seat reservation needed on Regionale trains: you board, you sit, you enjoy the ride.
- A ticket bought for a specific time can also be used on any other regional train on the same route within four hours. Some flexibility is built in even if your plans shift.
- Validate paper tickets before boarding. Digital tickets bought through the app usually don’t need this but if you’re holding a printed one, don’t skip it.
Is it actually doable in one day?
Yes and more comfortably than most people expect, as long as you don’t try to squeeze in a fourth stop.
A natural rhythm looks like this: early train from Florence to Pisa, a few hours at Piazza dei Miracoli, a short hop to Lucca for a long lunch and a walk on the walls, then the direct train back to Florence in the evening.
If you’d rather not watch the clock at all, spreading Pisa and Lucca across two separate days removes all the time pressure — and means you can actually linger over lunch in Lucca instead of calculating how it affects your last train.
Quick Reference — Just the Facts
| Florence station | Firenze Santa Maria Novella (some Lucca trains also stop at Firenze Rifredi) |
| Pisa station | Pisa Centrale — ~20 min walk to the Leaning Tower |
| Lucca station | Just outside the city walls, 5 min to the nearest gate |
| Florence → Pisa | ~1 hour, every 15 min, from €9 |
| Pisa → Lucca | ~20–35 min, every 15–20 min, from €4 |
| Lucca → Florence | ~1h20, direct, every 30 min at peak times, from €9 |
| Full loop cost | ~€25–30 per person |
The Part Nobody Tells You
The trains were never going to be the hard part of this trip.
The only real decision is how much time you give Lucca and almost everyone who visits ends up wishing they’d given it more.
👉 Would rather skip the schedules and validation machines altogether?
Join one of my guided day trips from Florence to Pisa and Lucca — I handle the trains, the timing, and the lunch spot. You just show up.